The newest owner in the NFL just could be a portly individual with strong vocal chords and a problem with illegal prescription drugs. No, not Britney Spears. It’s political chatterbox Rush Limbaugh, the despot Teddy Ruxpin who has made a fortune marketing right-wing bravado like Pop Tarts (which is the only fruit he ever eats, apparently).
St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts is trying to put together a group to buy the Rams, and keep them in St. Louis (is this wise?). But Checketts needs more cash than he can currently get his hands on, and Limbaugh is on record as saying that he would like to be involved. And he can afford it — that cigar he’s smoking there is made of mortgage foreclosure statements and aged silver certificates.
From a July, 2008 article in the ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL:
“The Rams would be a great team to have,” Limbaugh said in a phone interview from his Palm Beach, Fla., studio. “I have a lot of friends in ownership in the NFL, and my desire to get involved has not been a secret.”
Limbaugh grew up in Cape Girardeau but said that does not play into his thinking about the Rams. “This is a business decision,” he said.
Limbaugh recently signed an eight-year syndication deal with PREMIERE RADIO NETWORKS estimated to be worth $300 million (although at the President’s Club Dinner in Washington D.C. on May 4, Limbaugh claimed that it was worth $400 million).
I’m no fan of his radio show, preferring as I do to live in the real world. But I think an NFL with Rush Limbaugh as an owner would be fun. First, there’s the inevitable feuding with Jerry Jones (I picture them ramming each other’s Cadillacs at a Dallas intersection), and the large prop containers of OxyContin that will thrown onto the playing field at every Rams away game.
But the real hilarity will not ensue until someone gets injured and the Rams are forced to pick up a free agent quarterback at the last minute. And of course the best quarterback available will be Donovan McNabb.
3:22 pm on June 11th, 2009
Brooks…have you ever given anyone credit for rehab? Limbaugh took the juice for the tremendous pain from his ear problems, he went off air and into rehab and has been clean for years now. Spit out the bone Brooks, you've chewed on it long enough. Give the guy a little credit for beating an addiction. I beat a very difficult one and turned my life around…everyone that knows me is proud of me and happy about my success, Why do you need to continually harp on Limbaugh's past problem..at least he was man enough to go do something about it. I happily give it up to the guy for those accomplishments alone! I wonder if you're honestly just letting his politics and ma$$ive media celebre get to you. Is there jealousy involved Brooksey? I could care less about his political career or his ma$$ive wealth and celebrity status….but I do give him props for getting unhooked on drugs!
SJ
3:28 pm on June 11th, 2009
To be fair, Brooks didn't write this post. As for "harping" on the Limbaugh drug thing, it's the first time I've ever written about it.
And if you think 49er fans are not going to show up to a Rams game dressed like giant OxyContin containers, you're sadly mistaken. — rc
4:06 pm on June 11th, 2009
"Republicans buy shoes too." - Michael Jordan
Don't piss off half your readership with a stupidly partisan post. I come here for teenage tennis player boobs and sports. I'll go to Wonkette if I want liberal snark.
Limbaugh has made a ton of money and absolutely LOVES the NFL, seems like a natural fit. He's no worse for the NFL than Dan Snyder or Jerry Jones.
4:10 pm on June 11th, 2009
Yeah, Limbaugh would be a perfect fit for the NFL. Why, I'm surprised ESPN hasn't tried to hire him as an analyst.
Oh, wait.
4:15 pm on June 11th, 2009
Is it correct that Mr Limbaugh "came clean" with his addiction only after he was caught trying to fill prescriptions illegally? If so, my guess is that sobering fact brought him to rehab; beats jail by a long shot. Plus, I agree with the author's view on this creep. Mr Limbaugh sure likes to dish it out so I'd say it's more than fair play to pitch into him, hard, on any subject/part of his life. He enjoys the spot light very much; well, there's always a price to pay for that yearning and overrated privilege.
5:48 pm on June 11th, 2009
Rush railed for years about how non-violent drug offenders should be in jail. All while HE was a non-violent drug offender.
If he was simply a man with an addiction problem I think a lot more people would lay off of him, but when anti-drug personalities are themselves doing illegal drugs?
Any poke at him is justified in my mind.
6:55 pm on June 11th, 2009
Darva Initiative: You wound me, sir. Wonkette couldn't have come up with "despot Teddy Ruxpin" on their best day.
7:57 pm on June 11th, 2009
…and here I thought I couldn't hate an owner MORE than AL Davis
9:10 pm on June 11th, 2009
“I’m no fan of his radio show, preferring as I do to live in the real world.”
Translation: I read the New York Times, Listen to MSNBC, and haven’t the foggiest…
9:10 pm on June 11th, 2009
Limbaugh tried — on his own — to get into the booth for Monday Night Football when it was on ABC. That fell through when it became clear that advertisers would boycott the show if he was on.
Not only that, his radio syndicator is owned by Clear Channel … a media conglomerate whose future may very well be Chapter 11. Goodbye $300M contract!
9:11 pm on June 11th, 2009
F*** the Rams, f*** Georgia Frontierre, f*** Edward Jones and the Dome, f*** Kurt Warner, f*** Marc Bulger, f*** Rush Limbaugh, f*** the GOP and f*** you too SJ
9:11 pm on June 11th, 2009
BTW, overuse of prescription pain meds like Rush took can result in deafness. Look it up.
Makes that "tremendous pain from his ear problems" look a lot more foolish now doesn't it?
9:25 pm on June 11th, 2009
"I’m no fan of his radio show, preferring as I do to live in the real world."
Dude, you write about sports, an industry full of overpaid prima donnas who would likely be on welfare if they couldn't perform in their respective sports. You're not a fan of his show, fine. But don't try to make it sound like you've listened to it enough to form an opinion. You're just throwing out knee-jerk (emphasis on jerk), uninformed and snide comments about something you know nothing about. Says more 'bout you than Limbaugh.
9:39 pm on June 11th, 2009
Oh, my, so now going after Mr. Limbaugh makes someone guilty of 'liberal snark'? We can't point out how ludicrous he is without being accused of partisanship?Do you people really want to tie the Republican Party up with everything he does? Good luck with that. Limbaugh get ridiculed because he's ridiculous. Not because he's a Republican. Republicans get ridiculed when they leap to his defense.Limbaugh + Rams == comedy gold.
9:41 pm on June 11th, 2009
I cannot believe there are any pathetic pseudo-American jerkoffs left who would openly support Limbaugh. Not surprisingly, the percentage of comments openly supporting him almost match exactly the national average for mentally retarded births - I rest my case.
9:55 pm on June 11th, 2009
For the record, Rush did not take oxycontin FOR his ear problem. His ear (hearing) problem was caused BY oxycontin. A common side effect of opiates is loss of hearing.None of this would be a problem if it weren't for Limbaugh's constant nattering on the "rule of law."
9:57 pm on June 11th, 2009
Brooks I think you need to step into the real world for once and get out of that box you and a lot of other people love to live in.
10:14 pm on June 11th, 2009
Methinks we'll be seeing a lot fewer black players playing for the Rams should Rush become the owner.
10:22 pm on June 11th, 2009
Haha, it almost looks as if Rush posted a bunch of fake coments on here to defend himself. no way will i ever believe people still actually support that mad man. i’m a proud republican, but limbaugh is a disgrace.
10:34 pm on June 11th, 2009
A few left wingers here don't like Limbaugh?? I'm sure he loses sleep over it. lol
10:38 pm on June 11th, 2009
"For the record, Rush did not take oxycontin FOR his ear problem. His ear (hearing) problem was caused BY oxycontin."
For the record you're full of it. You have no idea if the problem was caused by the meds or if his surgery required him to take the meds which he then became addicted to. You don't agree with his politics so you CHOOSE TO BELIEVE that he was addicted before the surgery.
10:40 pm on June 11th, 2009
Liberalism is a disease. I find it hilarious that Limbaugh can rattle the leftwing wackos so easily.
10:42 pm on June 11th, 2009
All right enough with the trolls pretending to be Republicans. Everyone knows real Republicans haven't learned how to use computers yet.
10:42 pm on June 11th, 2009
Limbaugh is too popular and successful to waste time posting here. That's the kind of thing unemployed ex-employees of Air America radio have time to do.
10:48 pm on June 11th, 2009
This is old news. Who cares????
11:37 pm on June 11th, 2009
Rush is great. Liberal men are like girls.
11:41 pm on June 11th, 2009
As long as he puts a winning team on the field, I don't care what his personal politics are.
12:07 am on June 12th, 2009
@ ARC, Correction. Liberal men LIKE girls. Republican men boink boys.
12:33 am on June 12th, 2009
I thought this was a sports news article… Why is the writer acting like such a partisan douche ?
1:39 am on June 12th, 2009
Since when is Rush Limbaugh a politician? He's a commentator. A conservative commentator, but he's not a running member of the Republican party. I'm an independent, and there are areas where I agree with either side, or in a few cases where I find myself agreeing with both. Rush Limbaugh, rather you call him a Republican, a Democrat, or any other party, is an idiot. A racist, sexist, anti-American (yes, I consider hoping the President to fail to be anti-American, because if the President fails the country suffers for it) idiot. I'm glad he's kicked his pain-killer addiction. Now if he could kick that addiction to stupidity he'd be all set.
2:10 am on June 12th, 2009
"Methinks we'll be seeing a lot fewer black players playing for the Rams should Rush become the owner."
Yeah, like the black guy who manages his show, right? You guys are really clueless. Rush said McNabb was being overhyped because of his race (i.e. the racists are in THE MEDIA), and whaddya know, it took McNabb years to really develop and then he still chokes in clutch games. Is Rush politically correct? No. But that's exactly why so many love the guy. But if you're looking for racists and sexists, take a good look in the mirror. You elected a president because he's black, for pete's sake! Policy-wise, there was no real difference between Hillary, Obama, & Edwards. All you did was debate over the babe or the black guy, neither of whom had any substantive experience. But of course it's not "PC" to admit that, right? And Democrats *can't* be racists or sexists, right? Please…
Then you showed your true colors in dragging out every possible personal attack and insult on the only candidate with ACTUAL GOVERNING EXPERIENCE!!!
Get it straight, nitwits: conservatives debate *issues*; you make mean, personal attacks (e.g. Oxycon, teabaggers, slutty stewardess, racists, etc. etc.), support undemocratic changing of laws and votes by liberal judges, and drown out debate of your ideas (e.g. gay marriage being necessary when civil unions offer the same rights, joining the man-made global warming jihad, etc. etc.). Which is understandable. When you can't win a debate on ALL THE FACTS and logic but won't challenge your own indoctrination, of course you're just left with being loud, mean, and personal.
Do any of you have an independent thought you weren't hand-fed by liberal media?
4:38 am on June 12th, 2009
I did find it rather hilarious that Rush acted for nearly a year like his "sudden deafness" was completely random. His fans mourned his shockinginly sad fate … then come to find out it was his Oxycontin addiction that lead to the hearing condition.
4:44 am on June 12th, 2009
And as I devoted Kansas City Chiefs fan, I heartily endorse Limbaugh taking over St. Louis' NFL team.
Now the only question is, will he make his brother David offensive coordinator and move half the home games to Cape Girardeau?
7:56 am on June 12th, 2009
So…? Who really cares? I mean, the man has the money to do what he wants to, so what if he spends it on the Rams? Are you all just jealous that he makes as much money as he does for sitting behind a microphone for three hours a day and you can't get anyone to listen to you for more than 45 seconds? Oh well, who cares what a bunch of blowhards have to say?
As to Limbaugh's PAST drug issues: THE key word here is past folks. I guess since all of you have lived such pristine, lily-white lives you can cast all the stones you want…
Well, say what you want to about my post too, I care less than nothing about it… this conversation is over…
8:26 am on June 12th, 2009
@Popcorn Eater,
Yes, we do like girl and, we eat them like popcorn~~hot & salty;)
BTW-If this creep does get in on the purchase, there will be no left guards, no left tackles and no left outside linebackers.
8:35 am on June 12th, 2009
Wow…so many close minded liberals. It's the left in this country that spews all of the hate. If you would take time to listen to Rush with an open mind you may realize just how right he is about what's happening to this country. Rush only wants Obama to fail because his policies are quickly stealing our freedoms AND all of our money. Unfortunately I think there are enough of you out there that actually believe what this new "regime" is telling you. It's all lies…one day when it's too late for all of us you'll regret believing this drivel and putting this man in the White House. The Constitution is under assault.This government now owns the car companies and the banks. The media as well for that matter. There will be a "come to Jesus" moment for us all, and soon. (I'm sure that comment alone will be fodder for you poorly under-educated and uninformed masses).
9:31 am on June 12th, 2009
I am always amazed when republicans talk about close minded liberals. Because we of course know the good old republicans are bastions of open and honest discussion. Many liberals are close minded but then again so are many democrats and republicans. I believe the reason you see such 'closed mindedness' when Rush is the subject is that he feeds such hatred. He is a peddler of hatred and does little more than feed raw meat to the lowest common denominator in society. HAs he ever made a valid point about some issue or policy? Certainly it goes without saying. But then again even a broken clock is right twice a day.
9:31 am on June 12th, 2009
I doubt he'll play dueling Caddys with Jerry. Rush drives a Maybach.
12:10 pm on June 12th, 2009
Don't all of you libs worry. Before long the government will own all the football teams as well as running everything in America. Then each team will have 2o white players, 20 black players and 13 assorted nationalities. Oh yeah, the Pay Czar will make sure they all make the SAME amount of money. Congrats.
2:17 pm on June 12th, 2009
"I’m no fan of his radio show, preferring as I do to live in the real world"
It's pretty sad that the whole piece was oozing with hate about Rush. Maybe you would want to listen to him from time to time so you would really know what's happening in the "real world" and you can make a better piece commenting on the real story about him being part-owner than filling it up with hate. I can read between the lines you know.
2:34 pm on June 12th, 2009
I've listened to Rush.
He is an entertainer, not factually driven, but opinion driven. You may choose to agree or disagree. I find him to be a great propaganda tool for the ruling class. He is able to convince his listeners, the majority of which are not part of the ruling class, that letting the rich keep more of their money, at the expense of the little guy (most of his listeners), is in their best interest.
And they buy into it.
Pretty amazing really.
Why does a man go on vacation to the Dominican Republic with a bunch of other men and an illegal bottle of viagra?
Hint:It's not to get chicks.
3:03 pm on June 12th, 2009
I come to SBB for light banter about sports and, ummm, oh yeah: the SbB Girls! If I want to read the pointless hatred and bile of political arguments, i can go virtually anywhere else on the blogosphere or watch network TV "news." The venom spewed out about Rush says more about the author than anything else. Keep it politically light, Brooks, keep it light.
3:26 pm on June 12th, 2009
… as if Saint Louis doesn't have enough issues…
3:44 pm on June 12th, 2009
all this rushilingus is hilarious.!
4:27 pm on June 12th, 2009
Rush is nothing more than an actor, His show is fiction..nothing more. I find it funny that people are so willing to defend this phony. The fact of the matter is that this individual cares only about himself. This may also be a statement about the type of people who watch his mind-numbing show.
4:35 pm on June 12th, 2009
I gotta say, right or left, Republican or Democrat, there's a higher percentage of intelligent political comments here on this sports site than there are on most news sites. Interesting.
6:04 pm on June 12th, 2009
do you know why people got on Rush about the OC's. obviously its good he went to rehab, but he had said on his show that people who use them should be deported, and then he turns around and is caught with thousands himself, which would have landed anybody else in the slammer for at least ten years, especially in Florida where it happened because its a police state
6:39 pm on June 12th, 2009
That's right, suck on that big fat tobacco d*** you fat f***. Suck it suck it suck it!!!!!!
8:57 pm on June 12th, 2009
The problem isn't that Limbaugh was breaking the law and became addicted to prescription pills and went to rehab. Lots of people do that and I commend them for it. In fact, I don't think people should be put in jail for abusing their own bodies with drugs, whether alcohol, pot, or paint thinner.The problem is that your favorite blowhard was actively saying that illegal drug users should be put in jail indefinitely just prior to it being discovered that he himself was an illegal drug user….using illegally obtained prescription heroin-substitute.Outright hypocrisy is what makes people revile Limbaugh (and preachers that snort cocaine off the backsides of their male prostitutes while preaching against homosexual activity).
12:24 am on June 13th, 2009
Rush should be in jail. Any normal person would have gone to jail for 2 years for what he did. The problem people have with Limbaugh and his drug addiction is that he is a hypocrite. He rails on about going after drug criminals when it turns out he is one. As far as NFL ownership…that would be great. A new team for everyone to hate.
2:21 am on June 13th, 2009
Jonathan wrote:
"Policy-wise, there was no real difference between Hillary, Obama, & Edwards. All you did was debate over the babe or the black guy, neither of whom had any substantive experience. "
Uh…did someone actually call Hillary Clinton a "babe"?????
*** snerk ***
5:24 am on June 13th, 2009
JohnnyCake
"Rush should be in jail. Any normal person would have gone to jail for 2 years for what he did. "
Hey Johnny Cake, so should all of the tax cheats in the current admnistrations cabinent.
AlwayAmazed
"He is a peddler of hatred and does little more than feed raw meat to the lowest common denominator in society."
Hey AlwaysAmazed, describe a few examples of "hatred" to all the "lowest common denominators" that frequent this site.
HolyChrist
"I cannot believe there are any pathetic pseudo-American jerkoffs left who would openly support Limbaugh. Not surprisingly, the percentage of comments openly supporting him almost match exactly the national average for mentally retarded births - I rest my case."
Hey HolyChrist, what I gleen from your post is that you don't like people who don't think like you…..and if they don't think like you,they are therfore retarded.
Where's the Liberal compassion in regards to tolerance to all?
A far as Limbaugh goes, we are still(who knows for how long)a free Republic founded upon Capitalism so he can do with his money whatever he wishes.
This article by Rick Chandler is just another in the long line of Brooks-like post.
He(Brooks)is truly afraid of hiring,employing,allowing or however they gain the credo to post here, oppposing points of view. It's his blog,he can have whomever he wants to post here. That is his right and perrogative. When you come here to check out the chicks and decide to read the posts, remember that just about(and probably)all of them have a far-left ideology behind them.
I am kind of surprised that there was so many supporters of Limbaugh. When I saw that (at the time)there were 51 posts, I assumed they all were going to negative. What a shock. It was pretty much 50/50. I guess the fact that he has 20 million+ listeners a day does make a difference. Either that or more people that aren't afraid to think are speaking up and letting their voices be heard.
7:50 am on June 13th, 2009
RoB68, don't fool yourself. People mostly post when they feel very strongly about something. You're not hearing from a huge portion of people who choose to ignore this slug. I am a moderate who thinks Limbaugh is slime (just like I think Michael Moore is slime). Limbaugh is a egomaniacal hypocrite whose mindless rants are actually poisoning people's minds. Fortunately, they're typically not minds that are capable of acting on their own. Unfortunately, their votes also count equally.
Just because you have more people fervent with Limbaugh propaganda, doesn't mean that it's a representation of what percentage of people actually support this neoconservative zombie.
9:13 am on June 13th, 2009
brratt, why else would people post? Because they felt weakly about something.
I'm not fooled, but I think you might be.
You stated in your post that you're a moderate. Moderate what? Do you mean independent. I'd like to know where you're coming from.
Just based on the vitriole such as"egomanical hypocrite","slime","mindless","slug" and"poisoning people's minds", I'd say you lean a little to the left of center.
Also you state that Conservatives are not capable of thinking or acting on their own and need him(Limbaugh)to tell them how to vote and "Unfortunately, their votes also count equally."
Brilliant rebuttal,brratt.
10:00 am on June 13th, 2009
Here's something else for you "brratt", between 20-25 million people a week listen to his show. To put that in perspective, the number of people that voted in the 2008 election(almost exact if the overseas military votes had been counted)was 122,394,724.
One other thing, please explain and cite factual examples of "propaganda" if you would or could. Nothing Kafkaesque, just the facts.
4:03 pm on June 13th, 2009
Rush Limbaugh is one very smart, successful fellow. You aren't close to being in his league. He doesn't deserve having you opine about him. Matter of fact, you remind of a tiny dog yapping at his heels.
8:27 pm on June 14th, 2009
My question would be when has Rush been wrong? If you listen to the rest of the liberal media than yes, you may think he is a right-wing crazy. If you listen to his show for more than a day and really listen to what he is saying then you will know he says things that the rest of the liuberal media deems unimportant for us to know. He should buy the Rams change their colors to red, white and blue and have them called the St. Louis elephants. Last thing, show more babes and stay out of the political business.
7:20 am on June 15th, 2009
Funny, my left wing friends accuse me of being conservative. If your goal is to judge me, don't. You don't know me, as I am not a public figure, nor am I the subject of this post. If all you have is to judge someone for having an opinion, then please, refrain from commenting, because you have nothing to add.
I don't know where someone might get statistics on how many listeners this dolt has, but 25M of 125M might make sense. That's about 20%, just a few percentage points short of W's approval rating. We know where he gets his base, apparently.