RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman ripped into the NFL on Thursday, questioning the leagues officiating and saying the decline in television ratings is due in part to the league simply not being fun anymore.Sherman touched on a number of topics, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, but most of his ire was directed at NFL officiating. Sherman wasnt so much upset with the officials, but with the rule book that he believes is too challenging.You have a bunch of rocket scientists writing rules for a simple game. Like I said before, they say they ask coaches and players about rules and rule changes but they really dont take what they say into account because the game is entirely too difficult to officiate, Sherman said. To be written by coaches and players, to be influenced by coaches and players, this game would be a lot more simplified for the refs.Sherman was critical of the calls after Seattles 25-20 loss to New Orleans last Sunday. The Seahawks were flagged for 11 penalties versus just two for the Saints. A number of those penalties were called on Seattles secondary. Safety Earl Thomas was flagged for illegal contact, cornerback DeShawn Shead was called for defensive holding that kept a scoring drive alive for New Orleans, and Sherman was called for defensive holding on a key third down in the fourth quarter.But what seemed to irritate Sherman the most was a pair of possible calls that were not made. New Orleans appeared to twice get away with offensive pass interference in the second half. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said he had discussions with the league about the non-calls but would not elaborate.There are some other things that happened in that game that we learned from, Carroll said. Like I told you, I wanted to gain some information on how they discern the action between the receivers and (defensive backs) and what was going on there. It was a good exchange.Sherman was more than happy to say the league informed the team those plays should have been penalties on the Saints.We probably lead the league in NFL apologies the next day, Sherman said.As for the ratings decline, Sherman said players are allowed to show they are having fun in other leagues but the NFL has regulated that element out of the game.Every other league you see players have a good time, he said. Its a game. This isnt politics. This isnt justice. This is entertainment and theyre no longer allowing the players to entertain. Theyre no longer allowing the players to show any personality. Any kind of uniqueness, any kind of individuality because they want to control the product. They want to control the messaging.Sherman said he believes its hypocritical that the league says its crackdown on players having fun is to be good influences for kids.Thats their biggest ploy is that you dont want to be a bad influence to kids. You dont want to be a bad role model. And I can agree with that, Sherman said. But in the same breath you cant say Budweiser is the official sponsor of the NFL and were trying to influence kids. There is a ton of hypocrisy but it doesnt matter because we dont control it.Game notesDE Michael Bennett underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a cartilage injury in his right knee. Hes expected to be out two to three weeks. ... LT Bradley Sowell (knee) was a limited participant in practice Thursday. If he cant play Monday rookie George Fant will make his second straight start. ... QB Russell Wilson (pectoral/knee) was a full participant in practice after being limited last week due to a pectoral injury.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFLWholesale San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. 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"His juice; his aggression all night long.Power Five conference commissioners want to change NCAA rules to give athletes more time away from team activities, including no longer counting travel as an off day, a mandatory seven-day break after the season and an additional 14 off days from athletic activity during the academic year.The agreement in concept was announced Thursday by the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference. The leagues said they believed they had found the right balance to help tens of thousands of athletes with a proposal they are calling Flex 21. The extra 21 days off would be in addition to the current mandatory off days, and could be tailored to fit each teams schedule with input from coaches and athletes.Formal proposals still need to be submitted, but the conferences could vote to turn them into NCAA rules at the next convention in January.College sports leaders have been looking into changes to ease the time demands on athletes for several years. At the last NCAA convention, the issue was delayed so more research could be done, including a survey of athletes from all sports. Conference officials seem eager to provide more benefits to athletes at a time when college sports is under legal and public pressure to make changes, including a push to pay athletes. Led by the College Athletes Players Association, members of the Northwestern football team made an attempt to unionize that ultimately failed.NCAA members schools and conferences have in recent years agreed to raise the value of athletic scholarships to cover the federally determined true cost of attendance that goes beyond tuition, books, room and board, and fees. They have also guaranteed four-year scholarships for many athletes and given athletes more say in making rules.We heard from our students that they would like more certainty in their schedules in order to engage in other activities, the commissioners said in a joint statement.dddddddddddd We recognize there will need to be a level of flexibility and reasonableness in carrying out these changes, especially with regard to travel, but students deserve time off and we want athletic departments to work in a sensible and appropriate way to provide it. We want administrators to have some degree of flexibility in implementing these rules, but they must be mindful that rest is important to a students health, in addition to their athletic and academic performance.Currently, athletes are generally limited during the school year to 20 countable hours toward their sports per week, with one day off. Countable hours mostly cover practices, competition and conditioning, but does not count travel to and from events. The commissioners proposed expanding the definition of required athletic activities to include but not be limited to activities such as media requirements and mandatory community service.The proposal also includes a mandatory free-time block of eight hours overnight.The 14 extra off days will be on top of the current required two calendar days off per week outside the season. The additional 14 days can be used during the season if agreed to by coaches and athletes.We believe we have found the right balance between helping students participate in sports while also providing them with more down time, the commissioners said. Different sports have different demands and we think the concepts weve agreed to will help tens of thousands of students achieve more balance as they pursue their academic and athletic commitments.Cheap JerseysChina NFL Jerseys[/e, the commissioners said. Different spll Jerseys ' ' '