THREE LOUDMOUTHS SHOW TOUCH OF CRASS.

Byline: BILLY WITZ

To those who believe in the virtues of critical thought, freedom of expression and diversity of opinions, this wasn't a good week in the NFL.

Thank you, Terrell Owens. Take a bow, Brenda Warner. And, please, let's hear it for Rush Limbaugh.

Trolling for thoughtful discourse in the world of pro football - be it on the nuances of the West Coast offense or how an openly gay player might be received - is getting to be like fishing without bait.

Impossible? No. But talk about looking for love in all the wrong places.

Walk into many locker rooms and you end up with a notebook filled mostly with platitudes, cliches or - if Shaquille O'Neal is playing Mumblestiltskin again - blank pages.

So, when a modern-day male athlete presents himself as not just willing, but able to tackle professional, pop or political topics in a frank (wow!), intelligent (really?!) or witty (no way!) manner, he becomes a go-to guy.

There are a few of them in every locker room - the San Diego Chargers' Marcellus Wiley, for example - but their numbers are dwindling with each generation.

As for those whose words can truly make a difference? Whereas once there was Arthur Ashe, Jim Bouton, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Bill Lee, there is now, well, quite a vacuum.

Why might be a question best put to sociologists. Money? Jock culture? Media culture? But the end result is this: In the search for something provocative, let alone profound, the microphone now ends up in the hands of those who are far from either. (And we're not even talking Lisa Guerrero here.)

You didn't have to look far to see it this week.

First you have Owens, the San Francisco 49ers receiver who is known less for his spectacular play than for his spectacularly audacious behavior - from his constant feuding with former coach Steve Mariucci to his pulling a marker from his sock after a touchdown and autographing the ball.

The 49ers got hammered Sunday by Minnesota 35-7, but the story was Owens jabbering at offensive coordinator Greg Knapp during the game and then afterward declaring his team has no heart, that he should be used like the Vikings' Randy Moss, and suggesting perhaps Tim Rattay should be starting at quarterback.

All reasonable criticisms based on the 49ers' play this year, except when they come from someone whose own motives are suspect. Owens can void his contract after this year and can become a free agent, no doubt with the 49ers' blessing.

Rams quarterback Kurt Warner didn't complain publicly about losing his job to Marc Bulger, but he didn't need to. His wife, Brenda, went on a St. Louis radio show Monday and suggested her two-time MVP husband would be happy to relocate if he didn't get his job back.

It was only a year ago that Warner's wife phoned a sports talk show to complain it was she, not Rams coach Mike Martz, who suggested the X-ray that revealed a broken hand.

Standing by your man is one thing. Standing by your man, and holding an umbrella in a lightening storm is quite another.

(Note to self: Make sure the wife doesn't call the boss to complain that this column is buried on Page 9. Don't want to get sent to Jacksonville.)

All this, of course, was brushed aside when the controversy over Limbaugh's comments on ESPN's NFL pregame show regarding Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb picked up steam this week.

Limbaugh said: ``I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there's a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he didn't really deserve.''

When Limbaugh's resignation came down Wednesday night, it was easy to lump him in with Al Campanis and Jimmy the Greek, who lost their jobs for making racially insensitive comments. That would be an injustice to them.

The text of his comments might read as ignorant. In context of his career as a race-baiter, they read as more cracker than crackpot.

On his radio show, Limbaugh has wondered why police sketches all seem to resemble Jesse Jackson, and he plays ``Movin' On Up,'' the theme song from the old sitcom ``The Jeffersons,'' when discussing African-American presidential candidate Carol Moseley Braun. He also once told a black caller ``to take that bone out of your nose and call me back.''

Getting off lightly in this has been ESPN, which knew exactly what it was getting with Limbaugh and what it was going after - better ratings.

And nobody's getting off more lightly than executive vice president Mark Shapiro, who in addition to bringing Limbaugh aboard is responsible for ``Playmakers'' - the network's football drama (loosely defined) - and the decision that will no doubt make UCLA fans bolt for their mute buttons, hiring Steve Lavin.

Call it pandering. Call it callous. Just don't call it something you've seen the last of.

``Rush Limbaugh is just a blowhard,'' said the 49ers' Chidi Ahanotu, discussing the situation with reporters last week. ``If that's what they wanted that show to be about, then sure: have Jim Brown on there along with Rush Limbaugh, have Al Sharpton, have everybody, Don King. It would be a hell of a show.''

And the first two guests would be easy to line up: Terrell Owens and Brenda Warner.

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Commentator Rush Limbaugh speaks at a National Association of Broadcasters convention Thursday about his resignation from ESPN.

Associated Press

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ON THE GRIDIRON

By Matthew Kredell