WARD WON’T BE FINED FOR RIVERS HIT

Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward says he’s been baffled the last two weeks when he’s been fined for big hits that didn’t draw penalty flags. There’s good news for Ward this week: He won’t be fined for his latest brutal hit that didn’t draw a penalty flag. Ward blowed up Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers on Sunday, knocking Rivers out for the season. But Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the league has ruled that the hit was clean, and Ward won’t be fined for it. This time, the league’s review of the tape was consistent with what the officials ruled on the play: Even if there was harm, there was no foul. Everyone agrees that Ward is one of the most physical receivers in the league, and some argue that Ward crosses the line from “physical” to “dirty.” But the league says the play that broke Rivers’ jaw was just a good, clean, hard block.