NFL Sources Confirm Checketts, Limbaugh Join In Bid For Rams

Checketts Plans To Keep Rams In St. Louis

NFL sources have confirmed that Blues Owner Dave Checketts and radio personality Rush Limbaugh have joined "in a bid to buy" the Rams, and the ownership group "plans to keep the team in St. Louis," according to Thomas & Rutherford of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The league sources indicated that there are "multiple bidders for the Rams as the potential sale of the team has advanced to a second stage -- from looking for potential buyers to evaluating the merits of bidders." It is "not known who the other bidders are." The joint Checketts-Limbaugh bid was first reported by CBS Sports on Sunday. Rams Exec VP/Football Operations Kevin Demoff said, "There is no inevitability for the team to wind up being for sale anyway. 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 the team." Sources with the Checketts-led group noted that there is "no timetable for the Rams to respond to bids" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/6). YAHOO SPORTS' Matthew Darnell writes Limbaugh's "very presence brings politics into the football discussion." Darnell: "I'd prefer to avoid that, but the man is so polarizing that I don't see any way around it. ... No one will be able to mention the Rams without mentioning co-owner Rush" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/6).