by Gerard Coulombe

Created on: October 24, 2009   Last Updated: October 25, 2009

Was the decision to end Rush Limbaugh's attempt to become an NFL owner the right move, or should Limbaugh be denied ownership in the NFL?

Limbaugh's partners made the move to deny him ownership based on their own assessment of the negative publicity.

One may suppose that if the group negotiating for ownership of the Saint Louis Rams felt their negotiations threatened by negative publicity, all of which focused on Limbaugh, it is better the group sever its relationship with a friend and or partner than lose the opportunity for a chance at a franchise they ultimately want.

Limbaugh is one of the shrewdest businessmen around without a college degree. Not only does he have a huge radio following due in part to monopolies in numbers of station ownership but even more so because he has a clear and consistent message that he continuously revamps and freshens up even as he speaks on air.

Rush is a master of self-assuredness. He always knows perfectly well what he is doing at all times. If there is a faux pas from time to time, it is more often over a slip of a perfectly tuned tongue. It happens to all of us. But none of us is Rush Limbaugh.

The complexities of on-going adjustments always need fine-tuning when negotiations get tough. Limbaugh would have been first to discuss the probability of his past remarks once it became known that he was a member of the group seriously interested in buying the Rams by making a bid for the team.

The purchasing group should have known the potential for furor to develop in many sectors, let alone among some players and their union when it became known that Limbaugh was part of the group. Players Executive Director DeMaurice Smith of the NFL drew the line in opposing Limbaugh owning part of any team in the League, let alone the Rams.

Limbaugh may be disliked by a great many on the left who know something about him. For those on the left who listen to his daily comments and repartees with himself also know of his canned deprecating hyperbole when introducing the program.

Limbaugh always knows what he is doing except when he doesn't and then he simply admits it and slides over it to his next target, loving it all as he goes and talks and whines on about injustice.

In any case it has been and will continue to be a good ride for Limbaugh as long as the story has legs.

And then, a gleeful and unapologetic Limbaugh, grateful for the story dumped in his lap and unapologetic because he can tell his audience, I told you so, will continue to wring every smidgen of pain out of it because the poor man evidently dreamt of owning a team.

But Huffington Post in reporting the story quoted Kevin Demoff, the Rams' executive vice president of football operations, as saying, "There is no inevitability for the team to wind up being for sale anyway."

Demoff went on to say, "There may be bidders, but that doesn't mean there will be a sale. Ownership has said all along it would go through this process and evaluate its options. They are under no pressure to sell."

For the time being, Rush has no chance at ownership in the NFL. His followers have been given loads to chew on. His detractors have enlarged his image even more than the large man could have done all by himself. He will always do what he can to promote himself. That is his "shtick."

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