Rush shakes 'em up in his ESPN debut

Commentator Rush Limbaugh made his ESPN debut at a fitting location -- Washington, D.C.

Actually, it was Landover, Md., in the parking lot of FedEx Field but it was still familiar territory for the right-wing radio host best known as the host of the politically focused "Rush Limbaugh Show," which is syndicated in more than 650 markets worldwide.

"This is sort of like the fulfillment of a dream for me," Limbaugh said Thursday night after being introduced on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown." Host Chris Berman even commented on the appropriateness of Limbaugh's first name.

"You've got a football name," Berman said in the broadcast leading up to the season's opening game between the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins.

Limbaugh then gave a spoken essay regarding the lure of football and the hold it has on its fans -- mixing in just the faintest bit of politics.

"Essentially my friends, football is something you can invest total passion in without consequence . Try that with a woman or another man, whatever," Limbaugh said.

He then got into a good-natured debate with Berman regarding the status of the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s as a dynasty.

Limbaugh also didn't wait long to stir the pot. He claimed the show's analysts -- Tom Jackson, Michael Irvin and Steve Young -- were predicting Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde would perform well while starter Chad Pennington is hurt merely because he was a nice guy that the analysts like personally.

"Everybody wants to say what I said," Limbaugh said. "Everybody wants to agree with me."

The debate about Testaverde was the first example of a "Rush Challenge," situations where Limbaugh is allowed to jump into the show in order to debate a point. He later talked about Denver coach Mike Shanahan and newly acquired quarterback Jake Plummer. He also predicted the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would meet in the Super Bowl.

"Rush you have made one appearance on this show and you have rattled the cage," Berman said.

For ESPN, that was exactly the plan.