file a legal action and then youre trying to figure out how to enforce

RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman confirmed Thursday hes been fined by the NFL for his hit on Buffalo kicker Dan Carpenter in last Mondays game against the Bills.Sherman said that the explanation from the league makes it nearly impossible for him to appeal the $9,115 fine. Sherman said the leagues justification in its letter to him was that his hit on Carpenter as he attempted to block a field goal attempt at the end of the first half came after the whistle was blown.Sherman said he wont appeal the fine. It would be a long, thoughtless process, Sherman said. Their logic is impeccable so theres not really a fight. Im still fine with everything.Sherman was not penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play. He was flagged for being offside, but referee Walt Andersons explanation after the game said he didnt believe the contact was excessive enough to warrant an unnecessary roughness penalty.NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino later said that interpretation was incorrect and that Sherman should have received a personal foul on the play, an interpretation that Seattle coach Pete Carroll agreed with.Shermans argument was that while he was clearly offside, he was playing until the whistle, which he said he never heard. Sherman said he wasnt about to give Buffalo a free play knowing that if the kick was made the penalty would have been declined.People dont understand free play rules. The only reason people understand them to any degree because there are so many of them nowadays with (Aaron Rodgers) and guys like that and they dont realize the plays arent called dead until the refs call it dead, Sherman said. And usually when the quarterback sees the rusher coming they spike the ball, the play is over. Thats usually how it goes. If nobody is coming, they get a free play, they take a shot at the end zone. Weve won games like that, weve thrown touchdown passes. But when the other team keeps playing, you keep playing.The non-call on Sherman became the focal point of Seattles 31-25 victory Monday. The lack of a personal foul became crucial to the outcome. Carpenter eventually missed a 54-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Without those three points, Buffalo was forced to try for a touchdown in the closing moments of the game rather than being able to attempt a field goal that could have tied the game.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLJason Dickinson Stars Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Alexander Radulov Stars Jersey . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/gump-worsley-hockey-jersey/ .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Brett Hull Stars Jersey . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Martin Hanzal Stars Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City.MOSCOW -- Seven years after the race of her life at the world track and field championships, Olive Loughnane is still waiting for her prize money.Thats because the first woman across the finish line in the 20-kilometer walk in Berlin in 2009 wasnt the Irish athlete. It was Russias Olga Kaniskina, who was later banned for doping but hasnt returned the gold medal or the $30,000 in cash owed to Loughnane.Ive three young children, Loughnane said. They will be going to college. Its not an insignificant amount. I didnt earn anywhere near the amount of money as an athlete that would allow me to retire.Athletes who are beaten by doped competitors arent only robbed of a moment on the top step of the podium as their national anthem plays, they can also be deprived of large sums of money. In the cases of four Russian and Belarusian dopers who have not paid back prize money from events where they were later disqualified, The Associated Press has found that as much as $410,000 may be owed to dozens of athletes, with some debts going back over a decade.The problem is expected to intensify with the increase in retesting of medal winners samples years after the competition. About 100 athletes from various sports have had their results from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics annulled following new tests with improved techniques.While the Olympics do not award prize money, doping disqualifications usually trigger backdated bans wiping out years of results and earnings from past world championships and other events.In track and field, the problem is particularly serious because the sports world governing body, the IAAF, insists it can only redistribute prize money if the athlete banned for doping pays it back first. However, the IAAFs main weapon to compel dopers to pay back the money is an extension of their bans, which isnt effective if the athletes plan to retire or have been banned for life.In response to questions from the AP, the IAAF would not confirm how many doped athletes owe prize money or how much is owed in total, or how it tries to recover the cash. However, it said the issue was on the agenda as part of reform talks set for the IAAF congress this week in Monaco.We are already consulting the athletes commission and other members of the IAAF family on a viable system that would satisfy all parties. We are confident that the changes and proposals we are compiling will be reflected in the next IAAF Competition Rules, the IAAF said in a statement.Seven years after her race against Kaniskina in Berlin, the long-since-retired Loughnane now compiles crime statistics for the Irish government. Meanwhile, Kaniskina is working as a sports official and may decide that, at the age of 31, its not worth paying back her winnings in order to race again, Russias top walking coach told Russian media this month. Kaniskina earned around $135,000 in prize money at events where she was later disqualified.She hasnt definitely ended her career. Shes still thinking, coach Nikolai Lukashkin told the R-Sport agency, adding that was also the case with another top Russian walker, Sergei Kirdyapkin, who is supposed to pay back a total of at least $90,000 from numerous wins at major competitions after he was banned in 2015.Former senior IAAF leaders have been accused of colluding with Russian officials to cover up doping or slow down cases, including those involving Kaniskina and Kirdyapkin. The IAAF banned its former treasurer and anti-doping head in January, as well as the son of former IAAF President Lamine Diack.Citing those findings, some athletes argue the IAAF should make a one-time payment to clearr prize money debts as a gesture of goodwill.ddddddddddddThis is not only about doping abuse in Russia, this is about corruption in the IAAF, said Trond Nymark of Norway, who finished second to Kirdyapkin at the 2009 world championships but was later upgraded to gold. Of course, itll cost them, but if you think in marketing value, it would probably pay off.Denmarks Joachim Olsen told the AP he was still owed $10,000 from the 2006 world indoor championships, when he originally won bronze in shot put but was upgraded to silver when Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus failed a retest. However, Mikhnevich is banned for life for two doping offenses, so has nothing to gain from paying back over $100,000 in prize money.Like race walking, Olsens event rarely attracts big endorsements, making prize money all the more important.Thats a lot of money. Prize money was something that I would save up. You could have a bad year, injuries and stuff, so I used it as a kind of a backup. You didnt make a lot of money, so I lived in a small apartment and tried to save up, said Olsen, who since retirement in 2009 has become a member of the Danish parliament and is sharply critical of the IAAFs approach.For the individual athlete that got cheated out of a medal and prize money, their concern doesnt seem that big. Its more of an image thing for the IAAF and not a concern for the individual athlete that got cheated out of both a medal and prize money, and thats a real shame, he said.Others are considering a lawsuit.As well as a gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics, Tunisian 3,000-meter steeplechase runner Habiba Ghribi, is owed at least $38,000 from events in which she was beaten by Russias Yulia Zaripova, who was later banned for doping and disqualified.I took (the news) with a feeling of joy, because these titles are now in my legacy for life, but also with frustration at having been deprived of the opportunity to climb the highest stand on the podium, and to hear the national anthem of my country, Ghribi told the AP.Ghribi is threatening legal action to get the money, but isnt certain where to file a lawsuit -- against the Monaco-based IAAF, against Zaripova in Russia or against the organizers of meets held in Switzerland, Sweden and South Korea. The many jurisdictions, combined with a lack of legal precedent, present a stern challenge to athletes who want the prize money they are owed. The long time periods involved also mean some drug cheats have already spent their winnings.First of all youre trying to figure out where to file a legal action and then youre trying to figure out how to enforce it across multiple jurisdictions, sports lawyer David W. Larkin told the AP. The whole thing is an absolute nightmare.While few athletes are eager to pick a legal fight with their sports governing body, one strategy could be to pursue the IAAF for negligently failing to bar doped athletes from competing.If the IAAF did recover prize money through the courts, its rules allow it to subtract its legal costs from the sum that would be passed on to the rightful medalists.Ten years after losing out on a silver medal to Belarusian drug cheat Mikhnevich, Olsen isnt expecting to be paid any time soon. He says the IAAF is letting clean athletes down.Even if I had won the lottery, and I had plenty of money, which I didnt, its more of a principle, he said. They should pay the money to those that actually won it.---Bouazza Ben Bouazza in Tunis, Tunisia, contributed to this report. ' ' '