Game Over For Limbaugh

Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh said he quit his job as an ESPN sports analyst to protect network employees from the uproar over critical comments he made about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Limbaugh stepped down from the sports network's "Sunday NFL Countdown" late Wednesday, three days after saying on the show that McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

"The great people at ESPN did not want to deal with this kind of reaction," Limbaugh said Thursday at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Philadelphia. "The path of least resistance became for me to resign."

Limbaugh did not directly address media reports that began surfacing Wednesday that said he was under investigation in Florida into whether he illegally obtained and abused prescription painkillers.

Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the politically focused "Rush Limbaugh Show," issued a statement from Limbaugh earlier Thursday saying: "I am unaware of any investigation by any authority involving me. No government representative has contacted me directly or indirectly. If my assistance is required, I will, of course, cooperate fully."

Prosecutors won't confirm or deny the existence of any investigation, but Friday's National Enquirer reports Limbaugh spent hundreds of thousands of dollars illegally for tens of thousands of pills over a four-year period, reports CBS News Correspondent Peter King.

Limbaugh's former housekeeper, Wilma Cline, told the tabloid that Limbaugh paid her $200,000 to be his "connection." Cline, who was paid for her story, said Limbaugh had abused OxyContin and other painkillers.

A Miami lawyer for Cline, Ed Shohat, said Thursday, that she stands by hers story.

Limbaugh is the radio host of the politically focused "Rush Limbaugh Show," syndicated in more than 650 markets. He had surgery two years ago to have an electronic device placed in his skull to restore his hearing.

Talking about his comments about McNabb on ESPN, Limbaugh said Thursday that he had thought about the issue the night before making the comments and wanted to write an essay on it.

"It's something I have believed for quite a while," Limbaugh said. "I don't mean it to hurt anybody ... it's just an opinion."

Limbaugh has denied that his comments were racially motivated.

"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well," Limbaugh said on Sunday's show. "There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."

McNabb on Wednesday said he didn't mind criticism of his performance but was upset that Limbaugh made his race an issue. He said it was too late for an apology.

About a half-dozen people protested outside the convention as Limbaugh was speaking Thursday.

Limbaugh told the broadcasters that he was used to scrutiny after 15 years in radio and expects to get attention.

To draw in listeners, "we want controversy," he told the broadcasters meeting. "Nobody tells me what I can and can't say" on the radio, he said.

George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, accepted Limbaugh's resignation Wednesday. ABC and ESPN are owned by Walt Disney Co.

"We regret the circumstances surrounding this," Bodenheimer said. "We believe that he took the appropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously."