to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- W

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." Ed Davis Jersey . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball. Cheap Swingman Nets Jerseys . Austin does not believe the game-time temperature is going to be an advantage for either side heading into the Grey Cup. "We dont think about (the cold)," said Austin. "Im not even sure how you would determine an advantage. http://www.cheapnetsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-dangelo-russell-jersey . - After spending the morning in the hospital, Logan Couture gave the San Jose Sharks the spark they needed. Cheap Nets Jerseys Authentic . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Allen Crabbe Jersey . But luckily for the Canadian squad, one goal was all it needed. Winnipegs Sophie Schmidt scored the winner off a Diana Matheson corner kick to seal Canadas third-place spot in the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in Brazil on Sunday.CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- A pathologist will likely testify first when Oscar Pistorius defence team starts calling witnesses at his murder trial next week, the double-amputee athletes lawyer said Tuesday. Brian Webber told The Associated Press in an email that "it is likely" that the defence will call Prof. Jan Botha as its first witness on Monday, after four weeks of prosecution-led testimony and a weeks adjournment. Pistorius is expected to testify to explain why he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines Day last year by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door. The Olympic runner says he shot Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was a dangerous intruder who had broken into his bathroom. Prosecutors say the 27-year-old Pistorius killed the 29-year-old model intentionally after an argument in the pre-dawn hours and have charged him with premeditated murder. In South Africa, defendants who indicate they will testify are usually expected to go first but Webber said it was his understanding that prosecutors had agreed to the defences request that Botha give evidence first because of the pathologists personal circumstances. "It is likely that we will call Professor Jan Botha on Monday as he has personal difficulties and I believe that the state has agreed to him giving evidence first," Webber wrote to the AP. Pistorius could go to prison for 25 years to life if convicted of premeditated murder for Steenkamps shooting death. Pistorius testimony will llikely be crucial, with the athlete under intense scrutiny to explain why he shot four times through a toilet cubicle door without knowing, in his version, who was on the other side and the location of his girlfriend.dddddddddddd Although some legal experts say Pistorius taking the stand is a risk for his defence, they say he has little choice because he has admitted killing Steenkamp unlawfully and therefore needs to explain his reasons. "The only question is whether there was intent and intent is subjective," former state prosecutor and now defence lawyer Marius du Toit said. "That means the accused must come and dispel that." Du Toit, who is following the trial but not involved in it, said Pistorius testimony was "definitely the key." The defence may use the expert forensic testimony of Botha, the pathologist, to combat the prosecutions claim that Steenkamp screamed during the gunshots that killed her and so Pistorius must have known who he was firing at with his 9 mm pistol. Defence lawyer Webber also said that although lawyers for Pistorius and Steenkamps family are still in negotiations over a possible out-of-court settlement for her death, nothing would be decided until after the trial. Representatives of the parties have been in contact since last year. Both sides have declined to give details of any discussions but South African media has speculated that Pistorius might pay Steenkamps family in the region of $200,000 to $300,000. 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