PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- 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." Ryan Finley Youth Jersey . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. Custom Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys . 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Jessie Bates III Jersey .com) - Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Air Force played spoiler with a 27-24 win over 21st- ranked Colorado State on Friday.LOS ANGELES -- The Miami Heat played the final minutes the way championship teams are supposed to. The Los Angeles Clippers are still perfecting the art of closing out games against the elite teams. LeBron James had 31 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, Ray Allen hit a clinching three-pointer in the final minute, and the Heat snapped a five-game road losing streak against the stubborn Clippers with a 116-112 victory on Wednesday night. Allen had 15 points off the bench for the two-time defending NBA champions, who began a six-game road trip that will be interrupted four games in by the All-Star break. Dwyane Wade, one of seven Miami players scoring in double figures, had 14 points and eight assists in his 700th regular-season game. The Heat had lost 10 of their previous 12 road games against the Clippers, and hadnt beaten them at Staples Center since Dec. 9, 2007. Los Angeles, coming off Mondays stinging 116-115 loss at Denver on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by ex-Clipper Randy Foye, got a season-high 43 points and 13 rebounds from Blake Griffin and 31 points from Jamal Crawford. DeAndre Jordan extended his franchise record of consecutive double-digit rebound performances to 29 games with 16 boards and 16 points. The Pacific Division champions are 11-6 since Chris Paul went down with a separated right shoulder on Jan. 3 at Dallas. With Darren Collison and Crawford replacing Paul and J.J. Redick (sore right hip) in the starting lineup, the Clippers bench produced only two points -- a 20-foot jumper by Jared Dudley with 3:17 left in the first quarter -- until Willie Green hit a pair of free throws to pull Los Angeles within 91-84 with 9:51 to play. Allen, who holds the NBA record for career three-pointers, converted a four-point play after Green fouled him behind the arc. That extended Miamis lead to 99-87 with 8:07 remaining. His second three, a rainbow from the left corner, made it 112-107 with 42.4 seconds to go. "Thats when the talent kicks in," James said. "The play was broken down a little bit, but D-Wade made a heck of a play by getting into the paint, and Ray just kept moving into his favourite spot -- one of those corners. D-Wade found him with a great pass, and Ray nailed it." Allen, in his 18th NBA season, played in his 1,271st regular-season game and overtook John Havlicek for 19th place all-time. "Hes a pro and he takes care of himself. Hes in just phenomenal shape, and he can run forever," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who had Allen for five seasons with the Celtics. "Whhat impressed me the most when we were in Boston was his professionalism and his ability to make big shots.dddddddddddd Ray could go 0 for 20, or 20 for 20, and the next day hed be the first guy in the gym, shooting all of his shots from his exact spots at the exact speed. Ray lives that." The Clippers, who held Miami to just two field goals over the first 7:47 of the fourth quarter, narrowed the gap to 99-95 with a 10-0 run capped by Griffins tip-in with 5:15 left. But James responded with a three-pointer and a layup 53 seconds apart. "Obviously weve had our battles with Doc, being in the Eastern Conference for so long, so we know how well his team is going to be prepared," James said. "I think it was just our mental toughness, especially in the third quarter when they made their run. We just stayed composed and found a way to get a win. We made stops and executed offensively." The Heat opened the third quarter with an 11-5 run that extended their seven-point halftime lead to 73-60. Wade set up an alley-oop dunk by James, and Mario Chalmers hit a three-pointer from in front of the Clippers bench to cap the rally with 8:48 left in the period. Chalmers basket put all of Miamis starters in double-figure scoring. Griffin led all scorers in the first half with 22 points and Crawford added 18, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter. But the Heat led 62-55 at intermission after shooting 57 per cent. Miamis ball movement was superb from the outset, recording assists on all but one of its first 18 field goals and building a 43-24 lead with 9:44 left in the second quarter. The Heat had 33 assists on 41 field goals overall. "We pride ourselves on moving the ball, and we know that makes it easier for all of us," James said. "We keep everyone in a rhythm when were passing the ball and sharing the ball. Tonight we had some turnovers, including myself. I mean, I was the main culprit (with seven), and Ive got to be more conscious of that and not turn the ball over so much." NOTES: James was called for a reach-in foul against Griffin with 3:17 left in the third quarter, his first of the game, and was assessed a technical foul by referee Bill Kennedy for complaining about it with Miami leading 81-69. ... The Clippers began a five-game homestand that includes four opponents that entered Wednesday with a combined 126-62 record -- Portland and division leaders Miami, Toronto and San Antonio. ... Miami improved to 8-2 against teams that currently lead their division. The Clippers are 3-6 in that department. ' ' '