ST. LOUIS -- Rush Limbaugh used portions of his three-hour radio show Thursday to tell his side of the story of his involvement and removal from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams.

Until Wednesday, Limbaugh was part of the group put together by Dave Checketts, owner of the St. Louis Blues, which intends to keep the team in St. Louis. Limbaugh revealed in the opening segment of his show that Checketts had asked Limbaugh to join the group and had asked him to withdraw Tuesday. Limbaugh refused.

'"If you want me out, you go public and fire me,'" Limbaugh said.

According to Limbaugh, Checketts first approached him in late May or early June about getting involved in a group of investors.

"I said, 'Are you aware of the firestorm?'" Limbaugh told his radio audience, adding that Checketts had assured him, '"I would not have even asked you to be part of the group if I hadn't cleared your involvement with people at the highest levels of the National Football League.'"

The NFL disputed Limbaugh's assertion, however.

"We do not pre-approve prospective owners of NFL clubs and did not do so in Mr. Limbaugh's case," Greg Aiello, the NFL's senior vice president of public relations, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday. "At all times we have been clear with prospective purchasers of the Rams or any other club that approval of an owner could only be granted by vote of the 32 clubs after complete financial and personal due diligence, which obviously has not taken place here."

Checketts declined to comment Thursday through a spokesman. His group is one of as many as six bidding to buy the Rams but is the only one that has been identified.

In addition to Checketts, Limbaugh blamed his removal on the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, head of the NFL Players' Association, who urged players to speak out against Limbaugh.

Limbaugh referred to Smith as "an Obamaite," and said his ouster was "a bit of leverage in (the players') negotiations with the league and with the owners on a new collective bargaining agreement," which expires after the 2010 season.

"Mr. Smith has let it be known that if he has to, he'll bring the White House into this," Limbaugh said. "So Obama's America is quite possibly going to include the National Football League."

Limbaugh indicated that he would not have been the partnership's lead investor, which, according to NFL rules, must hold a 30 percent interest in the team, but offered little hint whom that person might be. A report earlier this week from Bloomberg linked Checketts to George Soros, who has supported liberal causes such as MoveOn.org. The Post-Dispatch has been unable to confirm whether Soros is part of Checketts' group.

"Our group lost our 30 percent equity guy, and we had to scramble and find a new one, and I was told who it was, but now I'm wondering if it was Soros and I wasn't told," Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh said he had "lost nothing" in the deal and would remain a supporter of the league.

"I'm a fan," he said. "But the hatred that I am able now to mirror for the country to see is all over the place."

Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.