PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. Robinson Cano Blue Jersey . -- The salary cap is going up and business is booming, but still the NHL often gets the most attention for ugly stuff that happens on the ice. Ugly was front and centre Saturday night during the Boston Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins game that led to two suspensions and three players on the injured list. But instead of expressing concern over Shawn Thornton and James Neal, the leagues board of governors gave vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan a thumbs up for his handling of discipline. "I believe the sense of the room is that Brendan Shanahan and the department of player safety has the confidence of the board of governors. He certainly has my confidence," commissioner Gary Bettman said. "Its about modifying an element of the games culture and we think weve made positive, dramatic steps forward." When Thornton is suspended following an in-person hearing Friday, it will be the 19th ban this season that costs players at least one regular-season game. The first 18 suspensions added up to 77 games, including Neals five for kneeing Brad Marchand in the head. But Shanahan told the board Tuesday that among roughly 55,000 hits over the course of a year, only 50 to 100 are problematic. General managers have noticed a major change over time. "Youre not going to rid yourself of suspensions and what have you, but weve certainly come so much farther," Nashville Predators GM David Poile said. "I mean, look where we were. Ive been around for a long time, and some of the stuff that happened in the so-called old days, to where we are now, its so much better for the players and a so much better game." Its a different game, too. Some of the same hits that used to be acceptable are now spelled out as illegal. Shanahan has taken to producing videos showing examples, something that earned praise from Bettman. "My guess is people dont analyse the things he does in the detail that he does, and if you study the videos that hes put online, the specific instances where supplemental discipline is imposed or the more general tapes that hes put online explaining what the standards are of play, people should take a great deal of comfort that were being extraordinarily proactive," Bettman said. The next step could be harsher punishments as more of a deterrent for players. But general managers didnt display much of an appetite for change in that regard. "If managers and the board of governors want the suspensions to increase, I think that thats a direction theyll certainly give me," Shanahan said. "I can say from my perspective that I think that players do feel the effect of the suspension. Whether its two games or a lot more games, I think that players dont like being in that position, they dont like the game being taken away from them." General managers dont want the game taken away from its roots, either. Shanahan gave his usual update on player safety on the second and final day of the board of governors meeting at the Inn at Spanish Bay, and Peter Chiarelli of the Boston Bruins emphasized that the league can absolutely have hitting and progress with safety at the same time. "You can have both and you should, and theres a respect factor that the players have to adapt, and they are," Chiarelli said. "Theres a physical component to the game. Its just going to be a continuing challenge. Youre going to have discussions like these, youre going to have incidents like these. It may be longer suspensions, but you cant have a physical game without having these things." New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello said Monday evening that the onus is on players to follow the rules. Its his hope that maybe the fear of a season-long suspension will stop some of the violence around the league. Poile believes the incidents in the Penguins and Bruins game represented much more of an isolated incident than a trend. "I would think that the type of thing that Neal did, I cant even remember seeing something like that," Poile said. "And Shawn Thornton, he seems to be a stand-up guy, always seems to play his role really well. Hes already said he made a mistake, and hes going to pay for that. He knows that. And I dont think that stuff is going to happen very much. You cant say never, because its a physical game and thats why we partially like the game. Stuff is going to happen." How much stuff has happened was what Shanahan updated the board on Tuesday. As for the future of suspensions, it wont be much different right away. "There has to be the due process and it has to evolve and stuff," Chiarelli said. "You cant just say, All right, lets change the template. You cant say that. Its not fair to the process, its not fair to all the parties. You guys talk about trends and opinions on certain trends, and we do the same thing. In due course that will manifest itself." In addition to talk about player safety, deputy commissioner Bill Daly provided the board with a logistical update on the Sochi Olympics and a joint evaluation of substance-abuse policy between the league and the NHLPA. The deaths of Rick Rypien, Wade Belak and Derek Boogaard in the summer of 2012 prompted a look at how players mental health is handled. "We commissioned jointly with the Players Association and co-operated with them on an independent review of our program and I reported on the results of that review today," Daly said. "The bottom line is the report was good, that the program is doing what it is intended to do, it is helping players and former players in times of need." Daly updated the governors on what to expect from the Olympics and during the NHLs break, along with some logistical elements. Bettman said the governors were briefed on the leagues discussions with the NHLPA about reviving the World Cup of Hockey but predictably did not have any new information to share. "I think its no secret that we collectively believe having a world cup on a regular basis makes sense, the specifics were not there yet on," Bettman said. Bettman reiterated the NHL has no formal plans to expand beyond 30 teams, though he did spend a good portion of his time with reporters fielding questions about expansion. He did not rule it out in the near future. "Were getting lots of expressions of interest and no decisions have been made to do anything other than listen," he said. "We havent embarked on a formal expansion process, but when people want to talk to us we listen." Robinson Cano Cream Jersey . In the way of Ferrer being the first Spanish champion in the open era will be seventh-seeded Grigor Dimotrov of Bulgaria, who overcame wild card Benoit Paire of France 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Ferrer will be going for his third title of the year, and first since February. Robinson Cano Grey Jersey . Louis Blues continued on Wednesday night in Denver. After the game that saw the Blues snap the Avalanches three-game winning streak with a 4-1 win at the Pepsi Center to win their fifth-consecutive game, head coaches Patrick Roy and Ken Hitchcock had choice words for one another.PHILADELPHIA - Michael Carter-Williams got winded sooner than he usually does and had difficulty breathing well throughout the game.It didnt seem to matter.Carter-Williams had 14 points and 10 assists, Robert Covington scored 19 points and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a six-game losing streak with an 89-69 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.Carter-Williams, back after missing the Sixers last game due to an upper-respiratory infection, finished one rebound shy of a triple-double.Im a little stuffed up, but as soon I was out there, all that really is blocked out, Carter-Williams said. I got a little fatigued and (backup point guard Larry Drew) came in and did a great job.JaKarr Sampson had a career-high 13 points and Luc Mbah a Moute added 12 for the Sixers (9-37), who had six players score in double figures.Greg Monroe led the Pistons (17-30) with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jodie Meeks scored 19 on 4-for-16 shooting off the bench. Detroit shot just 2 of 20 from 3-point range in a matchup of slumping squads missing their top scorers.The Pistons have lost four straight, and three since leading scorer Brandon Jennings ruptured his left Achilles in a 101-86 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. Before Jennings season-ending injury, Detroit had won 12 of 15 behind the play of their star point guard.We werent ready to play, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. I dont think Ive ever coached a game where one teams effort was that much better than my teams effort. I mean, it was a joke.Sixers guard Tony Wroten, who partially tore his ACL two weeks ago, said before the game that he plans to have knee surgery and will likely miss the remainder of the season. But playing their ninth straight game without their leading scorer, the Sixers held a comfortable lead throughout against the equally short-handed Pistons.Detroit tried to mount a comeback in the third quarter, slicing Phillys lead to 59-50 on five straight points from Jonas Jerebko. But Carter-Williams drained a big 3-pointer before Jerebko was posterized on a highlight-reel jam from Jerami Grant.The Pistons cut it to nine twice more early in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they would come as the Sixers closed on a 17-6 run.You try to teach these young guys to never take their foot off the pedal, Sixers coach Brett Brown said. We have no right to be complacent at any point. Robinson Cano Womens Jersey. The Sixers took control early, going on an 18-0 run to take a 24-4 lead with 5:39 left in the first quarter. Rookie K.J. McDaniels capped the spurt by picking off an errant pass by Anthony Tolliver and coasting uncontested down the floor for a thunderous dunk.Sampson, making his first start since Dec. 30, kickstarted the spurt with a 3-pointer. The undrafted rookie finished shot 5 for 6 from the field and finished with a career-high eight rebounds.His energy, his toughness and athleticism really complemented the starting group, Brown said.The Pistons closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run to slice Phillys lead to 28-16, and Monroe hit two straight buckets inside to bring Detroit within 48-37 at the half.But the Pistons shot just 30.7 per cent from the field and committed 17 turnovers in a game they were never in — and one their coach would quickly like to forget.It was embarrassing and humiliating, and I told them in there that Im embarrassed as a coach that I did that poor of a job, Van Gundy said. And if theyre not embarrassed, they dont belong in the NBA.TIP-INSPistons: Detroit has dropped four straight on the road, matching a season high. ... The Pistons missed two of their first 19 shots and 12 straight during one stretch in the first quarter. ... Detroit was 1 for 10 from 3-point range in both the first and the second halves.76ers: Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel were both selected for the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend, marking the second time in team history that Philadelphia had two representatives in the event. ... Philadelphia has won five of its last seven home games against Detroit. ... The Sixers shot 51.1 per cent from the field in the first half.TRIPLE-DOUBLE SECRETSWhen Carter-Williams returned to the locker room, his teammates told him that he was only one rebound shy of a triple-double. The second-year point guard only wished they had told him sooner — like during the game.I didnt even know, he laughed. They didnt tell me. Its crazy.RUNNING MENThe Sixers were well aware that the Pistons were playing their fourth game in five days, and they tried to use that to their advantage by running like crazy up and down the floor.We wanted to turn this into a track meet as much as we could, Brown said.UP NEXTPistons: Host Houston on Saturday.76ers: Host Minnesota on Friday. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL JerseysCheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
