LOS ANGELES -- NBA players strongly considered boycotting playoff games if Commissioner Adam Silver hadnt ruled harshly against Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Players union Vice-President Roger Mason Jr. said Tuesday he spoke to representatives from every playoff team about the possibility of boycotting the upcoming post-season games in solidarity against any ruling that didnt include a mandate for Sterling to sell the Clippers. "We didnt want to jump to conclusions, but we were prepared that if this decision came down, we were prepared to move forward that way," Mason said. "We didnt think that this was just a Clippers issue, so we didnt want to put the pressure on Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and that team. We wanted to band behind our brothers to do the right thing." The Clippers host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, one of three playoff games on the NBA schedule. Three more are scheduled for Wednesday. Before Game 5 on Tuesday night, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said he wasnt certain his players had formally discussed a boycott. He thought the Clippers instead were just hoping for a suitable response from Silver. "I think they had the trust that there would be," Rivers said. "Im glad we dont have to find out." The Clippers and Warriors werent made available to reporters before Game 5. Mason believes every team would have embraced a boycott, and the veteran guard said Silver was made aware of the possibility of the unprecedented move by Kevin Johnson, the Sacramento mayor and former NBA player who is advising the union on the issue. "I spoke to (Warriors forward) Jermaine ONeal, and he pretty much said that their team would be on board," Mason said. During a news conference at Los Angeles City Hall, several current and former players proclaimed their support for Silvers decision. Sterling was fined $2.5 million and banned from the NBA for life for racist comments made in a recorded conversation. Silver also said he will urge the NBAs board of governors to compel Sterling to sell the Clippers. "We were very clear that anything other than Sterling selling his team was not going to be enough for us," Mason said. Mason said the players arent yet completely satisfied. They want a concrete timetable for the board governors vote necessary to force Sterling to sell his team. But Mason is confident the other NBA owners will vote to force Sterling to sell. "I know a lot of the owners personally from spending time in negotiations, and I would be shocked if it wasnt unanimous," Mason said. Paul Coffey Jersey . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Connor McDavid Jersey .Y. - The New York Islanders are brimming with confidence these days, thanks to a standout goalie and a newfound winning attitude. http://www.hockeyoilersshop.com/grant-fuhr-jersey/.com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season. Leon Draisaitl Jersey . In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager. Mark Messier Jersey . Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre. The ninth-ranked Russian looked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then took her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the NFL and marijuana, Canadian world champion boxer Bermane Stiverne, Steve Kerrs choice for head coach and FIFA backtracking on Qatar 2022. Dave Naylor, TSN Radio 1050: My thumb is up to the National Football League which - according to reports this week - is planning to soften its penalties for players who test positive for marijuana. Look, even if youre part of the minority which still believes pot should be illegal, its not hard to see the hypocrisy here. The NFL is a down-and-dirty league, where all kinds of nasty stuff happens and players are often welcomed back to the field despite risky and dangerous behavior. And yet, as of now, Clevelands Josh Gordon will miss this coming season because he did something that is legal in two states and which many believe is a safer way to manage the pain associated with pro football than popping pills. What would the NFL be like if the league stopped testing for weed altogether? Well, we have a pretty good idea because in Canada the CFL does not list marijuana as a banned substance. And frankly, no one cares. The NFL has followed the CFLs lead when it comes to the forward pass, two-point converts and a few other things … its time to follow its lead on pot as well. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up Bermane Stiverne, and if you dont know the name, youre not alone. A week ago, Stiverne, the Haitian-born Montreal-raised boxer, won the WBC heavyweight championship. Once upon a time, that was a title that began with Sonny Liston and moved through Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and Larry Holmes and George Foreman and Mike Tyson and another Canadian of other countries, Lennox Lewis. It was the title of all titles not just in boxing, but in all of sport: heavyweight champion of the world.dddddddddddd Somewhere in time that disappeared, just not the history; now its Stivernes time, after his sixth round stoppage of Chris Arreola in Los Angeles. He might be like Trevor Berbick, a one and done champion. But after all these years, we still remember Berbicks name. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to Steve Kerr for a wise choice. Offered coaching positions with the Knicks and Warriors, the broadcaster took door no. 2, Golden State. The job might not be all rainbows and lollipops because Warrior players are angry former coach Mark Jackson was fired, but it is a better option than Madison Square Garden, the worlds most famous asylum. Kerr wont have to answer to bullying owner James Dolan or face inevitable second-guessing from Knicks president Phil Jackson, a fair coach himself. Golden state provides Kerr with a more talented roster and a better family situation, but mostly if offers a truly precious commodity - sanity. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is down to soccers world governing body, FIFA for managing to sound dumber than its president, Sepp Blatter. Blatter has finally admitted that the selection of Qatar as the site of the 2022 World Cup was a mistake, which, until now, has been obvious to all but FIFA, because if the summertime heat makes it dangerous to watch a soccer match, its probably not a good idea to play in one. But, said Blatter, people do make mistakes. Well, an embarrassed FIFA spokesman tried to distance the organization from Blatters remarks by claiming that Blatter never actually said that Qatar was the wrong choice, which means that Blatter meant...... FIFA made the right choice and it was a mistake. They cant even stand this heat. ' ' '