On his syndicated show yestersday, Limbaugh said he was approached by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts earlier this year about participating in a Rams bid. Checketts assured him his involvement as a minority investor had been vetted by the NFL, he said.

"I said to him at this meeting, 'Are you aware of the firestorm?' He said, 'We wouldn't have approached you if we hadn't taken care of that,' " Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh added that Checketts had told him his involvement had been cleared at the "highest levels of the NFL."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Colts owner Jim Irsay each expressed misgivings this week at a leaguewide meeting about Limbaugh's involvement, with Goodell saying Limbaugh had made "polarizing" comments and Irsay vowing to vote against him. On Wednesday, Checketts said Limbaugh had been dropped from the bid.

On his show, Limbaugh said he believes he has been made an example by a players union seeking leverage in talks over a new collective bargaining agreement. What happened to him was an illustration of "Obama's America on full display," the commentator said.

Limbaugh said Checketts telephoned on Tuesday, asking him to withdraw from the group. Limbaugh responded that he wouldn't withdraw and that Checketts would have to "go public and fire me."

Noteworthy

"After what happened, I realized I was wrong," Beason said on radio station WFNZ. "There are certain things you shouldn't say in public, certain things that should remain in-house. That's where I made my mistake."

After avoiding reporters in the locker room for nearly a week, the Pro Bowl linebacker said in his paid radio appearance he never talked to Peppers after saying on the same station last week that "I'm going to have a conversation with that guy."

Peppers, a four-time Pro Bowl choice making an NFL-high $16.7 million salary this season, had just one sack and 10 tackles in Carolina's 0-3 start. Beason last week said a teammate called him after Minnesota's Jared Allen got 4 1/2 sacks in a Monday night game, and Beason vowed to tell Peppers that "I need everything you've got."

The Panthers then beat Washington, 20-17, for their first victory of the season. Peppers had two sacks and made a key play to force a safety. Beason added a team-high 10 tackles, but the team's best defensive effort of the season apparently wasn't the result of any conversation.

"After I got a lot of negative pub from it, I decided not to even talk to him," Beason said.

Peppers has declined interview requests since the incident. Beason's teammates said yesterday that Beason shouldn't have discussed the issue publicly.

* The NFL fined Tennessee defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch $5,000 for his hit on Indianapolis' Peyton Manning.

* Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford has been held out of practice for the third time in 4 days, leaving his availability in question for Sunday's game at Green Bay.