Saturday, October 04, 2003

First off, there is no controversy regarding black quarterbacks getting a chance in the NFL. When bums like Kordell Stewart and Quincy Carter can start, quarterback jobs truly are available to anyone of any race.

No, the tempest surrounding Rush Limbaugh's departure from ESPN revolves much more around the naivete of Limbaugh's former employers than it does whether or not the liberal media want to see black quarterbacks do well and thus overrate Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles.

That said, there is undoubtedly a societal push to see blacks get and succeed in NFL jobs they don't usually have, namely quarterback and head coach.

Limbaugh seemed to imply there's something wrong with that. There isn't, as long as those blacks who get said jobs are qualified. Limbaugh flat-out said that McNabb is overrated. He isn't. McNabb's accomplishments speak for themselves, although he did start this season horrifically.

But that was just Limbaugh being Limbaugh. He wasn't being hateful. He was merely doing his thing. Limbaugh has built a multimillion-dollar radio career out of causing controversy and assailing liberal thinking. Did ESPN really think he would be any different within the context of its programming?

Guess so. Because the minute Limbaugh significantly stirred the pot, he got pushed out. This despite a series of surprisingly good performances by Limbaugh. This despite soaring ratings for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown. The show last Sunday, Limbaugh's swan song, drew the program's highest rating since 1996.

The ABC/ESPN sports conglomerate should just hire sports journalism lifers and ex-jocks to do microphone work. They don't know how to properly utilize anyone else.

They tried to turn the brilliant Dennis Miller into Curt Gowdy, then replaced him with (BOOM!) the not-so-brilliant John Madden. Did they expect Limbaugh to morph into Keith Jackson?

If you're trying to dumb down your broadcasts, just get somebody who's dumb to begin with. Almost anyone who played in the NFL will do just fine.

What Limbaugh said was no big deal. Witness the reaction of African-Americans Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin. Both Jackson and Irvin had open microphones in front of them when Limbaugh said the media overrate Mc-Nabb because he's black. Jackson reacted to Limbaugh calling McNabb overrated. But he didn't try to trump Limbaugh's race card.

Either Jackson and Irvin are the worst Uncle Toms in the history of sports television, or what Limbaugh said was mere mindless prattle worthy of mostly ignoring. I tend to go with the latter.

Outside forces were clearly afoot when ESPN tossed Limbaugh overboard. One minute, the network was in his corner. The next, it was accepting his resignation. The NFL, or advertisers, or both, likely stepped up and said, "This big fat idiot has got to go." Or maybe Al Franken called.

If that's the case, I don't blame ESPN. That's how the game is played. ESPN makes money because of the NFL and advertisers. Limbaugh figured very minutely in that equation. Limbaugh's situation is no free-speech issue, either. He didn't own the airtime he occupied on ESPN. He could only speak within the parameters of what ESPN allowed him to say.

I'm sad to see Limbaugh go. He was a refreshing break from the mountainous pile of grandiose pseudo-inside talk that pervades football on TV. Some say that having played the game is an advantage when it comes to analyzing football on the small screen. I'd call it a disadvantage.

Former jocks spend too much time using indecipherable playbook lingo and pretending they're back in the locker room. They don't break the game down into terms that fans can understand. They lord their experience over the great unwashed instead of making it aurally accessible.

That's why ESPN's John Clayton -- who never played the game -- is the best football analyst on any network. He makes football easy for anyone to understand, and he talks about sexy stories that the ex-jocks won't touch for fear of offending the brotherhood.

Limbaugh is obviously no Clayton, but he is a fan. Sunday NFL Countdown has lost the voice of the fan. Does that bother anyone?

There's a sad postscript to all this: If callers to my talk show are any indication, there's a feeling among football fans that you need a mobile quarterback to win in the NFL, even though mobile quarterbacks rarely win in the NFL. The origin of that opinion suddenly is clear.

A large number of football fans are in fantasy leagues. A mobile quarterback is worth more in most fantasy leagues because he can compile points with his feet as well as his arm. So the idea that a mobile quarterback is valuable has trickled up to the NFL from the fantasy geeks.

I could cry right now.

Mark Madden is the host of a sports talk show from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays on WEAE-AM (1250).

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