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 Canada, it was a small disorganized operation, lacking in business acumen. 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. Nike Air Max 270 Womens Discount . Although taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles wasnt nearly as uplifting as winning the World Series, it still felt pretty darn good. Felix Doubront and four relievers combined kept Baltimores potent lineup in check, and David Ortiz had three of Bostons 12 hits off Wei-Yin Chen in a 4-3 victory Thursday night. Air Max 270 Just Do It Black . Curlings version of the Ryder Cup will introduce a new format beginning with the 2015 event, set for Jan. 8 to 11 in Calgary, as itll be Team Canada taking on Team Europe this season and in the 2017 event, while itll be Team Canada against Team World (including the U. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-mens-sale.html.com) - The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics both entered Wednesday nights game riding lengthy losing streaks. Air Max 270 React Bauhaus AT6174-002 . Leave it to Matt Niskanen, the newly proclaimed Eddie Haskell of the Washington Capitals. Nike Air Max 270 React Discount . Western and the second-ranked Laval Rouge et Or (7-0) once again received 20 and 10 first-place votes from the Football Reporters of Canada panel, respectively. Rounding out the Top 10 are the Calgary Dinos (7-0), Queens Gaels (7-1), Guelph Gryphons (7-1), Montreal Carabins (5-2), Bishops Gaiters (5-2), McMaster Marauders (5-3), Manitoba Bisons (4-3) and the Saskatchewan Huskies (4-3) Western crushed York 50-10 last Saturday in its league finale to secure first place in the OUA standings and a bye in the first round of the conference playoffs. NEW YORK -- LeBron James understands it will take time, but he wants Donald Sterling out of the NBA. And he said Sunday that players believe nobody in Sterlings family should be able to own the Los Angeles Clippers if hes gone. Sterling has been banned for life for making racist comments and Commissioner Adam Silver has urged owners to force Sterling to sell the franchise. While Silver has said no decisions had been made about the rest of Sterlings family, NBA spokesman Mike Bass released a statement Sunday night clarifying the leagues authority in the matter. "Under the NBA constitution, if a controlling owners interest is terminated by a three-quarter vote, all other team owners interests are automatically terminated as well," Bass said. "It doesnt matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team." Shelly Sterling, Sterlings estranged wife, said she intends to keep her 50 per cent of the franchise. "As players, we want whats right and we dont feel like no one in his family should be able to own the team," James said after the Miami Heat practiced for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Brooklyn. But Shelly Sterling told ABC News Barbara Walters that she doesnt believe she should be punished for what her husband said. "I will fight that decision," she said in the interview. "To be honest with you, Im wondering if a wife of one of the owners, and theres 30 owners, did something like that, said those racial slurs, would they oust the husband? Or would they leave the husband in?" James was one of the first and strongest voices to speak outt after a recording of Donald Sterlings remarks to V.dddddddddddd Stiviano were posted on TMZs website last month, saying the comments were unacceptable and that there was no place in the league for Sterling. The league is trying to act quickly to remove him. Dick Parsons has been installed as the Clippers interim CEO, and the owners advisory/finance committee has held conference calls each of the last two weeks to discuss that process and timeline for a forced sale. That would require a three-fourths vote of owners. But Donald Sterling, who bought the team in 1981 and is the NBAs longest-tenured owner, could choose to fight those attempts by the league. "At the end of the day, this is going to be a long litigation when it comes to that," James said. "This guy whos owned the team since the 80s is not going to just give the team up in a day. So we understand its going to be long, but we want whats right." In his first public comments since being banned, Donald Sterling apologized Sunday for the racist comments captured on tape, saying they were a "terrible mistake." "Im not a racist," Sterling told CNNs Anderson Cooper in excerpts posted from an interview taped Sunday and set to air Monday. "I made a terrible mistake. Im here to apologize." Sterling said years of good behaviour as an owner should count toward his future. "Im a good member who made a mistake," Sterling said. "Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? Its a terrible mistake, and Ill never do it again. ... If the owners feel I have another chance, then theyll give it to me." ' ' '