ON BLACK QBS, MEDIA STANDS WITH AMERICA.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

The Babe Ruth of Republican radio took a beating in the sports pages this week, and I'd like to make it up to him by saying the following:

Rush is half-right.

``The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well,'' Rush Limbaugh said last Sunday on ESPN, saying reporters overrate the Philadelphia Eagles' Donovan McNabb.

As complaints came in from reporters, from some pro football players and from his political opponents, Limbaugh quit his job as a voice-of-the-fans commentator on ESPN's pregame show - puzzling, because if he'd challenged the network to fire him, he could have made himself a martyr at the stake of political correctness.

Here's the half Limbaugh got right: It's probably true, most sports writers want to see black quarterbacks do well.

Here's the half he missed: Why most sports writers want to see black quarterbacks do well.

Is it because reporters march in liberal lockstep? Is it because reporters are hypnotized tools of the left wing? Is it because we're out of touch with the public we write for and the sports we write about?

I'll take a wild guess Limbaugh believes the answer to all three questions is ``yes,'' that this was the larger political point he was trying to get across, and that the controversial remark was part of his ongoing effort to cast the media (sports and general) out to society's fringe.

But in fact, the reason most sports writers want to see black quarterbacks do well is not that we're out of the political mainstream.

The reason is that we're squarely in the middle of it.

America wants black quarterbacks to do well.

By America, I mean everybody who knows that for decades, college and pro sports failed to give blacks a square shot at leadership positions such as quarterback, head coach and general manager. Everybody who has ever been denied a square shot at anything because of where they come from or how they look. And everybody who's trying to raise a child to believe in fair play.

In other words, everybody who's proud of the yardage the United States has gained on race relations, however far we still have to go.

Does that include Rush Limbaugh?

For a man who calls himself ``America's Truth Detector,'' he's way behind the national curve on this one.

Thirty years ago, it was deemed remarkable that black quarterbacks led USC (Jimmy Jones, 1969-71, the Trojans' career passing yardage and total-offense leader at the time) and the Los Angeles Rams (James Harris, 1974-76, chosen most valuable player of the '74 division champions). We were a long way from Doug Williams taking the Washington Redskins to the '88 Super Bowl title. We weren't yet debating the lack of black head coaches.

This season, even with the Atlanta's Michael Vick sidelined, eight black quarterbacks are starting for NFL teams. Steve McNair of 3-1 Tennessee and Daunte Culpepper of 4-0 Minnesota are first and second in the passer ratings going into today's games. If being ``desirous that a black quarterback do well'' is still an issue, then so is being desirous that automobiles find room on the road among horse buggies.

Not only because it's the right thing to do, but because football wants to beat out other sports for talent from every demographic corner, the NFL long ago decided to push opportunity for minorities, hence the league's sometimes-clumsy mandate on coaching-job interviews.

That's football telling the rest of America, ``Ditto.''

Welcome to the 21st century, Mr. Limbaugh.

I don't know whether McNabb gets too much credit for Philadelphia's success because I don't know whether there's a consensus on how much he deserves.

True, it was the media - football writers and broadcasters - that put McNabb second in league MVP voting after the 2000 season. But it wasn't the media that elected McNabb to the Pro Bowl after the 2000 and 2001 seasons; those ballots were cast by players, coaches and fans. It wasn't the media that named McNabb the offensive MVP of the first Philadelphia team to make it to a conference championship game since 1980; that was done by his teammates. It wasn't the media that named McNabb the Eagles' quarterback; that was the coaches and front office.

If the media in any town ever favored a black quarterback over a white quarterback, it's probably because the former was better.

Speaking for myself: I root for black quarterbacks and black coaches to get and fulfill opportunities because their success is a symbol of a better America. That doesn't mean I root against whites or slant my reporting. As a sports writer in a non-NFL city the only mentions I've ever made of Donovan McNabb were two one-time references in columns on broader themes.

I hope to see the day when the race of a Donovan McNabb isn't an issue.

Thanks to Rush Limbaugh, that will have to wait until next year.

Half-right isn't good enough.