"My wife packed up and left me in the middle of the night. Just like the Baltimore Colts". - Slap Maxwell ( direct result of actions by the Irsay family)
I was not going to do this because it was talked to death. But SportsGuy alerted me to Rush's personal response and I felt I had to say something. Enough is Enough as Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand used to sing.
I have never heard so much fuss generated over somebody owning 1/3 of anything. I love the NFL but I don't ever recall knowing anybody who owned 1/3 of a team because those guys rarely make the news. Its the splashy owners who make news. Its the guys who hold communities hostage (Art Model, The Irsays) . Its the guys who create a circus atmosphere (Al Davis). Guys who overstep their bounds ( Jerry Jones) Its the guys who have owned NFL teams for generations (Miras, Rooneys, Browns, Halases.) All these guys have one thing in common. They themselves or they represent a family that has a majority stake in an NFL team. Nobody makes news owning less than 51%. Nobody. Except Rush.
I have always been a fan of media. Hence my study in Communications. Always curious why things are slotted the way they are. Why things are so homogeneous in different territories etc. Rush has a very distinct opinion. Rush also has a huge radio audience. Here is a question I hope some of you consider. Is that opinion entirely his own and the audience flocked to it or did he craft his opinion to attract that large audience?
Rush hates the Left. But there are many people who hate the Right. He speaks to a certain part of society. And he gets compensated for delivering that audience to his advertisers. Rush was brought on board for his money and his interest in football. He just happens to sprout off an opinion for a living. That opinion has made him one of the wealthiest opinion givers ever. Next to Barack Obama whose opinion is the world should live under Marxism. Remember, Rush is not a politician. He does not make decisions on public issues. He does not cover news stories looking for facts. All he does is talk about topics and gives his slant.
If you still do not get what I am trying to say about controversy as a modus operandi please view the 30 second video I included in Multiply about why people listen. All I am trying to say is , once money is involved be wary that anything you are getting is truly founded on principles and values. That's why I think blogs are important to discourse. I go on here and I try to be as "me" as I can be. I don't care to placate any kind of demographic. If you read me mocking rap then that is my personal belief. I have no editors to tell me how to shape my message. I will not swear or place any racy content. The audience I am looking for will get turned off by anything like that.
I say many times that you will not agree with everything I say nor will I agree with anything you say. But if something is decently done, agree or disagree you can learn something from it. We all have different perspectives and we all have different reasons for processing the same information in our brains to come up with different conclusions.
Some of you know I favor the Miami Dolphins. Off season news for the Dolphins was all these celebs like Venus and Serena Williams, Gloria Estefan and Jimmy Buffet owning a small stake in the Miami Dolphins. So what? Actually Jimmy Buffet's beer now is what the stadium is named after. In a perfect world the stadium would be named after Don Shula but I digress.
A man whose football perspective I respect is Jeremy Green. He has no real issue with Rush wanting to own an NFL team. I really love his point. Which is How can the NFL owners wash themselves of Rush when it was the NFL owners themselves, a group that required they be slapped with the Rooney Rule because they could not live up to it left to their own devices.
Speculation that Rush will bring his politics into the St. Louis Rams have as much basis as Serena bringing her serve to the passing game of the Dolphins
Ed
*************************************************
Audio attachment included in Multiply of Colin Cowherd and Larry King discussing Rush Limbaugh.
Links:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477021697942920.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel (Rush's side)
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AuL5SPDDH8lelkziwdcS_7tDubYF?slug=dw-limbaugh101309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Wetzel
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AvPJ7sZzx7pTf1WeGHzM4prxxLsF?slug=jc-limbaughowners101309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Baltimore-backstabber-Irsay-comes-out-against-Li?urn=nfl,195944
Generic disclaimer: If you are viewing this post in Livejournal, Blogspot , Email or Dan Patrick/ CNNSI and you can not find videos or audio or files or pics . Please go here http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal and look for corresponding date of this post. Thank you
The Race Card, Football and Me My critics would have you believe no conservative meets NFL 'standards.' By RUSH LIMBAUGH David Checketts, an investor and owner of sports teams, approached me in late May about investing in the St. Louis Rams football franchise. As a football fan, I was intrigued. I invited him to my home where we discussed it further. Even after informing him that some people might try to make an issue of my participation, Mr. Checketts said he didn't much care. I accepted his offer. It didn't take long before my name was selectively leaked to the media as part of the Checketts investment group. Shortly thereafter, the media elicited comments from the likes of Al Sharpton. In 1998 Mr. Sharpton was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay $65,000 for falsely accusing a New York prosecutor of rape in the 1987 Tawana Brawley case. He also played a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot (he called neighborhood Jews "diamond merchants") and 1995 Freddie's Fashion Mart riot. Not to be outdone, Jesse Jackson, whose history includes anti-Semitic speech (in 1984 he referred to Jews as "Hymies" and to New York City as "Hymietown" in a Washington Post interview) chimed in. He found me unfit to be associated with the NFL. I was too divisive and worse. I was accused of once supporting slavery and having praised Martin Luther King Jr.'s murderer, James Earl Ray. Next came writers in the sports world, like the Washington Post's Michael Wilbon. He wrote this gem earlier this week: "I'm not going to try and give specific examples of things Limbaugh has said over the years because I screwed up already doing that, repeating a quote attributed to Limbaugh (about slavery) which he has told me he simply did not say and does not reflect his feelings. I take him at his word. . . . " Mr. Wilbon wasn't alone. Numerous sportswriters, CNN, MSNBC, among others, falsely attributed to me statements I had never made. Their sources, as best I can tell, were Wikipedia and each other. But the Wikipedia post was based on a fabrication printed in a book that also lacked any citation to an actual source. I never said I supported slavery and I never praised James Earl Ray. How sick would that be? Just as sick as those who would use such outrageous slanders against me or anyone else who never even thought such things. Mr. Wilbon refuses to take responsibility for his poison pen, writing instead that he will take my word that I did not make these statements; others, like Rick Sanchez of CNN, essentially used the same sleight-of-hand. The sports media elicited comments from a handful of players, none of whom I can recall ever meeting. Among other things, at least one said he would never play for a team I was involved in given my racial views. My racial views? You mean, my belief in a colorblind society where every individual is treated as a precious human being without regard to his race? Where football players should earn as much as they can and keep as much as they can, regardless of race? Those controversial racial views? The NFL players union boss, DeMaurice Smith, jumped in. A Washington criminal defense lawyer, Democratic Party supporter and Barack Obama donor, he sent a much publicized email to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying that it was important for the league to reject discrimination and hatred. When Mr. Goodell was asked about me, he suggested that my 2003 comment criticizing the media's coverage of Donovan McNabb—in which I said the media was cheerleading Mr. McNabb because they wanted a successful black quarterback—fell short of the NFL's "high standard." High standard? Half a decade later, the media would behave the same way about the presidential candidacy of Mr. Obama. Having brought me into his group, Mr. Checketts now wanted a way out. He asked me to resign. I told him no way. I had done nothing wrong. I had not uttered the words these people were putting in my mouth. And I would not bow to their libels and pressure. He would have to drop me from the group. A few days later, he did. As I explained on my radio show, this spectacle is bigger than I am on several levels. There is a contempt in the news business, including the sportswriter community, for conservatives that reflects the blind hatred espoused by Messrs. Sharpton and Jackson. "Racism" is too often their sledgehammer. And it is being used to try to keep citizens who don't share the left's agenda from participating in the full array of opportunities this nation otherwise affords each of us. It was on display many years ago in an effort to smear Clarence Thomas with racist stereotypes and keep him off the Supreme Court. More recently, it was employed against patriotic citizens who attended town-hall meetings and tea-party protests. These intimidation tactics are working and spreading, and they are a cancer on our society.
Mr. Limbaugh is a nationally syndicated talk radio host.
Cole
BOSTON – When it comes to firebrand radio host Rush Limbaugh, don’t expect the NFL to be in a hurry to take his money.
On Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell put the divisive Limbaugh’s possible bid to buy the
St. Louis Rams on life support. In essence, the good-time-loving NFL wants no part of a guy who could hurt the brand. "I’ve said many times before, we’re all held to a high standard here and I think divisive comments are not what the NFL is all about," Goodell said of Limbaugh’s history for controversial remarks during the league’s annual fall meetings. "I would not want to see those comments coming from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL, absolutely not."
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Falcons' energy comes straight from the coach Oct 16, 2009 Saban still influencing the pro game Oct 13, 2009 In short, Limbaugh can go back to the microphone and continue to talk politics, economy and social order all he wants. When it comes to joining the NFL, the closest he’ll get is buying a season ticket.
Limbaugh, teaming with
St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts for the NFL bid, has received plenty of public opposition to the potential move. New York Giants defensive end Mathias KiwanukaHYPERLINK "http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7781/news;_ylt=ApDEGZAE87_2thLCKzkYLN_sYNAF"(notes) is among current NFL players to voice their opposition. Now, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are speaking out against the move. The possible short-circuiting of a bid is nothing new for the NFL, which vets prospective owners just as thoroughly as players. Just ask Howard Milstein, a New York City real estate mogul and then-part owner of the NHL’s
New York Islanders, who in 1999 tried to buy the Washington Redskins. One of the problems for Milstein is that he was litigation happy, willing to drop a lawsuit the way strippers drop their clothes. In that way, Limbaugh is in a similar predicament. The NFL doesn’t need his money; it has plenty of billionaires willing to buy teams.
Furthermore, it doesn’t need somebody who will thrive on insulting the audience. Now, before you think this is a political comment, the same goes for the left. If you think the NFL wants
Michael MooreHYPERLINK "http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5158/news;_ylt=AiFx45JIWYWPblMfW6JA0c_sYNAF"(notes) as an owner, think again. Film producer Harvey Weinstein, talk show host Rachel Maddow and the Dixie Chicks probably aren’t too welcome, either. "I can’t vote for that,"
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said. "There’s no way I would go for that, for the comments he has made that are out there and everybody knows. I’ve met Rush one time and he seemed like a great guy, but I wouldn’t. The comments are insensitive and inappropriate. I could talk to Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell and Dwight FreeneyHYPERLINK "http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5897/news;_ylt=AjLH8Re3JMqmQz7N9IzxJJvsYNAF"(notes), but I know already. I wouldn’t feel comfortable in voting for him." Said another owner who didn’t want to be identified: "We don’t need to go there. Look, we haven’t even started to go through the process with the Rams who they’re going to sell to. We’re months away from knowing anything. But really, we don’t need that."
For all the hard-hitting and violence of the NFL, the reality is that the league likes the benign a lot more. It’s like when singer Glenn Campbell had his show in the 1970s and was going against the likes of the Smothers Brothers. When Campbell’s producers urged him to take on political topics, he refused. He wanted his show to be an escape, not an agitator. As a result, he had much higher ratings.
And folks, the NFL is all about ratings (duh). This isn’t even about how the players or the NFL Players Association or anybody really feels about Limbaugh. It’s about providing an escape from the likes of Limbaugh. Keep the people happy as they watch and, most importantly, spend. The NFL is the Disney World of sports and just as Disney makes sure that none of the paying customers wear anything out of line, the NFL restricts folks from saying anything out of line (
just ask Jerry Jones). Certainly, Limbaugh has said plenty of things to upset plenty of people in this country.
His comments in 2003 about Donovan McNabbHYPERLINK "http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/4650/news;_ylt=AtCLK3TPqIpjT_DiojDMIUXsYNAF"(notes) are a prime example, forcing ESPN to dump him faster than it got rid of "Playmakers." Literally. In fact, Limbaugh has turned his style of speak into an art form, earning himself a $400 million radio contract and an estimated net worth of more than $1 billion. It made him rich enough to be considered for an ownership group.
On Tuesday, however, shortly after the Rams ownership made a presentation about where they are in the sale process (they’re not even sure they are going to sell at all), Goodell put the idea of Limbaugh in perspective.
Basically, he ended it.
Jason Cole is a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jason a
question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast. Updated Oct 13, 4:41 pm EDT Buzz up!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477021697942920.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu02IkTK6gY&feature=related
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