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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that Donald Sterling is banned for life from the Clippers organization. As well, he has been fined $2.5 million. Finally, Silver will recommend to the Board of Governors that Sterling be forced to sell the team. Fine and Expulsion The fine of $2.5 million was not a surprise. The likely range was somewhere between $1 million and $5 million. However, the NBA went farther than expected by banning Sterling for life from the Clippers. That means that Sterling is not only permanently removed from the day-to-day operations of the league, but he cant be part of the franchise in any way. A suspension of 1 to 2 years was initially expected. Banning Sterling for life is a precedent setting punishment and appropriate under the circumstances. The comments were of course despicable and disturbing. As well, the majority of the NBA player population is of color. According to a 2013 report, 76.3 per cent of NBA players are African-American and 80.1 per cent are of color. So when the majority of the league workforce is African-American, the NBA has no choice but to ask as decisively as possible within its legal framework. Forcing the Sale of the Team This is where things get a bit messy. The NBA by-laws allow the league to remove an owner in limited circumstances, including if the team is in financial distress. We saw something similar in baseball when MLB took over the Dodgers when Frank McCourt made a mess of the team. The NBA by-laws, however, are unlikely to provide a reasonable basis for the league to terminate his ownership. Rather, the NBA will likely look to Article 35 of the NBA Constitution, which allows the commissioner to indefinitely suspend owners for "conduct prejudicial or detrimental to the association". The NBA needs three-quarters of owners to agree to the sale. This is broad language and does provide an arguable legal basis to remove Sterling. However, I emphasize "arguable." This language does not unequivocally give the NBA the authority to hand down the most dramatic and substantial of all penalties - forcing an owner to sell. So that means its possible that Sterling could fire back with a lawsuit if forced to sell alleging that the leagues owners have acted unlawfully. That type of lawsuit could be worth $100 million plus for Sterling. Thats why the NBA didnt announce Sterling is being forced to sell; rather they announced they would recommend that he be forced to sell and take it from there. As part of that same lawsuit, Sterling could allege that the NBA doesnt have the authority to ban him for life, and that the penalty is disproportionately high. Not only does Sterling have a history of racially insensitive comments, he also has a history of suing the NBA. After acquiring the San Diego Clippers in 1981, Sterling moved the team to Los Angeles without the leagues consent in 1984. David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA at the time, fined Sterling $25 million. What did Sterling do in response? He sued the NBA for $100 million. The fine was later reduced to $6 million. So depending on how Sterling takes Tuesdays news, this may not be done. .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday. .com) - Tony Parker scored 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a comfortable 99-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. http://www.metssale.com/mets-brandon-nimmo-jersey/. Millsap will miss Wednesday nights game against the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks say Millsap also will be held out on Thursday at Boston. . -- Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe was alert and recovering at a Denver hospital Saturday after suffering seizure-like symptoms when the teams bus pulled into the airport Friday afternoon for the flight to Kansas City. .C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the strategy of the CFLPA, the Oilers hiring of Bob Nicholson, the Alouettes firing of offensive coordinator Rick Worman and the U.S. Open. Gary Lawless, TSN Radio - My thumb is down to the ill-fated strategy of the CFLPA and the underwhelming results theyve achieved once again. Disorganized and delusional best describe the players union in this latest CFL labour impasse. Their first offer was inflammatory and unattainable. They followed up with a series of retreats and eventual surrender. The CFLPA has followed the lead of legal counsel Ed Molstad since 1974. Lacking best describes the results. The CFLPA needs to represent its constituency with a spirit of inclusion and a face of diversity. The union must look inward and evolve. Questions must be asked and answered and hard decisions executed. The CFLPA finds itself at the intersection of change and rot. Its time to pick a new route. Steve Simmons, Sun Media - My thumb is up to Edmonton Oilers owner Darryl Katz for going outside the family and hiring Bob Nicholson to oversee everything that is Oiler. This isnt necessarily a hockey move as much as it is a business move but in either area Nicholson is clearly equipped for the challenge. And this is a challenge both in the standings and from what Katz wants from the newly formed business called Oilers Entertainment Group. Sports is no longer about only wins and losses. Its so much about veneer. In Edmonton, there will be a new downtown arena, an area to grow around it, a footprint for the future. When Nicholson took over Hockey Canadaa, it was a small disorganized operation, lacking in business acumen.dddddddddddd He left it as a hockey corporation. The Oilers are fortunate to have him. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated - My thumb is down to the Alouettes for the firing of offensive coordinator Rick Worman. Three months after coach Tom Higgins hired Worman, he canned him - before Montreal had played an exhibition game. Higgins was right to act sooner rather than later, unlike 2013 when the era of occupationally-challenged head coach Dan Hawkins lasted five games. But the abrupt dismissal speaks to the dysfunction of the franchise, whose owner, Robert Wetenhall, hired Higgins without involving GM Jim Popp. The Alouettes used to stand for quality on the field and steadfastness off it. If the Worman saga is an indication, soon the only thing the Alouettes will stand for is O Canada. Dave Hodge, TSN - My thumb is up to the U.S. Open golf championship, with emphasis on "open". To win the Masters, you have to be invited. To win the Open, you have to qualify, and everyone is eligible to try, which means anyone from anywhere can win. And that creates interest because "anyone" can be someone like 49-year-old Fran Quinn, who put his name on the leaderboard with a first-round 68. Who is Fran Quinn? He has one year of experience on the PGA Tour. Last year? No, 1992. He played in 18 events that year and he missed the cut 12 times. This year, he has played one event - on the Web.com Tour, golfs development league, if you will. Fran Quinn is still playing at Pinehurst - he followed his 68 with rounds of 74 and 79. He wont win. But he had a chance to win. ' ' '