Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Rush Limbaugh is on the run like the quarterbacks he talks about on ESPN.
Make that, used to talk about.
The radio host, drafted by the cable sports giant this fall to boost the ratings of its Sunday football preview show, resigned from the network late Wednesday, after remarks made on last weekend's show about a black quarterback mushroomed from a local controversy to a talk-radio topic to a non-stop network news cycle.
And as Thursday began, the National Enquirer and New York Daily News published stories reporting the conservative icon is under scrutiny by authorities in Florida for allegedly buying thousands of prescription painkillers, minus a prescription.
In a statement Thursday, Limbaugh, 52, sought to defuse the tab stories, saying he was "unaware of any investigation by any authorities involving me. "
In a statement Wednesday, he sought to douse the ESPN firestorm, saying he had opted to leave his commentating seat on NFL Sunday Countdown to avoid becoming a (bigger) distraction.
"My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated," Limbaugh said. "I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret. "
The resignation came as ratings for ESPN's Sunday showcase were up 10 percent from last season. Limbaugh, who had been angling for a network sports gig since trying out for ABC's Monday Night Football in 2000, lasted all of four weeks into the regular season.
If ESPN hired Rush to be Rush, that's what it got last Sunday, when Limbaugh said Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who is black, was overrated by the media because he is black.
"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL," Limbaugh said on ESPN. "The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. "
On air, Limbaugh's colleagues reacted mildly to the comment. Tom Jackson (news), who is also black, defended McNabb's quarterbacking abilities, as did Steve Young (news), who is white. Host Chris Berman later said he "probably should have looked to soften" Limbaugh's statement.
Off air, the local Philadelphia press came out firing. "Flush Limbaugh," blared the sports headline on Tuesday's Philadelphia Daily News.
By Wednesday, three Democrat candidates for President seized on the controversy, including former Vermont Governor Howard Dean (news - web sites) who blasted Limbaugh's "unacceptable" take on the Philadelphia "Jets" star. (Dean's staff later corrected the statement, the Los Angeles Times said. )
The Reverend Al Sharpton, another Democratic hopeful, said he planned to call for a boycott of ESPN's parent network, Disney-owned ABC, if Limbaugh was not axed.
ESPN, already taking heat from pro football players for the depiction of cocaine and heroin use in its new gridiron drama series, Playmakers, stood by Limbaugh--for as long as the network could stand it.
In Wednesday's USA Today, ESPN exec Mark Shapiro said Limbaugh's stab at McNabb was the sort of "no-holds-barred opinion" the radio talker had been hired to deliver.
"This is not a politically motivated comment. This is a sports and media argument," Shapiro said in the paper.
By Wednesday night, prior to Limbaugh's resignation, the official ESPN stance had shifted to calling the Rush remark "insensitive and inappropriate. "
Limbaugh did not host his radio show Thursday. As scheduled, he was keynote speaker at a broadcaster's convention in Donovan McNabb country--Philadelphia. There, the booming-voiced broadcaster, who has declined all interview requests, including those made by ESPN, said he chose the "path of least resistance" in resigning because "the great people at ESPN did not want to deal with this kind of reaction. "
On his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh insisted there was "no racism here, there's no racist intent whatsoever. "
McNabb, ironically, was one of the few talking heads Wednesday who did not explicitly call for Limbaugh's head. Not that the Eagles star was anymore pleased with the offending remark than "Jets" fan Howard Dean.
"He said what he said... An apology would do no good because he obviously thought about it before he said it," McNabb said at a press conference.
Media watcher Robert J. Thompson expects the ESPN imbroglio will do little to weaken the devotion of Limbaugh's radio fan base. "If anything it's going to be another thing he can talk about with them... One can pretty much predict where he's going to go with this," said Thompson, founding director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. "The whole martyrdom will probably be packaged [as] 'One speaks one's mind, and the media strikes one down. ' "
With the Limbaugh football scandal drawing to a close, the reputed Limbaugh drug scandal may only be starting.
The Enquirer and Daily News say the state's attorney's office in Palm Beach County, Florida, is probing allegations levied by a former housekeeper that Limbaugh reputedly urged her to score for him as many as 4,350 pills in one 45-day period.
The ex-employee, Wilma Cline, tells the Enquirer that Limbaugh was allegedly devoted to three prescription drugs: Lorcet, a sort-of super Tylenol; Hydrocodone, another painkiller; and, OxyContin, the so-called "hillbilly heroin" medication that helped land Jack Osbourne in rehab.
In his statement, Limbaugh said he had not been contacted by any government investigator.
CNN on Thursday said its sources say Limbaugh is not the target of the Palm Beach probe, although he's down in the books as a buyer, according to the Associated Press.
Make that, used to talk about.
The radio host, drafted by the cable sports giant this fall to boost the ratings of its Sunday football preview show, resigned from the network late Wednesday, after remarks made on last weekend's show about a black quarterback mushroomed from a local controversy to a talk-radio topic to a non-stop network news cycle.
And as Thursday began, the National Enquirer and New York Daily News published stories reporting the conservative icon is under scrutiny by authorities in Florida for allegedly buying thousands of prescription painkillers, minus a prescription.
In a statement Thursday, Limbaugh, 52, sought to defuse the tab stories, saying he was "unaware of any investigation by any authorities involving me. "
In a statement Wednesday, he sought to douse the ESPN firestorm, saying he had opted to leave his commentating seat on NFL Sunday Countdown to avoid becoming a (bigger) distraction.
"My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated," Limbaugh said. "I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret. "
The resignation came as ratings for ESPN's Sunday showcase were up 10 percent from last season. Limbaugh, who had been angling for a network sports gig since trying out for ABC's Monday Night Football in 2000, lasted all of four weeks into the regular season.
If ESPN hired Rush to be Rush, that's what it got last Sunday, when Limbaugh said Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who is black, was overrated by the media because he is black.
"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL," Limbaugh said on ESPN. "The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. "
On air, Limbaugh's colleagues reacted mildly to the comment. Tom Jackson (news), who is also black, defended McNabb's quarterbacking abilities, as did Steve Young (news), who is white. Host Chris Berman later said he "probably should have looked to soften" Limbaugh's statement.
Off air, the local Philadelphia press came out firing. "Flush Limbaugh," blared the sports headline on Tuesday's Philadelphia Daily News.
By Wednesday, three Democrat candidates for President seized on the controversy, including former Vermont Governor Howard Dean (news - web sites) who blasted Limbaugh's "unacceptable" take on the Philadelphia "Jets" star. (Dean's staff later corrected the statement, the Los Angeles Times said. )
The Reverend Al Sharpton, another Democratic hopeful, said he planned to call for a boycott of ESPN's parent network, Disney-owned ABC, if Limbaugh was not axed.
ESPN, already taking heat from pro football players for the depiction of cocaine and heroin use in its new gridiron drama series, Playmakers, stood by Limbaugh--for as long as the network could stand it.
In Wednesday's USA Today, ESPN exec Mark Shapiro said Limbaugh's stab at McNabb was the sort of "no-holds-barred opinion" the radio talker had been hired to deliver.
"This is not a politically motivated comment. This is a sports and media argument," Shapiro said in the paper.
By Wednesday night, prior to Limbaugh's resignation, the official ESPN stance had shifted to calling the Rush remark "insensitive and inappropriate. "
Limbaugh did not host his radio show Thursday. As scheduled, he was keynote speaker at a broadcaster's convention in Donovan McNabb country--Philadelphia. There, the booming-voiced broadcaster, who has declined all interview requests, including those made by ESPN, said he chose the "path of least resistance" in resigning because "the great people at ESPN did not want to deal with this kind of reaction. "
On his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh insisted there was "no racism here, there's no racist intent whatsoever. "
McNabb, ironically, was one of the few talking heads Wednesday who did not explicitly call for Limbaugh's head. Not that the Eagles star was anymore pleased with the offending remark than "Jets" fan Howard Dean.
"He said what he said... An apology would do no good because he obviously thought about it before he said it," McNabb said at a press conference.
Media watcher Robert J. Thompson expects the ESPN imbroglio will do little to weaken the devotion of Limbaugh's radio fan base. "If anything it's going to be another thing he can talk about with them... One can pretty much predict where he's going to go with this," said Thompson, founding director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. "The whole martyrdom will probably be packaged [as] 'One speaks one's mind, and the media strikes one down. ' "
With the Limbaugh football scandal drawing to a close, the reputed Limbaugh drug scandal may only be starting.
The Enquirer and Daily News say the state's attorney's office in Palm Beach County, Florida, is probing allegations levied by a former housekeeper that Limbaugh reputedly urged her to score for him as many as 4,350 pills in one 45-day period.
The ex-employee, Wilma Cline, tells the Enquirer that Limbaugh was allegedly devoted to three prescription drugs: Lorcet, a sort-of super Tylenol; Hydrocodone, another painkiller; and, OxyContin, the so-called "hillbilly heroin" medication that helped land Jack Osbourne in rehab.
In his statement, Limbaugh said he had not been contacted by any government investigator.
CNN on Thursday said its sources say Limbaugh is not the target of the Palm Beach probe, although he's down in the books as a buyer, according to the Associated Press.
