Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the departure of Donald Sterling, the scheduling of the Rogers Cup, the value of Commonwealth Games and the mastery of Clayton Kershaw. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star My thumb is up to the impending departure of Donald Sterling from the NBA, pending appeals. A California judge ruled this week that Sterlings wife Shelley could indeed sell the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion, which means its almost time to say goodbye to Donald Sterling, only 33 years too late. Donald Sterling: ex-Clippers owner, denier of cancer treatment benefits, architect of a franchise that finished over .500 five times during his tenure, settler of the biggest federal housing discrimination suit in American history, and of course, racist. It will be sad that hes getting richer, yes. But the glory of the punishment is this: the Clippers are finally good. They could win a title, they really could. And if they do, Donald Sterling will finally be the one whos been evicted from the building. Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun My thumb is down to the Rogers Cups, yeah, both of them, the best tennis tournaments in Canada, for not having the ability or the opportunity to exist separately. For years they did, quite nicely. One week, the men played in Toronto or Montreal, the next week, the women played in the other city. It was perfect, in a tennis kind of way. Since then Canada has changed. There is a breakout star in Genie Bouchard, who set all kinds of national records, television and otherwise from Wimbledon. There is a hard serving, knocking on the door breakout star in Milos Raonic. Forgive me if I want to watch both of them separately. We deserve that, they deserve that. Its time somebody stood up to the tennis world and got this right. Cathal Kelly, The Globe and Mail My thumb is up to all games in their proper place. Weve just come through two weeks of the Commonwealth variety, which gave us another chance to wring our hands about why no one cares. Odds are you tuned in for the delightfully kitschy opening ceremonies and then tuned right back out. A British paper reported that Usain Bolt declared the competition "a bit (crap)," though he apparently used another word. Hes right. Its a second-rate event. The Pan-Am games in Toronto next summer will also be minor league, and thats okay. There can only be one Olympics. Its past time we stopped thinking of sport as something that must be force-fed to the masses for their own good. People will watch what they want. There will always be an audience for something that features the spirit of the Olympics without the stars. Because without the warm-up act, we wouldnt be able to properly appreciate the uniqueness of the really big show. Dave Hodge, TSN Not that he needs me or anybody else to remind the baseball world how good he is, but "thumbs up" anyway to LA Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, the left-handed ace who didnt get traded on Thursday. All the attention paid to Jon Lester and David Price was fully warranted, but later that night, Kershaw was running his record to 13-2 and lowering his MLB-best ERA to 1.71. The Dodgers are unbeaten in his last 11 starts, 10 of them wins for Kershaw personally and this latest victory, 2-1 over the Atlanta Braves, was his second straight complete game. It also saw him come within an out of a second straight shutout. The Dodgers being the Dodgers, they looked at Lester and Price, but they have prospects they werent willing to touch and they have Clayton Kershaw. Cheap Carolina Panthers Gear . -- Jonathan Vilmas season is over and his future on the football field is in doubt. Stitched Carolina Panthers Jerseys . Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. http://www.cheappanthers.com/. The veteran NFL receiver received his work permit and is in Montreal for the start of the Alouettes rookie camp. Johnson even took in the Montreal Canadiens Game 5 win over the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre Tuesday night. Carolina Panthers Jordan Scarlett Jersey . TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then. Authentic Carolina Panthers Jerseys . Roy says he will know more about Duchenes potential playing status Sunday. Duchene has been out since damaging the MCL in his left knee when he ran into a teammate against San Jose on March 29. Hes been skating on his own all week, before joining the team Saturday hours before a pivotal game in a series tied at 2. SEATTLE -- Clay Buchholz felt exhausted after throwing only 76 pitches. His return to the mound for the Red Sox after nearly a month on the disabled list was a test by an aggressive Seattle offence that had battered Boston pitching the first two games of the series. "They made me work hard," Buchholz said. "I knew they were swinging. Thats about the most aggressive team that Ive pitched to in my career. For the number of pitches that I threw that was a grinding, stressful outing knowing I cant make a mistake." Buchholz pitched into the eighth inning in his first start since late May, David Ortiz gave him cushion from the start with his 449th career home run in the first inning, and Boston avoided being swept with a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. Outside of three batters in the second inning, Buchholzs return could not have gone much better. He was efficient, he pitched deep into the game to save Bostons bullpen and he relied on more than just two pitches. Buchholz was using just his fastball and cutter early in the season. The time away allowed him to work on his curveball and changeup and as his outing progressed, those pitches got better. Buchholz was so good with his pitch efficiency teammates were questioning whether the count was correct. "At one point I had to ask if the pitch count was right because it was the fifth and he had like 45 pitches," Boston catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "It was good. It was an encouraging outing and Im glad for Clay that he went out and pitched like he did." Ortiz knocked around Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma, plunking a two-run shot off the windows of the cafe in right field at Safeco Field for a 2-0 lead, his 18th of the season. He drove in another run in the third with a line drive off the wall in right that barely cleared the glove of Seattle right fielder Stefen Romero. "I thought we had a very good approach against Iwakuma, who pitches very well in this ballpark," Boston manager John Farrell said. Buchholz (3-4) was knocked around in the second, giving up home runs to Kyle Seager and Mike Zunino, but otherwise avoided problems.dddddddddddd Buchholz retired 11 of 12 during one stretch and pitched out of trouble in the sixth inning when the first two batters reached on singles. Buchholz won for the first time since May 2. He had been on the disabled list since May 27 with a hyperextended left knee and after two rehab starts in the minors was brought back to the Red Soxs rotation. Buchholz went 7 1-3 innings, giving up seven hits and four runs. He struck out two and walked none. He might have gotten through the eighth but Brad Miller led off the inning with a homer. Reliever Andrew Miller struck out pinch-hitters Willie Bloomquist and Cole Gillespie to end the eighth. Koji Uehara pitched the ninth for his 16th save despite allowing two runners. "He looked confident, he looked relaxed," Farrell said of Buchholz. "He was able to make pitches with four different types of pitches. An overall outstanding performance." Iwakuma struggled for the second straight outing, his pitches missing location. Iwakuma (5-4) lasted just four innings, giving up eight hits and five earned runs. Iwakuma was done when he failed to record an out after the first three batters of the fifth inning. This wasnt the first time Boston has made Iwakumas night short. Last season, Iwakuma lasted a career-low three innings, giving up eight hits and six runs against the Red Sox. "I couldnt get the first pitch strike which cost me in a couple of at-bats," Iwakuma said through an interpreter. "They took advantage of that, so not being able to throw strike one got to me." NOTES: Ortiz is tied for 36th on the all-time home run list with Jeff Bagwell and Vladimir Guerrero. ... Boston RHP Brandon Workman will start Fridays opener in New York against the Yankees. ... Seattle recalled RHP Brandon Maurer to work out of the bullpen. He was a starter earlier in the season. 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