“We’re not Americans, we’re Africans who happen to be in America. We were kidnapped and brought here against our will from Africa. We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock – that rock landed on us.” quote by Malcolm X .
Business entrepreneur and mogul Dave Checketts . Already an owner of the NHL’s St Louis Blues and Real St Lake of the MLS . Checketts through his company SCP Worldwide are seeking to pursue a bid to become the owners of the NFL’s St Louis Rams. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/Phil Dourber ….
As no doubt many of you may well have been made aware , conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and former New York Knicks Executive Dave Checketts are teaming up together to make a bid for the NFL franchise , the St Louis Rams.
Now, I won’t condone Limbaugh for his political views and thoughts on a number of issues in or outside his so called profound realm of knowledge. Of this I’m certain however , having Limbaugh as in owner in the NFL , will be akin to having a closeted racial bigot in the midst of a group of minorities. With the antagonist now telling you that he’s merely a businessman looking to make a buck. The NFL and its board will no doubt have a great deal of thinking to do on the matter , should Limbaugh’s and Checketts’ bid come up for final consideration as to meeting the criteria set for becoming an owner of an NFL franchise. And though the two are part of a partnership group looking to purchase the team from the Frontiere family. They are by no means the only parties with a vested interest in purchasing the team. It’s been said that there are as many as five potential bidders interested in acquiring the franchise.
When one considers that the makeup of the NFL with regards to its playing personnel and in part its coaching personnel is in large part represented by a specific racial minority. It does beg the question what will a number of players think of the potential of having an owner such as Limbaugh within their midst ? I’ve no doubt that some players will have no problem with it. But at the same time there are bound to be those who’ll feel that the talk show isn’t wanted within NFL. But given the fact the NFL is first and foremost a business and then a sports entertainment format . One doubts that there will be very much that those dissenting voices can do about it all, at the end of the day. This could well be the calm before the storm , or it could well amount to nothing in the end. As it is the NFL has yet to have a minority owner within its midst. And it’s not something that the game’s hierarchy has seemingly fought hard to address. But then again the NFL has always marched to the beat of its very own drum on certain issues.
Courtesy of NFL.com and the Associated Press :
Limbaugh, Checketts ‘continuing the process’ in bid for Rams
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Green Bay Packers fans are known as cheeseheads. Could fans of the St. Louis Rams soon be dittoheads?
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 percent of the Rams when their mother died in January 2008. Columbia, Mo., billionaire Stan Kroenke owns the remaining 40 percent. It wasn’t clear if the Limbaugh/Checketts bid was for 100 percent of the Rams or just the share owned by Rosenbloom and Rodriguez.
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In order to read this nfL.com and Associated Press article in its entirety just just click on the link provided to view.
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The fate of the St Louis Rams (0-4) as it now stands, is a rather precarious one. The team hasn’t been of relevance since they were customarily known as the ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ and were led by Dick Vermeil to their lone Superbowl triumph over the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Superbowl XXXIV. From those lofty heights the franchise has fallen into an abyss of mediocrity and despair. Much to the heartache of their many loyal and most discerning fans. And the malaise that the franchise now finds itself in has come from the mismanagement and the apparent neglect of the team by the Frontiere family. Their internal familial bickering and un-wantoned concern for the franchise in many ways was indicative of the lack of attention shown by the management as well. And in the midst of it all things just spiraled out of control.
This season the team has started off in a similar vein as to how their season culminated last year. And with new coach Steve Spagnulo now on board and looking to change the identity of the team. To state the the task he now faces isn’t one littered with immense obstacles would be an understatement. There are but a few players on the Rams’ roster that any other NFL franchise would at all find desirable. The talents of Stephen Jackson , Donny Avery , James Butler and Laurent Robinson are being completely wasted.
Courtesy of USA Today :
Bart Scott, Mathias Kiwanuka: No possibility of playing for Rush Limbaugh-owned team ….
Calling the suitor of the St. Louis Rams a “jerk,” Jets LB Bart Scott said he would never play for the team if Rush Limbaugh is successful in his bid to buy the NFL franchise.
Scott and Giants DE Mathias Kiwanuka, in comments to the New York Daily News, said Limbaugh’s racial insensitivity and his controversial comments about black people are gamebreakers that would keep them away from the Rams.
Their criticisms add to a long list of people who say they don’t want Limbaugh in the NFL. Liberal MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been one of the lone voices defending Limbaugh.
From Scott:
“I know I wouldn’t want to play for him. He’s a jerk. He’s an —. What he said (about Donovan McNabb) was inappropriate and insensitive, totally off-base. He could offer me whatever he wanted, I wouldn’t play for him. … I wouldn’t play for Rush Limbaugh. My principles are greater and I can’t be bought.”
Limbaugh resigned as an ESPN NFL analyst in 2003 after suggesting the media wanted Donovan McNabb to succeed because he was black.
Kiwanuka’s former coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, coaches the Rams. The Giants defender said even though he admires Spagnuolo, he would rule out playing for him if Limbaugh buys the team.
His comments to the Daily News:
“All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama’s America, white kids are getting beat up on the bus while black kids are chanting ‘right on. I mean, I don’t want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play.”
“I am not going to draw a conclusion from a person off of one comment, but when it is time after time after time and there’s a consistent pattern of disrespect and just a complete misunderstanding of an entire culture that I am a part of, I can’t respect him as a man.”
— Sean Leahy
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In order to read this article in its entirety just click on the above link provided.
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Rebuilding or not, this franchise is a long way off from being competitive. And within the NFC West , where there resides the San Francisco 49ers(3-1), Seattle Seahawks (1-3) , Arizona Cardinals (1-2) as well as the hapless Rams. We can in essence say , that not only is it the weakest division in the NFL. But the brand of football being played there is amongst the most putrid that an NFL fan could ever wish to witness. The surprising thing is that fans are still bothering to turn up and watch it all.
As to the pending situation and the future of the franchise. One can only but take it but one step at a time. Whether or not Checketts and Limbaugh as joint suitors in the bid to acquire the team is successful. We’ll have to await the decision of the NFL and the vote that will no doubt take place. Limbaugh may well have his supporters out there and also his detractors as well. But never let it not be said that he doesn’t know how to draw the ire of those . Especially when he takes the stance of being the all knowing guru that he makes himself out to be. Whether or not his knowledge does indeed stretch as far as to the running of an NFL franchise . Well that remains to be seen. Chances are whatever transpires , it won’t be the last that we’ll hear from Limbaugh on the subject matter , whatever the outcome may well be. There’s a great deal of discord already within the NFL – without the thought that adding Limbaugh into the mix , just to see where the chips will end up falling .
NB List of other noted Malcolm X quotes can be found at the following site. ……. http://malcom-x.org/quotes ……………. Click here to view.
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Tophatal's Blog 
Did Rush earn his fortune from selling so many wealthy conservatives a bill of goods over the years?
If that’s the case, you’d think he’d be able to afford to buy the entire NFL.
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Chris Humpherys
At best Limbaug’s wealth pales into isnignificance when maeasured against that of Checketts’. But the real problem I have with this all is what the NFL will do if their bid is the highest ? It’s not about them only having a fiduciary responsibility to the Frontiere family . But also what’s in the best interests from the NFL also from an image standpoint. Limbaugh has essentially let it be known that he intends to take a ‘hands on day to day interest in the running of the team’ should his bid prove successful. So it lets us all know where he’s coming from- from the get-go. And from where I sit it’s not so much a good thing !
It’s bad enough that the league doesn’t even have a minority owner within its midst but they could end up having a ‘racial bigot’ such as Llimbaugh ?
Goodell and the NFL board has their work cut out for them on this one , that’s for sure !
Alan Parkins
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I doubt if the deal will go thru…even if it does…what impact?? Don’t know, think none, but…..
By the way….”X” is wrong or is wrong rather. The DUTCH began “modern” slavery it is a matter of history. Damn slaveowners then took it to it next level.
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Al Clements
It doesn’t matter who the hell started slavery , we can agree that it is one of the modern horrors that has been perpetrated on a race. But yet it’s ingored by the vast majority of Americans who feel it has nothing to do wit them.
Painfully however it still manifests itself with utter ignorance shown by the likes of Dobbs , Limbaugh , Hannity and others who feel that it was but a brief moment in this country’s history. Nevermind the fact that minorities and particular African Americans weren’t esstentially afforded the right to vote until the sixtie- less we forget that. And as a history pointer when was the US military fully integrated ? You wanna know ? Not ’til 8 years after the WWII had ended. So how does one equate that in all sincerity as being country where every man is an equal ?
As to the potential surrounding the Checketts , Limbaugh bid. There’s no real certainty as to which way the bid could end up going . If they do counter with the highest bid . Do you in all honesty believe that the NFL would turn it down ? The NFL is jus t like any other private business entity , first and foremost. So let’s not forget that for one moment. We’d be naive to think that they would turn it down – if it were the highest bid on the table despite the inevitable problems that they’d no doubt face.
So let’s not kid ourselves that they won’t think about it for one minute.
Alan Parkins
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This won’t go through for a business rationale. teams don’t want people boycotting their product. While Rush is right and we black folks are only 12 percent of the US, we make up 75 percent of the players, if not more. Players are not going to stand for this.
In a weird, sick sense, I hope he gets it and people boycott the team and its eliminated, like the Marlins faced. (Contraction ) But, what players would want to play there? they would just face taunts from fans and opposing players.
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Steve
As a minority myself (Anglo-Caribbean-Jamaican parentage) . I can’t deny the disgust that I have for someone like Limbaugh. But the NFL and all that it allegedly stands for. I still think that it could end up being a close ran thing. I’d hate to think that in some way he’d pursue this through the court system however , should he be denied the right to own a team. First and foremost the NFL is a business and I know that above all they’re answerable to themselves and then their patrons as in the corporate sponsors and then we the fans. But they’ve also a fiduciary responsibility towards an owner with regard to accepting a bid that is in that owner’s best interests. That’ll be the crux of this all , should it come down to it- alongside that of the owners’ votes.
So it’s not really as clear cut as it seems on the face of it. Goodell now knows that he and the owners will be caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes down to it in the end.
What players’ll want to play there ? The players who are in need of a job and who want the money . That’s it. They can’t feed their families on water and air now , can they ? I know that there have been dissenting voices and NFLPA Exec Director DeMaurice Smith has raised his own concerns. But let’s just see how this’ll pan out. Personally, I for one would like to see the NFL do more in trying to lure a minority within the upper echelons with regard to owning an NFL franchise. They’ve failed to address that particular situation to begin with. The closest they came was the asinine attempt by some idiot who didn’t even have the adequate financing. He wanted to own the Minnesota Vikings. But having failed , it came out that he had a criminal record. Much less he couldn’t meet the league’s minimum criteria. You can’t tell me that there aren’t some ‘bruthas’ out there who can’t get a bid together . Owning an NFL franchise is a cash cow and a license to print money to begin with .
Alan Parkins
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I think it’s pretty funny how many people are coming out saying that it’s not cool for him to own a team. Maybe if Limbaug went for an NBA franchise he could add to the list of bastard owners like Clay Bennett and our new Russian, but the NFL is in a little better shape financially, so they need to make any drastic changes like that.
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chappy
That new Russian you’re alluding to will probably do more to make the team better than it already is. Why else do you think that Dan Gilbert allowed a cash infusion from a wealthy Chinese investor ? He sure as hell doesn’t want to see LeBron James end up in the ‘Big Apple’ as in , with the soon to be Brooklyn Nets. . Know your business and do some research. That’s what it’s all about . Money ……CREAM ……Cash Rule Everything Around Me .
For Limbaugh as I’d mentioned in my comment to Steve, the league will be caught between a rock and a hard place on this. First and foremost they’ve got to prove that Checketts and Limbaugh aren’t credible as owners. Moreover they’ve also got a fiduciary duty to not only the league but also the Frontiere family as well. So it’s not as clear cut as it all seems at this juncture. There will be more to come out of this all. You mark my words , this ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.
Alan Parkins
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Hey Al,
I have never wasted a moment of my life listening to anything Limbaugh has to say. In my humble opinion the man is nothing but a racist drug addicted parasite who makes a living off of other people’s fears.
As far as this ownership thing goes, it’s another win-win situation for the leader of the republican party. Get to buy in on a pro franchise or get all the free publicity and propaganda opportunities that the media can provide.
Only in America my friend.
Take care.
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aero
I think even if it’ll mean Limbaugh having to take a back seat in all of this. This bid could still go through. It’ll be about Checketts and his partners in his company SCPWorldwide. As they’re the primary participants in this partnership and the bidding process as well. But as I alluded to Limbaugh will still make his mark be felt there , come what may. Especially if they end up with the winning bid.
Alan Parkins
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Guys it’s being reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Limbaugh will be dropped from the Checketts’ partnership entity looking to purchase the Rams. Finally some semblance of common sense coming from Dave Checketts. How comes he wasn’t able to do that as the GM of the Knicks ?
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Alan Parkins
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chappy
Mark Cuban of the Mavericks had stated that he thought that the NFL would be crazy in allowing Limbaugh to become an owner in the NFL. But then again anything that Cuban has to say on the subject becomes mute considering his alleged recent indiscretions.
Alan Parkins
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I do not even know the way I finished up here, however I assumed this submit used to be good. I don’t recognize who you’re however certainly you’re going to a well-known blogger should you are not already. Cheers!
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Thanks for chiming in with a comment !
tophatal ……….
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