Rush Limbaugh Bid To Buy St. Louis Rams

[Zealous Donkey 0]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/st...24?OpenDocumentWell, the Rams are destined to leave St. Louis when their stadium lease expires. The only hope I had was that Dave Checketts, owner of the St. Louis Blues NHL team, would buy the Rams. There is no other buyer, capable of buying the Rams, that would keep them in St. Louis. Checkets joining forces with Rush Limbaugh just killed his bid to buy the Rams. There is no way the PC NFL will allow Rush Limbaugh to be part of any ownership team in their league. I am surprised he is even trying, and even more surprised that Checketts doesn't see how this is going to sink his bid before it gains any momentum. In today's environment, you simply aren't allowed to question the MSM narrative. If you openly disagree with BHO policies you are a racist, plain and simply. Limbaugh has refused to play the PC game his whole career as a radio talk show host. He had the audacity to think he could speak his mind openly during a stint as an NFL analyst on ESPN. When he criticized the media for overrating Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donavon McNabb, he was promptly forced to resign amid cries of racism. Limbaugh took this in stride, after all he has been called racist throughout his career for championing conservative causes. The only question that remains is if this will be done behind closed doors or out in the open. My guess is in the current atmosphere the media will not attempt to temper its disdain for Limbaugh. How do you see this playing out???

[Zealous Donkey 0]

My take on the McNabb fiasco. First off, I didn't think Limbaugh was good enough to be an NFL analyst. That said, he did better on ESPN than I thought he would, though I am sure they could have found many many people with greater football knowledge. Why was he hired? I think he was hired because he has strong opinions and isn't afraid to express them. Speaking your mind has not been something the media embraces for quite some time now. You have to stay in lockstep with the MSM narrative whatever that may be at the time. Limbaugh didn't do that and not one person at ESPN had enough courage to stand behind Limbaugh. What did Limbaugh do? He stated that the Eagles recent success had been mainly due to a strong defense and not the play of Mcnabb. He went on to say that positive media coverage of McNabb was because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed in the NFL. At the time he said this not one of his fellow analysts challenged him for being racist. In fact it was obvious they didn't take it that way at all. They all challenged his assessment of McNabb, but none appeared to find his statement racially motivated. McNabb at the time was rated as one of the top three quarterbacks in the league in most of the publications at that time. Statistically, aside from Rushing yards, Mcnabb ranked in the bottom half of NFL quarterbacks. He was most certainly overrated and I don't think anyone could honestly argue otherwise. I thought at the time that McNabb was overrated, but not for the reason Limbaugh gave. But I'll be damned if Limbaugh wasn't proved right in less than 24 hours when he was forced to resign over his comments.

[CaneBrain 95]

I thought Rush Limbaugh's entire point about McNabb was retarded. He called one of the most consistently underappreciated QBs overrated....because the media wants a black guy to succeed?The reality is that the opposite is true. The "media" props up white players in a predominantly black league.Case in point: Jason Sehorn. Jason Sehorn was never more than an average #2 corner. But since he was the only white CB he got tons of endorsement deals, positive coverage, and a vast overrating of his abilities (and then he got exposed in the Super Bowl of all places in 2000).Not only was Rush wrong (look at McNabb's career....the guy is ****ing good and he accomplished a lot personally and team wise) but he was boldly wrong proclaiming the media was favoring a black quarterback when clearly the media favors white guys playing positions dominated by black guys (Mike Alstott, wayne chrebet, etc)So when you say Rush was not qualified to be an NFL analyst, I agree. When you say he had the courage to stand up to the MSM on Donovan McNabb, I say he once again found the ability to make something up.....something that is directly opposite of what is actually true. Classic Rush.He is wayyyyy too controversial to be an NFL owner....the NFL does not need protests outside the stadium every week.

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[mk 11]

more power to rush

i'm gonna pretend this was never written so you and i can remain friends

[Sal Paradise 57]

I'm an eagles fan. mcnabb needs to retire. and that's all I have to say about that.

[CaneBrain 95]

I'm an eagles fan. mcnabb needs to retire. and that's all I have to say about that.

lived in philly from 2000-2004. This is fairly typical. The Eagles have been a crappy team for most of their existence......and have been well above average for McNabb's entire career. Result? Eagles fans hate McNabb. Reason? Insanity.

[akoff 0]

I'm an eagles fan. mcnabb needs to retire. and that's all I have to say about that.

I am a season ticket holder, I don't want McNabb to retire, I just want to stop saying all the stupid things the continue to come out of his mouth. If he would just play and use the typical bull Durham type quotes it would be fine.

lived in philly from 2000-2004. This is fairly typical. The Eagles have been a crappy team for most of their existence......and have been well above average for McNabb's entire career. Result? Eagles fans hate McNabb. Reason? Insanity.

some truth to your comment but lets be honest, He has not been clutch in the championship games and the Super bowl. I don't even blame him for those short comings (Andy overrated Reid gets the blame there) but he is certainly not Manning or Brady.Bottom line is his mouth gets him in a bad place a couple of times every year.

[Zealous Donkey 0]

I thought Rush Limbaugh's entire point about McNabb was retarded. He called one of the most consistently underappreciated QBs overrated....because the media wants a black guy to succeed?

McNabb wasn't underappreciated, he was overrated. As I pointed out, at the time he was rated in the top two or three QBs in most publications, but statistically he was in the middle of the pack, except in Rushing yards.

The reality is that the opposite is true. The "media" props up white players in a predominantly black league.Case in point: Jason Sehorn.

I think you are probably right here, though I think this is mostly a local phenomonom. I do agree that Jason Seahorn was probably overrated, especially later in his career.

Jason Sehorn was never more than an average #2 corner. But since he was the only white CB he got tons of endorsement deals, positive coverage, and a vast overrating of his abilities (and then he got exposed in the Super Bowl of all places in 2000).

I think he was better than average in his prime. His exposure had alot due to him playing in New York, he wouldn't have made such a big name nationally if he had played in .. say.... Seattle.

Not only was Rush wrong (look at McNabb's career....the guy is ****ing good and he accomplished a lot personally and team wise) but he was boldly wrong proclaiming the media was favoring a black quarterback when clearly the media favors white guys playing positions dominated by black guys (Mike Alstott, wayne chrebet, etc)

Mike Alstott stood out because of his running style, not just because he was white, also the publications at the time had Alstott ranked down where his statistics suggested he be, not grossly higher as in McNabbs case. McNabb did later in his career, when healthy, (which wasn't often) to be one of the top QBs in the league. But this was not the case when Limbaugh made his comments. The statistics back up Rush.

So when you say Rush was not qualified to be an NFL analyst, I agree. When you say he had the courage to stand up to the MSM on Donovan McNabb, I say he once again found the ability to make something up.....something that is directly opposite of what is actually true. Classic Rush.

For you to say what he said is the opposite of what is true is to completely ignore the facts. Not to mention the extream sensitivity to race that was made obvious when they forced him to resign.

He is wayyyyy too controversial to be an NFL owner....the NFL does not need protests outside the stadium every week.

Of course the media could make the same case about anyone.

[Zealous Donkey 0]

lots of people were initially worried that checketts would move the blues upon purchasing them. I want to say seattle, but I don't really remember.if the rams can do better elsewhere, more power to rush for trying to facilitate the move.

I don't remember that, Checketts is very popular in St. Louis, and the Blues are going to be good this year, maybe great. I look for them to get crazy good fan support this year. St Louis is a great sports town, the NFL would do well to stay here but the stadium lease they have in St. Louis is terrible and was destined to fail because of the rules the NFL set up. I am sure they will eventually be back out in LA, and St Louis will never again have an NFL franchise.

[Sal Paradise 57]

lived in philly from 2000-2004. This is fairly typical. The Eagles have been a crappy team for most of their existence......and have been well above average for McNabb's entire career. Result? Eagles fans hate McNabb. Reason? Insanity.

no it's because he's black.actually I don't hate mcnabb at all, I just think he's well past his prime and can't stay healthy to save his life, so it'd be better for the team if he'd go ahead and retire.

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

First of all it was Espn/ABC/Disney that fired limbaugh, not the NFL. Who hired and fired him based completely on commercial interests (hired to boost ratings, fired to avoid boycotts). The NFL won't have that kind of consideration. No one's boycotting the NFL, give me a break. Also, it won't even be the commissioner's office that has any say in this, so it won't be the "PC NFL" who gets to decide. Who's allowed to buy a team is 100 percent the providence of the owners, and the NFL owners are, buy and large 1) White 2) rich 3) conservative, so it would be right in their wheel house to allow Rush to buy a team. While there might be some objection to him just because he's controversial, he's timing his bid extremely well. Much like the Crazy Russian Mobbed up billionare that's buying the nets, Limbaugh is making his bid at a time when many of the owners are feeling the crunch of the economic down turn. I know specifically St Louis' economy isn't in the greatest shape. So it's probably not the easiest time for an owner who's inclined to sell an NFL franchise to be able to find people who are capitalized to buy it. So I would Guess if Rush has the highest ( and high enough) bid, that he'll be sold the team no problem. I personally think it would be great and hliarious to have rush be an NFL owner. The NFL needs more brash, outspokeness.. and having him be a boisterous bad guy would be fantastic. And the rams can't get much worse, so it could only help with him buying the team.

[Zealous Donkey 0]

First of all it was Espn/ABC/Disney that fired limbaugh, not the NFL. Who hired and fired him based completely on commercial interests (hired to boost ratings, fired to avoid boycotts). The NFL won't have that kind of consideration. No one's boycotting the NFL, give me a break. Also, it won't even be the commissioner's office that has any say in this, so it won't be the "PC NFL" who gets to decide. Who's allowed to buy a team is 100 percent the providence of the owners, and the NFL owners are, buy and large 1) White 2) rich 3) conservative, so it would be right in their wheel house to allow Rush to buy a team. While there might be some objection to him just because he's controversial, he's timing his bid extremely well. Much like the Crazy Russian Mobbed up billionare that's buying the nets, Limbaugh is making his bid at a time when many of the owners are feeling the crunch of the economic down turn. I know specifically St Louis' economy isn't in the greatest shape. So it's probably not the easiest time for an owner who's inclined to sell an NFL franchise to be able to find people who are capitalized to buy it. So I would Guess if Rush has the highest ( and high enough) bid, that he'll be sold the team no problem. I personally think it would be great and hliarious to have rush be an NFL owner. The NFL needs more brash, outspokeness.. and having him be a boisterous bad guy would be fantastic. And the rams can't get much worse, so it could only help with him buying the team.

Well, what you say would explain why they are moving forward. I still forsee the NFL trying to dissuade this, if for no other reason than they want the team moved to a bigger market. Maybe in the end they won't be able to do much. The bolded is an excellent point, I hope you are right and Limbaugh ends up as part owner of the Rams. Will make for some good times as we wait for the Rams to return to their winning ways.

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[gobears 0]

I hope you are right and Limbaugh ends up as part owner of the Rams. Will make for some good times as we wait for the Rams to return to their winning ways.

Well, they couldn't get worse. They were atrocious against the Niners on Sunday.Since the Eagles like Kolb/Vick; I doubt they'll give McNabb an extension. It would be perfect for the Rams to pick him up as McNabb would be a big upgrade over Bulger and Boller.

[brvheart 1,752]

First of all it was Espn/ABC/Disney that fired limbaugh, not the NFL. Who hired and fired him based completely on commercial interests (hired to boost ratings, fired to avoid boycotts). The NFL won't have that kind of consideration. No one's boycotting the NFL, give me a break. Also, it won't even be the commissioner's office that has any say in this, so it won't be the "PC NFL" who gets to decide. Who's allowed to buy a team is 100 percent the providence of the owners, and the NFL owners are, buy and large 1) White 2) rich 3) conservative, so it would be right in their wheel house to allow Rush to buy a team. While there might be some objection to him just because he's controversial, he's timing his bid extremely well. Much like the Crazy Russian Mobbed up billionare that's buying the nets, Limbaugh is making his bid at a time when many of the owners are feeling the crunch of the economic down turn. I know specifically St Louis' economy isn't in the greatest shape. So it's probably not the easiest time for an owner who's inclined to sell an NFL franchise to be able to find people who are capitalized to buy it. So I would Guess if Rush has the highest ( and high enough) bid, that he'll be sold the team no problem. I personally think it would be great and hliarious to have rush be an NFL owner. The NFL needs more brash, outspokeness.. and having him be a boisterous bad guy would be fantastic. And the rams can't get much worse, so it could only help with him buying the team.

I was coming here to basically say this... so now I have to type less... thanks BIGd!The majority of owners are definitely conservatives AND Rush will be good for football. Kindof like Al Davis is 'good' for football, but terrible for the Raiders. Rush however, unlike Davis, will probably make better football decisions.

[Balloon guy 158]

Now, I'm going to go back. I realize some of you may not know what this is all about. We gotta set the table here. I don't want anybody out of context on this. It was actually 2003, and it was on ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown, and I was on that show for five episodes until this happened. Tom Jackson, they're talking about McNabb. There were two segments on McNabb that day. Tom Jackson said, "I don't think that benching McNabb is an option that they see right now. He'll have to lose a lot of football games before he's put on the bench. I'd like to look again at the supporting cast. McNabb is struggling. I'd be amazed if they don't come out today, run that football with whoever you have, Buckhalter, Duce Staley, run that football, give this guy a break at quarterback." See, the whole tone here, he was not playing, he had a lousy start to the season, so everybody was wondering, "What's wrong with McNabb?" And nobody knew. So then Chris Berman threw it to me.RUSH ARCHIVE: I've been listening to all of you guys, actually, and I think the sum total of what you're all saying is that Donovan McNabb is regressing, he is going backwards -- TOM JACKSON: Mmm-hmm. (Nodding) RUSH: -- and my... I'm sorry to say this, I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern on the NFL. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. TOM JACKSON: Mmm-hmm. (Nodding) MICHAEL IRVIN: (Nodding) RUSH: We're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't really deserve. The defense carried this team, I think, and he got credit for it. TOM JACKSON: But Rush -- But Rush somebody went to those championship games. RUSH: They went. TOM JACKSON: Somebody went to those Pro Bowls. Somebody made those plays that I saw running down the field, doing it with his legs, doing it with his arm. He has been a very effective quarterback for this football team over the last two or three years -- RUSH: Yeah, but you take -- TOM JACKSON: -- and they didn't have any more talent then than they do now.RUSH: Oh yes they did: on defense. On defense, they did. MICHAEL IRVIN: (Nodding) TOM JACKSON: (Nodding) Oh, on defense they did. I'm talking on the offense side of the ball. RUSH: Well, that's what I'm saying. I think he got a lot of credit for the defensive side of the ball-winning games for this team. STEVE YOUNG: But I'll tell you what. I'll say it even more strongly, Tom. When they're winning, nobody makes more plays -- TOM JACKSON: Right. Than Donovan McNabb. STEVE YOUNG: -- with his arm than Donovan McNabb. That guy is one of the best in the league at making plays, but making plays does not win championships. Running the offense does. So at some point -- TOM JACKSON: Gotta run the offense. STEVE YOUNG: -- I think that Koy Detmer looks like a better option because he'll go in there, drop back, and throw the ball correctly. CHRIS BERMAN: Isn't it odd that last year with the broken leg -- I know it was Arizona -- but the one game he was in the pie, he looked great. STEVE YOUNG: He had to run that offense. TOM JACKSON: So, Rush, once you make that investment though -- once you make that investment in him, that's a done deal. RUSH: I'm saying it's a good investment. Don't misunderstand. I just don't think he's as good as everybody said he has been. MICHAEL IRVIN: Rush has a point. RUSH: That was Michael Irvin there at the end: "Rush has a point." It was Steve Young talking about McNabb not managing the offense well, and maybe Koy Detmer ought to be given the ball. This happened on a Sunday. The firestorm didn't happen 'til Tuesday, when the Philadelphia print media, I think every columnist wrote about it. Nothing was said later on ESPN that day or on their Monday pregame show. It never came up, I was told, in any of the production meetings for those shows. Then on Tuesday, it's in the Philadelphia sports media, and it just hit. On Wednesday, I got a call from ESPN. They said, "It's either you or Tommy. Tommy says if you come back, he's not." Tom Jackson. "Well, this is not worth that." So I fled the coop. Then McNabb had his press conference that day, and he said, "Why do people bring race into this? I'm a quarterback in the NFL." And now ever since he got to the Super Bowl, he's been a black quarterback. Ever since the Eagles made the Super Bowl, he's been a black quarterback. He's going to be on HBO tonight talking about the trials and tribulations of being a black quarterback. It has taken four years, but the point that I originally made finally is now being acknowledged and confirmed. And it wasn't racist and it wasn't even critical of McNabb for race. It was a comment that was just targeting the media, because sports media is like every other media: they're a bunch of leftists; they're liberals; they have this superiority about them; their great social conscience, and all that. So it is what it is, folks.

Just to give you the make up of what happened with Rush and McNabb

[Balloon guy 158]

A collection of quotes by Rush about McNabb during and before the whole fiasco:

Quotes from Rush on McNabb October 1, 2003 "This thing is alive and kicking today because the Philadelphia sports media and the newspapers decided to kick it up. There was no immediate reaction among fans or viewers that I heard of. We had no phone calls here about it." "My point was that it would be a shame if these black assistant coaches ended up being used as pawns simply to keep the league out of court. I was very sympathetic to the black head coach premise and black assistant coaches in the league. Nobody commented about that. Nobody reacted to it at all - and nobody puts it in context with this McNabb business." "If the sports media are going to get upset with me for saying that their desire for black quarterbacks to do well might influence their opinion and coverage of McNabb, I'll take it back and say, 'Okay, you're not interested in black quarterbacks doing well.'" "My comment was actually a comment aimed at the media, not even at McNabb. It's not by any stretch of the imagination a putdown. It doesn't say McNabb is bad." "It's clear that many of the people writing about this story have no real experience listening to this radio program and probably haven't even heard some of the other things that I have said on this ESPN show. My essay in the first week of this ESPN show came to the defense of black coaches in the NFL." "I'm not the one that's even introduced race in this, if you want to know the truth. You can go back. You can read Philadelphia sports media last year, the year before, and you can see that guys have been writing about the great things that Donovan McNabb's success means in a racial context." "What is it when the sportswriters automatically and in unison, in lockstep, agree with Martha Burk when she makes her claim about Augusta National? Is that not political when these liberal sportswriters demand that Augusta change its private membership policy and admit women?" "Liberal sportswriters have pushed the notion that it's unfair that there haven't been more black quarterbacks, and I agree with that. I have simply said that their desire for McNabb to do well has caused them to rate him a little higher than perhaps he actually is." "This was a discussion on what's wrong with the Eagles and what's wrong with McNabb. And from that, why, you would think that I had gone back and wished for the South to have been successful and everything that goes along with that. I mean, it's literally incredible." "I was comparing McNabb's reputation on the field to his reputation in the media. The media has portrayed Donovan McNabb as a great quarterback, and they have credited him almost exclusively with the Eagles' success, and I've always thought that there were more components to the Eagles' success than just the quarterback." "At one point we didn't have enough black quarterbacks. Well, now there are quite a number of black quarterbacks and it's my opinion that the sports media, being liberals just like liberal media is elsewhere, have a desire that black quarterbacks excel and do very well so that their claims that blacks are being denied opportunity can be validated." "I guess if you listen to the elitist liberal sports media, I nor anybody else who hasn't been somehow close to the game or played it or whatever, shouldn't be on a program where these items are discussed." "Fans are often wrong. Everybody disagrees with everybody when it comes to opinions expressed about practically everything, including sports." "If anybody is entering politics into this, it's the sportswriters, not me. I have studiously avoided it because I know people are laying in wait for it." "You know, the critics here have a little bit to explain themselves. I think they have some questions to answer. Who is entitled to speak about these things on the media or privately or publicly? Who decides that? What is the criteria for determining somebody's value or worth in this regard?" "These are the people who claim to be the most tolerant among us. This is the compassionate left who claim to have the biggest hearts and the biggest degree of understanding, but they're the ones who are the least tolerant." "You think I'm all wet on this. So what? I'm all wet. In your mind, I'm all wet. I'm wrong. Whoopee-doo! You know, why not leave it at that? People who think I'm wrong, think I'm wrong. But it's gone way beyond that." "They can make all the references to the race of athletes and what it means to the community and what it means to the black population of the country and how many kids look up to them. They can do it all day long, but nobody else can." "My point Sunday on ESPN was that the defense of the Eagles, I think, deserves a lot of the credit for this team's success. It's a sports opinion, for crying out loud - and I think it's an accurate one." "For those of you, by the way, who are saying, 'Rush, what were you thinking?' I thought about this the night before. I weighed it, I balanced it, but you know what I decided? Look, they brought me in to be who I am. This is what I think. It's a sports issue. It's a sports opinion." "This is not by any stretch of the imagination the end of the world. None of this stuff is. To start balancing and weighing what I say versus the political correctness requirements that are out there? Why, I don't do that here so why should I do it anywhere else? Let the chips fall." "You know, this is such a mountain made out of a molehill. So much needs to be said here. I guess at the top of the list would be that we supposedly have freedom of speech in this country, but if you don't say what people who consider themselves the Arbiters of What Can Be Said agree with, then they want to come after you with everything they've got and try to humiliate you and take a stab at your reputation and otherwise get your mind right."

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

Also, it's not like Rush is going to be the majority owner/face of the franchise. I imagine his share and involvement will be much like Gloria Estefan's is for the miami dolphins.Quick edit: I heard that Rush said that he and Chekkets would run the team, so maybe I'm wrong.

[strategy 4]

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[SAM_Hard8 50]

Checketts did some amazing things for the Blues when he took over. They went from having no talent and no farm after the lockout to playoff-bound with a top-5 farm system this last season. He basically just recruited John Davidson and made him the face of the front office. JD, in turn, hired and retained some really great people as well.I forgot to mention earlier... Checketts isn't really from St. Louis, and I assume Rush isn't either. There's got to be a third big name to their group from St. Louis if it's going to work.

Rush is from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Down the river from St. Louis.

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

Rush is from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Down the river from St. Louis.

I knew he got his radio start in missouri. I don't know why on earth I know that (maybe from " Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot") but I do.

[strategy 4]

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[Zealous Donkey 0]

Checketts did some amazing things for the Blues when he took over. They went from having no talent and no farm after the lockout to playoff-bound with a top-5 farm system this last season. He basically just recruited John Davidson and made him the face of the front office. JD, in turn, hired and retained some really great people as well.I forgot to mention earlier... Checketts isn't really from St. Louis, and I assume Rush isn't either. There's got to be a third big name to their group from St. Louis if it's going to work.

Rush is originally from Cape Girardeau, MO. which is just 100 miles south of St. Louis.

[slink 1]

Can't see the LA fans embracing this team after Georgia stole the SuperBowl win from them.