Players union Vice-President

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. . -- Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson couldnt hear himself amid the roar in Koch Arena, so he kept stomping on the floor in a fruitless attempt to get his teams attention. . Damyean Dotson, 19, Dominic Artis, 19 and Brandon Austin, 18, were suspended after the school received a police report concerning allegations made by a student who said she was assaulted by the players in early March.XALAPA, Mexico -- Shona Thorburn scored 15 points to lead Canadas womens basketball team to its second straight lopsided victory at the FIBA Americas Championship, a 93-51 rout of Chile on Monday. The easy back-to-back wins, said Thorburn, have provided the perfect opportunity for the team to gel before the games get tough. "Its the first time these 12 players have played together this summer, so these few easy games have been very beneficial for us," said Thorburn, who was sidelined for most of the summer with a foot injury. "Weve taken them as a learning experience, getting to know each other, the last two games weve been able to work on zone offence because they played zone on us, so I think its helped us. "I think the plan is to be peaking in that final game." Kim Gaucher (formerly Kim Smith) finished with 11 points, and a team-high six rebounds and three steals, while Justine Colley also had 11 points. The Canadians, who cruised by Jamaica 75-37 in their opener on Sunday, are tied with Cuba atop Group A. They had their way with Chile, racing out to a 28-10 lead after one quarter and taking a 49-19 advantage into the dressing room at halftime. Canada led 66-41 with a quarter left to play. Coach Lisa Thomaidis said there is a danger in opening the tournament with easy wins. "Theres always that fear when you havent been tested yet," Thomaidis said. "But its really about us right now, and really challenging ourselves to keep raising the level of our play. Certainly as long as we keep holding ourselves to those high standards, I think regardless of the opponent were still going to be on track. "The way the tournament is set up, I think teams are going to be progressively tougher for us to face, so its very good lead-in for us to play thoose tougher opponents having these few games under our belt. . " As Canadas veterans, Thorburn said she and Gaucher -- who had originally planned on retiring after the 2012 London Olympics but had a change of heart -- said their job has been to keep everyone focused through these two easy games. "This is the Americas, people are coming out to get you," Thorburn said. "We play aggressive basketball down here compared to anywhere else in the world. Every team does, thats just how it is down there. "So its just keeping people focused for 40 minutes. Usually in the past, were good at playing 35 minutes, but the game is 40 minutes long and its kind of keeping people focused that long. I think Kim and I bring that, we bring a competitive edge, and every practice, every shootaround, every game, we go hard. "We want to get better and I think we have brought that to this team and they understand thats the way its going to be." The lopsided games have given Thomaidis the chance to rest some key players and get everyone involved. "Were playing six games in seven days, and four games in a row without a break," Thomaidis said. "Thats taxing. Its a very physical game, the international game, and its really important that we keep people fresh and were not playing them long minutes in the first few games because were going to need them down the road here." The Canadians face Venezuela on Tuesday, then wrap up round-robin play versus Cuba on Wednesday. Chile, with previous losses to Venezuela and Cuba, dropped to 0-3 on the tournament. Canada needs to finish in the top three in order to qualify for the 2014 FIBA world championship. The Canadian women have appeared in the previous two world tournaments, in 2006 and 2010. ' ' '