Limbaugh’s Enemy Is/Was Goodell’s Fear of Controversy

Given what we've seen from his brief tenure running the NFL, I think it probably would be safe to say the group hoping the buy the Rams including radio's Rush Limbaugh will not be the one NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell does hand the keys to.  It won't be because the Rams may or may not be for sale (There's some confusion whether the children of Georgia Frontiere are actually looking to sell the team or act as some sort of absentee landlords.), or because the group doesn't have the money.  It will be because of what appears to be the one thing this NFL Commissioner seems hell bent on avoiding at all cost -- Controversy.

Look at Goodell's track record.  From Day One he's been one of the first, if not THE first NFL Commissioner to handle both player discipline activities both on and off the field.  Hell, there's an entire Wikipedia entry on it; feel free to look.

If Goodell doesn't like it in his players, he certainly won't like it in his potential owners -- at least the ones he didn't inherit in the job.  Even St. Peter will have a hard time dealing with Al Davis when that fiend dies.

You can see that in this 'not-so-well-hidden' comments Goodell had during a press conference at the latest NFL Owners' Meeting in Boston yesterday.  He's a guy who clearly wants the action on the field; reported on the sports pages, not on the news and editorial pages.

"At this point in time we'll continue our process which is to allow the Rams to decide if they're going to sell and who they'll sell to," Goodell said.  "And then at some point, the NFL will be engaged and we'll [examine] whatever ownership group is put forth through our process [of vetting the group]."

Asked if he had any response to the surge in player opposition to Limbaugh's potentially becoming an owner, Goodell said, "The comments that Rush made about Donovan [McNabb] I disagree with very strongly.  [They were] polarizing comments that we don't think reflect accurately on the NFL or our players and I obviously do not believe that those comments are positive and are divisive.  I disagree with those comments very strongly and I've told the players that."

Goodell was asked what his reaction would be if a present owner aired commentary like Limbaugh's.  Would he then have an issue?

"We're all held to a high standard here and divisive comments are not what the NFL's all about," said Goodell.  "I would not want to see those kind of comments from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL, no.  Absolutely not."

Notice what's missing from Goodell's statements; the latest (and very likely manufactured) 'quotes' the world is saying belong to him.  Goodell's not stupid enough to jump on those, he's focusing on the McNabb controversy from 2003.

You know, something there's actual tape of, not a made-up wikiquote no one can locate when and where it was said.

In the end, do any of us know what Goodell will do?  No.  But the writing on the wall seems to indicate even if the current Rams ownership agrees to sell the team to the Dave Checketts-Limbaugh group, Goodell and the current roster of NFL owners will say no.

In my opinion, I think it would be a real pity if Limbaugh isn't given a fair shot at owning an NFL franchise.  Simply put, the guy would do two thing right off the bat for the greater St. Louis area.  First, with Checketts he helps guarantee St. Louis will not lose another NFL franchise.  The city council -- despite this idiot -- knows how it felt when the Cardinals uprooted and headed to Arizona, and they don't seem too willing to let another team leave the city.  Checketts and Limbaugh's local ties would guarantee the "LA loophole" in the Rams' lease on the Edward Jones Dome wouldn't have to be exercised.

Secondly, like his radio show or not, listening to it tells you one thing about Rush; he's very very competitive and doesn't like losing.  He'd have put a winner on the field for the city of St. Louis.  One much, much, much better than the product now currently gracing their television sets on Sundays this Fall.

UPDATE: It appears the saga may indeed be over.  ESPN is reporting Blues owner Dave Checketts will be salvaging his bid for the team by dumping Limbaugh from the group.