<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4611.1300" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>Limbaugh Joins ESPN's Party</DIV> <DIV>by Richard Sandomir</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Rush Limbaugh's sportscasting career, stunted when Dennis Miller, and not he, was hired for ABC's "Monday Night Football" three years ago, was reborn yesterday when ESPN enlisted him to join Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Steve Young, Michael Irvin and Chris Mortensen on "Sunday NFL Countdown." </DIV> <P>There is not enough verbal airspace for Berman and Limbaugh at the same studio desk, which is why Limbaugh will sit at a separate perch (like the children's table at Thanksgiving dinner) from where he will offer essays and interrupt (with a buzzer, gong or ThunderStix) when he disagrees with the adults. </P> <P>Buzz! Boomer, you and the Clintons wrongly believe Miller Lite tastes great. But it's less filling.</P> <P>Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host, was hired to provide what ESPN calls the "fan's perspective," presumably because he hasn't played the game (except as an offensive tackle in high school), called the game or coached the game. </P> <P>"I watch TV and read Web sites, like fans do," he said during a conference call yesterday (available on the Dittocam, on rushlimbaugh.com, along with his signature line of golf shirts). "I'm going to bring the perspective of the guy watching the pregame show. Imagine a bunch of guys on a couch listening to a discussion and wanting to get into it. That's what I'll do." </P> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2><</FONT><A href="http://nytimes.com/2003/07/15/sports/football/15sandomir.html">http://nytimes.com/2003/07/15/sports/football/15sandomir.html</A><FONT face=Arial size=2>> </FONT></P> <P>DP</P></BODY></HTML>