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Last Sunday, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was ejected for throwing a towel at a referee.A week before that, Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry took a running start at a defender who couldnt see him, slammed his shoulder into the players neck and sent him to the hospital. Landry played on after a 15-yard penalty and later received a $24,000 fine.These two snapshots -- polar opposites in both the players actions and the NFLs response -- underscore one of the leagues most difficult issues. Faced with an ever-growing concussion crisis, it talks tough about curbing illegal hits, especially those above the shoulders. Yet it uses its most-stringent penalty for those sorts of infractions -- the suspension -- very infrequently compared to the number of relatively inconsequential fines it hands out.What do you do when you want to punish somebody? You take something away, Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis said. The money, yeah, cool, but depending on who you are, youre good as far as the money goes anyway because you know its going to keep coming. When you take somebody out of the game, I think thats harsher.Its not to say the league is shy about ejecting and suspending players. Since the start of 2016 through Week 7, 47 have been suspended a total of 219 games and docked more than $18 million, according to the website spotrac.com.But of those suspensions, the majority were for drug use or legal- and violence-related issues off the field. A four-game ban went to Tom Brady for Deflategate. And spotrac.com lists only one illegal-hit suspension -- for three games -- which went to Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict after his vicious hit to Steelers receiver Antonio Browns head in last seasons melee of a playoff game.Meanwhile, spotrac.com lists 55 fines handed out in 2016 for violations including impermissible use of the helmet, roughing the passer, and blindside blocks the likes of which Landry delivered to unsuspecting Aaron Williams of the Bills. Williams crumpled to the ground and had to be transported to the hospital. Those infractions resulted in the single suspension (Burfict) and an average fine of $16,500 in a league with an average annual salary of $1.9 million. Thats an average of 0.8 percent of a players salary.Maybe we need to look at our rules a little better, Bills coach Rex Ryan said after the hit on Williams. Maybe, having a guy who targets and deliberately does something like that, the right thing to do is to eject the player from the game and maybe part of another game.That is the rule in college football, which also can use replay to pass final judgment on the legality of a hit.After the hit on Williams, for which Landry expressed remorse, NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told NFL Total Access it wouldve been a difficult call to eject Landry because its still a football play, and its tough to read intent there. He conceded we have few automatic ejections in the game today.The NFL did not make Blandino available to The Associated Press for this story. Instead it referenced a portion of the league rulebook that has been rewritten over the past few years to reflect its emphasis on curbing helmet-first, above-the-shoulders and other illegal hits that used to be celebrated but are now viewed in a different light.Ten years ago, when I came into the league ... the sky was the limit when it came to hits, said two-time Pro Bowl defensive back Michael Griffin of the Panthers. You lived for hits like that.Griffin served a one-game suspension as a repeat offender of hits to the head while with the Titans in 2013, the first season of the newly toughened hitting rules. When asked this week to reflect on the suspension, the first words out of Griffins mouth were: That cost me too much money. That cost me $205,000.But he said the suspension helped change his outlook, in part because if you cant play within the (rules), theyll find somebody else to do it.The increased emphasis on technique and safety has undoubtedly played into the decline in fines for hits on defenseless players, which is one subset of the hits the AP reviewed as part of the spotrac.com numbers. The NFL says there were 40 such fines in 2012, and only 10 in 2015. Yet, the leagues ability to police the violence this season came under scrutiny as early as Game 1, when MVP Cam Newton received four hits to the head in the season opener against the Broncos, none of which resulted in penalty yardage.Darian Stewart delivered one of those hits, then one the next week to Andrew Luck. Hes been fined a total of $27,000 for the hits -- a tad more than 1 percent of his 2016 base salary.No suspensions.Newton has complained to the NFL, going all the way to Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss. This week, Newtons coach, Ron Rivera, echoed Ryan, saying it might be time to crack down harder.Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward, the teams union representative, says the players would appreciate more clarity.Theres so many gray lines. Everybody is always waiting for someone, or what Goodell is going to say, Heyward said. If you have a set rule and a set amount and how its going to be addressed, I think youll see more clarity and youre not going to have to deal with those (questionable hits).The NFL has resorted to a more-direct approach before.In 2010, after a rash of helmet-to-helmet hits, the league made a midseason adjustment and put the possibility of suspension front and center in an emergency effort to halt the violence. Predictably, defensive players complained -- then, after a week that included $175,000 in fines, nobody was suspended.Since then, a total of 10 players have been suspended for illegal hits and other over-the-top physical play on the field, according to spotrac.com. Four of those suspensions, including Griffins, came in 2013. Another four have come over the past three seasons.One observer believes player safety is only one of a multitude of issues the NFL has to consider when it decides which penalties to levy.As much as the league wants and needs to get rid of dirty plays and players, they dont want to take actions that compromise, or even appear to compromise, the actual contests themselves, said Doug Hartmann , a sociology professor at University of Minnesota, who teaches a course on sports in society. Fines and such, in other words, have much less impact on actual games and outcomes than suspensions or expulsions.---This story has been corrected to fix the name of the website, spotrac.com.---AP Sports Writers Steve Reed in Charlotte, Will Graves in Pittsburgh and Mark Long in Jacksonville contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jordan From China . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Cheap Jordans . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. https://www.fakejordanwholesale.com/ .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Fake Retro Air Jordan . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Clearance Air Jordan . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula.After 59 games and almost two months of action, the IPL reaches a climax on Sunday when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. With the match taking place at their own M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB go in as overwhelming favourites - according to two legends of cricket.Shane Warne and Shaun Pollock will be in Sky Studios for the game, live on Sky Sports 5 from 3pm, and both are struggling to see beyond a Bangalore triumph on home soil. Its a massive boost playing at home and Bangalore have got an absolute furnace down there, Warne told Sky Sports. Its like a fortress. Its very hard for anyone to compete against them and they know the conditions.Theyre going to be fresh, theyve found form at the right time - theyve won five in a row and seven out of eight - Virat Kohlis is on fire, AB de Villiers is on fire now, too, and I cant see anyone challenging RCB at home.Pollock concurs and believes that the team has improved as a unit with each player now understanding their role in the side. De Villiers unbeaten 79 powered Bangalore past Gujarat and into the final I would agree with Warney that RCB are the champions to be, everything is running for them, said the former South Africa all-rounder.Theyve won from strong positions, theyve won from weak positions, and bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal and Shane Watson are fighting for the purple cap.Everyone has found their place and it is clicking together for them. Guys have figured out the roles they can play and theyve grown in confidence.Also, as a bowling unit, when you believe youve got such a strong batting line-up you start to think that you dont actually have to do an amazing job because youve got the strength with the bat to take you through anyway! Virat Kohli is 81 runs shy of 1,000 in this seasons IPL With the likes of De Villiers, Chris Gayle and Watson in their ranks, RCB do not lack for star quality, but one man in particular has shone brightly.Kohli has been fantastic, says Warne. De Villiers, Watson, Gayle, theyve all been fantastic, too, but Kohli has been something special.Indeed, the Indian batsman could finish the tournament with more than 1,000 runs having scored four centuries and six fifties already in this years IPL - another 81 would see him reach the milestone and the Sunrisers need to find a way to nullify him.I think for the Sunrisers, the key is to come up with some plans for the first six overs where they can hopefully pick two wickets up - one of De Villiers and Kohli and the other one, obviously, Gayle, added Pollock. If they dont make early inroads I dont see them having much of a chance. David Warner hit an unbeaten 93 as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Gujarat Lions David Warner has been the main man for the Sunrisers, scoring a remarkable 779 runs so far, and has also captained the side superbly to reach the final.ddddddddddddHes done well, hes got a lot of imagination, Warne said of his countryman. I think hes had a fantastic tournament, unbelievable numbers and led from the front. Hes a dangerous player and hes captained the side very well.Pollock believes that for Sunrisers to stand a chance they will need something special from one of their big names with a good all-round team effort unlikely to be enough to see them crowned champions. Warne was full of praise for fellow Australian David Warner as he inspired Sunrisers into Sundays showpiece I think the key is that the Sunrisers have got potential match-winners and it will have to be one of those guys having a blinder, explained Pollock.Youd often say that if as a team everyone is contributing then you can compete, I dont believe they can. They need someone to have one of the best days of their life.For example, Warner has to have an absolute blinder. I think they need to do everything well and have one guy have an awesome game. Warner has to have an absolute blinder. I think they need to do everything well and have one guy have an awesome game. Shaun Pollock on Sunrisers As a serial winner in his playing days, Warne knows what it takes to triumph when it really matters and believes that, ultimately, it is up to the big players to perform on the big occasion.To win finals and win tournaments your best players, your biggest players, your big stars have to stand up and win you the game, its as simple as that, he said.Everyone else can contribute along the way but your big players - thats why you pay them the big bucks because you know theyll deliver under pressure.Thats how you put your team together and then you know when you get to the final, one of your big stars will have a day out.Watch the IPL final between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad from 3pm, Sunday, Sky Sports 5. Also See: Highlights: De Villiers hits RCB into final Highlights: Warner stars for Sunrisers Get Sky Sports Sky Cricket on Twitter ' ' '