Checketts makes rush on NFL team

You have this really bad team. You have a stadium that is rapidly becoming outdated. You have a shaky economy.

At the same time, you are desperate to keep your team from leaving town.

Who ya gonna call?

(In unison) DAVE CHECKETTS!

He didn't get to be the youngest team president in NBA history, years ago, by thinking small.

Checketts made news again Tuesday when conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh revealed the two are joined in an effort to buy the St. Louis Rams. What, Glenn Beck wasn't available?

You know Limbaugh. He's the guy who pioneered belligerent radio. He had concluded that conservatism needed a strong, unapologetic voice, and boy did he provide it. The man has more enemies than North Korea, yet more friends than Dr. Seuss.

Which makes for a pretty interesting combination. On one hand, there's Checketts, a noted nice guy who may have enemies, but not in high political circles. Then there's Limbaugh, who can push anyone left of Barry Goldwater over the edge.

You have a proven compromiser in Checketts, combined with the classic divider in Limbaugh.

Sounds like a reality show to me.

That's not to say Checketts is a cupcake. He doesn't mind playing hardball and taking risks. That's what he did when he started Real Salt Lake. He added soccer to a market that wasn't sure it wanted it. Then he built a state-of-the-art stadium, in the suburbs, and against heavy opposition. So far, results have been mixed.

He did bring the MLS All-Star Game to Salt Lake. Meanwhile, attendance at RSL games has been decent. A year ago, Real made the playoffs for the first time. Yet this year's team isn't likely to make the postseason. Beyond that, the whole future of MLS has always been a bit uncertain.

But don't bother debating the points with Checketts. He's a confirmed optimist. I was standing on a hill in Sandy a couple of years ago as a winter storm approached. Checketts, other RSL executives and local officials were topping off a soccer stadium I didn't think Checketts could afford. I was wondering how the stadium could actually make money, and wishing I were in my car with the heater on high.

Checketts, on the other hand, couldn't have been more upbeat. For him, it was a sunny day. It had looked like his stadium plan was dead, then it wasn't. He was driving ahead, up-shifting as he went.