The end of the Rush Limbaugh minority ownership bid is not going to be a quiet sailing into that good night. Limbaugh fired back this afternoon at Dave Checketts and his group with a barrage that included shots at everyone from the NFL to Checketts to Jesse Jackson. Wherever you stand on Limbaugh's attempt you realize that much like the rest of life there is rarely ever just a black and white answer, no pun intended. There are a lot of shades of gray.
At the end of the day there are really more questions then answers to the whole situation. In the case of Checketts you have to wonder why he did it? Did he need the money at all costs? The answer to that is apparently yes. If you believe Limbaugh, which I do in this case, he claims that he asked Checketts if he was "aware of the firestorm". Checketts answered with "We wouldn't of approached you if we hadn't taken care of it." Limbaugh is smart enough to know what his name brings to the table. He knows what a lightning rod that he is. He is not a dumb man, whatever you think of his philosophy. So why would Checketts either lie or be horribly misinformed by someone in the league's hierarchy? That is a question we may never get a true answer to.
Limbaugh, in my opinion, should be upset with the way this went down. In either case Checketts should have either not lied or been prepared for the worst of PR scenarios. Limbaugh has a right to be interested in buying part of a team and has the right to try to do that. It is up to the league to tell him yes or no. Checketts or any other investment group also has the right to not have him be a part but they better be prepared for the fallout which is what happened today.
At the end of the day it makes you wonder about the Checketts group. What were their motives and did they succeed in some weird way. There are anonymous NFL sources quoted that this put the Checketts group on the map to buy the team. Maybe this is all he was going for and he was using Rush? That would be a weird twist of fate. The other thing that I have consistently questioned, and I think is no 
secret at this point, is where is the Checketts group going to get their money from? It will be interesting to see who the majority owner would be in that group.
As far as Limbaugh is concerned he is probably done with the NFL forever on the ownership front. He was not diplomatic, not that you would expect him to be, on his way out. He blasted everyone from Roger Goodell to the head of the NFLPA DeMaurice Smith to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Limbaugh later went on to say that this is just a "warning shot" from the union for the upcoming collective bargaining agreement.
It is hard to paint Limbaugh as a sympathetic figure in this whole thing, as someone who does not agree with his act, but there are reasons to believe that he was used. He probably went too far in claiming that this was, my words, a conspiracy by the left wing to keep him out, although there is no question that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were personally trying to make sure that Limbaugh didn't get anywhere near the NFL by holding the league up. But you can understand why he is upset and lashing out. Frankly if I were him I would be too.
What I think happened was he was being used for his money and/or his name to move forward a business deal. It didn't happen and Limbaugh is now out of being able to fulfill one of his dreams of owning an NFL franchise. It happens in business and in life often. People being used for someone else's gain. It is hard to lose sleep over it but you can at least see why he is upset.
The next question in the Rams sale saga is where does the Checketts group go from here and who are the reported five other parties that have put in requests to buy the team? The saga continues.
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