Limbaugh/Checketts bidding on Rams

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http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/rams/2009-10-06-rush-limbaugh-rams_N.htm

I posted this in the St. Louis forum as well, but figured it would be good to post it here as well. If their bid is accepted, I wonder if this team will improve from a Caste perspective?

Rush Limbaugh acknowledges bid to buy St. Louis Rams</span><div>ST. LOUIS (AP) â€" Green Bay Packers fans are known as cheeseheads. Could fans of the St. Louis Rams soon be dittoheads?</div>

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he is teaming up with St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts in a bid to buy the Rams, owners of the NFL's longest losing streak at 14 and just 5-31 since 2007.

In a statement, Limbaugh declined to discuss details, citing a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs, the investment firm hired by the family of former Rams owner Georgia Frontiere to review assets of her estate, including the NFL team.

Limbaugh
also declined to discuss other partners that might be involved in the
bid, but said he and Checketts would operate the team.

"Dave Checketts and I have made a bid to buy the Rams and we are continuing the process," Limbaugh said.

Forbes magazine has estimated the Rams franchise has a value of $929 million.

Frontiere's
children, Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, inherited 60% of the
Rams when their mother died in January 2008. Columbia, Mo., billionaire
Stan Kroenke
owns the remaining 40%. It wasn't clear if the Limbaugh/Checketts bid
was for 100% of the Rams or just the share owned by Rosenbloom and
Rodriguez.

"Our strategic review of our
ownership of the Rams continues," Rosenbloom said in a statement
released late Monday. "We will make an announcement upon the completion
of the process."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined comment. Calls seeking comment from Checketts were not returned.

Limbaugh is a native of Cape Girardeau,
Mo., about 100 miles south of St. Louis. He's so popular among
conservatives â€" fans of his show call themselves "dittoheads" â€" that he
has been called by some the voice of the Republican Party.

Limbaugh, who lives and works in Palm Beach, Fla., once worked for the Kansas City Royals and is an avid sports fan.

In 2003, Limbaugh worked briefly on ESPN's NFL pregame show, but resigned after saying Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb(FSY) was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

Checketts,
53, and his Sports Capital Partners and Towerbrook Capital Partners
purchased the Blues in 2006 from Bill and Nancy Laurie. The Blues have
gradually rebuilt under his leadership and made the playoffs last
season for the first time since 2004.

Checketts
first approached Rosenbloom in early 2009 about possibly buying the
Rams. Eric Gelfand, a spokesman for Checketts, said in June that
Checketts had put together a group consisting of local and outside
investors.

An NFL rule allows ownership of
NFL teams and teams in other sports, but only if they are in the same
market. That would be a problem if Kroenke wanted to become majority
owner of the Rams because he owns the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche.

Checketts' company owns Utah's Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer team. But an NFL spokesman has said the cross-ownership rule does not apply to the MLS.

The
potential sale of the Rams has been rumored since Frontiere's death.
Her children are both involved in other interests and neither has ties
to St. Louis.

The sale has raised concerns in St. Louis, which lost the Cardinals franchise after the 1987 season when Bill Bidwill moved the team to Arizona.

The
NFL passed over St. Louis for the smaller Jacksonville, Fla., market
when it awarded an expansion team in 1993. Two years later, civic
leaders convinced Frontiere, a St. Louis native, to move the team from
Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest market, back to her hometown.

Los Angeles is still without a team, and a loophole in the Rams' lease allows them to move as early as 2014 if the Edward Jones Dome
is not deemed among the top quarter of all NFL stadiums. Though just 14
years old, the dome is fast becoming one of the league's older venues,
and getting it into the top quarter seems unlikely.

Checketts became the youngest person ever to run an NBA team at age 28 when he became president and general manager of the Utah Jazz in 1984. He later ran the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden.<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">Copyright
2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</div></div>
Edited by: Colonel_Reb

I think its a safe bet that they won't have Donovan McNabb at QB!

I hope Rush succeeds in this attempt to purchase a NFL team. If he does succeed it will only be a matter of time before the McNabb issue becomes a matter of focus again. But it would be nice to have a NFL owner who at least might be partially aware and/or bothered by the caste system and care enough to do something about it.

If financial and legal matters are all that concern the NFL, then there would be no impediment to the deal. If, however, the NFL is anything like MLB, the league will have to approve the sale and can veto the deal based on anything they want (as is the case with baseball). And, if the league does indeed have that kind of authority, then there's no way they will allow Rush to have any ownership of an NFL club, ever, and they will point to the McNabb "controversy" as their reason.

Good analysis RW. I'd like to see Limblah own a team, because (as G301 alluded to), he's partially aware of the caste-system (to a small degree)...having accurately pegged "afflete" McNabb as overrated.

I too would be interested to see how a Rush Limbaugh team would pan out. If the Rams become one of the whitest teams in the NFL with 10 to 12 whites starting, would this bring scrutiny? Maybe the scrutiny could be a good thing, of how can they say a half-white team is too white? What about all the 75% plus black teams? It will be interesting to see if this all pans out.

Riddlewire said:

If financial and legal matters are all that concern the NFL, then there would be no impediment to the deal. If, however, the NFL is anything like MLB, the league will have to approve the sale and can veto the deal based on anything they want (as is the case with baseball). And, if the league does indeed have that kind of authority, then there's no way they will allow Rush to have any ownership of an NFL club, ever, and they will point to the McNabb "controversy" as their reason.

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I agree that there's a good chance Limbaugh won't be allowed to own a team, though the controversy may prove helpful to our side. Marge Shott was stripped of her ownership of the Cincinnati Reds because of "politically incorrect" statements she made.

Good ol' Marge Schott...RIP. Man o' man the cultural Marxists couldn't stand her...that's why I was always a fan of hers.

I don't think that a Limbaugh-owned team would necessarily do any favors for marginalized white athletes. It's very common for DWFs to privately espouse the idea that blacks can't play QB while at the same time denigrating any white athlete who deigns to try and play RB or CB. The belief that blacks make for inept quarterbacks is a caste line of thinking as well, just not the kind we care about around here.

jared said:

I don't think that a Limbaugh-owned team would necessarily do any favors for marginalized white athletes. It's very common for DWFs to privately espouse the idea that blacks can't play QB while at the same time denigrating any white athlete who deigns to try and play RB or CB. The belief that blacks make for inept quarterbacks is a caste line of thinking as well, just not the kind we care about around here.

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Exactly!! I think it even more likely that a guy like Rush would over compensate to avoid any perceived hint of racism. I doubt he will ever get to be an owner, I'm sure the anti-Rush loonies are gearing up including the MSM who hates him.

I doubt Limboob would take any part in player personnel if he were to acquire the team. He'd just hand over duties to a cabal of pro-caste flunkies and then perch himself in his luxury box, puffing over-priced cigars and over-inflated ego.

Limbaugh would be a typical Castean owner. The only time he really addressed racial issues is the only time he ever was punished. However, he chose the worst example he could have when speaking about overrated black QBs. All the dreadful black QBs who have failed miserably in the NFL, and he picks Donovan McNabb, who has produced more than any of them?

I agree with Jaxvid- if anything, Limbaugh would do everything to avoid controversy by fielding a Jaguar/Redskin/Buccaneer type of nearly all black roster. I don't think you'd see the Rams continue to be as white as they are now, let alone any whiter.

I've heard Rush speak about attending NFL games on his radio show, and he seemed so sickeningly "wowed" by every single player and the overall DWF, jock-huffing experience.

He'd probably "tow the company line" because he knows nothing about football...and he's constantly falling in line with the zionist-christian RepuliCrats and their pathetic anti-white preachings. His point about McNabb was stupid, and I'm sure he'd field a Shaq Harris-esqe roster.

I'm sure he actually knows the truth about the media and their endless CM war....but he's too much of a woman to speak up.

Limbaugh makes some $30 million a year and lives like a king. He's never challenged the system that has made him so rich before and has no incentive to now. The liberals have tried to make him the face of the Republican Party. Anyone expecting anythingfrom him other thancontinuing to playhis roleof trying to convince Americans that there are vast differences between Democrats and Republicans and between "liberals" and "conservatives"is afflicted with the same "man on the white horse" syndrome that has plagued the "conservative movement" for over 40 years.

Could Limbaugh be any worse than Dan Snyder? Jerry Jones? I doubt it. While I agree there are many topics that are even taboo for him to bring up, and he totally defends Zionism above all else, I have hear him make non-conformist statements when it comes to race. I was surprised when he noted "I didn't see one black person in the crowd during Ted Kennedy's funeral procession" He talked about that for about 30 seconds, and I've heard him allude to race before where other MSM conservative commentators would not.

If he were to get the team, I know it wouldn't be whiter than the teams now, but possibly at the level of the Packers. If he does get the team, and it is as black as the redskins, eagles, or cowboys I would not that I was wrong. While he comes across as a DWF, from my listening is not in favor of the AA/quota thing and has not been at the forefront of promoting blacks whenever possible. It's totally possible he could craft a typical-caste team, I just don't think there's anything that should make us believe that before there's any evidence of it happening. That would simply be conjecture.

Keep in mind that because of his previous comment the media will place enormous pressure on him to acquire a black quarterback to show his contrition. However, I doubt that Limbaugh will take much of a role in personnel other than perhaps an attempt to surround himself with the "best football people" to make decisions or maybe an attempt to lure Ditka back into coaching.

Before Limbaugh briefly had the gig on ESPN, he wanted to be one of the announcers on Monday Night Football. Rush has always called the NFL one of his favorite things.

Not much info here on the issue of League authority on ownership issues. Finding info on NFL rules is easy. Finding info on NFL ownership rules is nigh on impossible. MLB has more authority than other sports leagues, so they can reject a franchise purchase offer for whatever the hell reason they feel like. I've never heard of the NFL having such ability. My guess is that the NFL will produce a mountain of legal documents related to "media issues" (Limbaugh's radio show) that would amount to a conflict of interest.
If, however, the deal goes through and Limbaugh becomes part majority owner, I suspect that he won't have much say in the team-building aspects. He might request "first look" authority on #1 draft picks, but he and Checketts will most likely let a club president take over most of the management decisions. Let's just hope it's not Shack Harris.

I have no use for Limbaugh, but want to reprint what the local rag sneered about him today. This is atiny sampleof what he can expect should his bid become serious:

"Los Angeles should be thankful the Rams left for St. Louis 15 years ago. And it has nothing to do with their NFL-worst 14-game losing streak and 5-31 record since 2007. If the Rams' present is dim, the future could be more dismal.

"Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said in a prepared statement Tuesday that he and St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts have made a bid to buy the Rams. Limbaugh, who grew up about 100 miles south of St. Louis, could be worse as an owner than he was during his short-lived staint as an NFL analyst.

"He was hired in 2003 as an analyst on ESPN's 'Sunday NFL Countdown.' His employment lasted about amonth before he resigned amid controversy over his comments that the media wanted Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to succeed because he is black.

"Could Limbaugh's history of racially insensitive comments prove to be an impediment to hiring minority free agents to the Rams? In the fall of 2003, Limbaugh admitted to abusing prescription painkillers, after which he was periodically drug tested. Maybe his drug abuse will lead the NFL to inlcude team owners in its testing program."

When I listened to Rush Limbaugh, he would often say, "I love the NFL." For some time Rush has been trying to get into the NFL one way or another. In 2000, he applied for a spot on Monday Night Football. Three years later, Rush had a brief stint on ESPN. This year Limbaugh wants to be an owner. I think he would rather be in the NFL than have his political talk radio show.

In the last few days, black sports commentators and pro football players have been blasting Limbaugh as a no-good racist. They say he has no right to own a team. Do you think Rush gets the message? Namely, that most of the players in the sports organization he loves hate his guts. Isn't Limbaugh getting a little old for a child's uncritical adoration of a sport?

while this predictable, consistent, and widespread, racial broadside has been coming from the blacks, Rush has been doing his best (and predictable)neo-con pandering in an attempt to placate them. he repeatedly has stated how much he "loves every player in the NFL" and that he "could only dream about being as talented as the players in the League" and so forth and so on.

of course, none of these limp-wristed panderings have assuaged any of the race-based vitriol from the negro community. at the same time, it shows just how little backbone this big ego really has.

likely this comes as a surprise to no one on this board, however.

sport historian said:

In the last few days, black sports commentators and pro football players have been blasting Limbaugh as a no-good racist.

Click to expand...

What have White sports commentators and football players been saying about Rush?

I've listened to Rush from time to time since around 1991 (mainly in the '90s), even taping his long gone late night syndicated tv show from time to time for playback while getting dressed for work the next day. I was a Limbaugh fan back then, til I tired of his goofiness (and his lame song parodies). Him buying into the NFL won't have any emotional effect on me, just a piquing of my curiosity.

I wonder how much ink the history books will give him compared to say, Fr. Coughlin?

John

I doubt he get near a team. The NFL like all leagues has to approve any owner and with his checkered history he won't be approved. You can't sell a pro team to the highest bidder. Look what is happening in the NHL. I think even Debaratalo was forced to sell the 49'ers because of pressure from the league.

Well, NFL Players' Union executive director DeMaurice Smith has decided to stick his nose into this situation, threatening the league with, I guess, a black walkout or something. They are a union, after all.

NFL Players executive director DeMaurice Smith on Saturday made a move to solidify the union against a bid by conservative talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh as part of a group that aims to purchase the St. Louis Rams.

In an e-mail to the union's executive committee on Saturday specifically addressing Limbaugh's bid, Smith said, "I've spoken to the Commissioner [Roger Goodell] and I understand that this ownership consideration is in the early stages. But sport in America is at its best when it unifies, gives all of us reason to cheer, and when it transcends. Our sport does exactly that when it overcomes division and rejects discrimination and hatred."

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Apparently this man's irony unit is malfunctioning.
I have no reason to cheer this annual african lottery. And maybe he shouldn't be tossing out the big "D" word when the only ones discriminated against in the NFL are whites.

"I have asked our players to embrace their roles not only in the game of football but also as players and partners in the business of the NFL," said Smith in the e-mail. "They risk everything to play this game, they understand that risk and they live with that risk and its consequences for the rest of their life. We also know that there is an ugly part of history and we will not risk going backwards, giving up, giving in or lying down to it."

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Pay particular attention to his plural pronoun usage in the second passage. He is clearly speaking as a negro in that case, and speaking on behalf of other negroes. Apparently, he is unaware that the Players' Union also includes a substantial number of white men, too. Or does he believe that they also once "laid down to" some mythical "ugly part of history"?

This is an odd situation. It's hard to believe that Limbaugh is unaware that he is a polarizing figure among so many. He has to have known any hint that he would be involved in team ownership would cause this kind of reaction. He is either hopelessly naive when it comes to football, which is possible, or he doesn't care. After all, so what if he doesn't get to own a team? He still can afford the best suites in any stadium he chooses.

As the post above shows it is indeed the Negro Football League.