According to a story in today's New York Daily News, some black players in the NFL are already chafing at the prospect of playing for an owner like wealthy conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh. Mathias Kiwanuka of the Giants and Bart Scott of the Jets both told the Daily News' Ohm Youngmisuk that they would flat out refuse to ever play for the St. Louis Rams if that franchise falls under the co-ownership of Limbaugh and Madison Square Garden CEO Dave Checketts. Kiwanuka's objection to playing for the Rams is interesting because that team is coached by his former defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo.

Limbaugh has frequently invoked race in his commentaries -- he ended up resigning from a short-lived gig at ESPN after saying that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated by the media because he is black -- and he recently made reference to black kids beating up white kids on school buses "in Barack Obama's America."

Scott said "I know I wouldn't want to play for him. He's a jerk. He's an ---. What he said (about McNabb) was inappropriate and insensitive, totally off-base. He could offer me whatever he wanted, I wouldn't play for him. ... I wouldn't play for Rush Limbaugh. My principles are greater and I can't be bought."

Kiwanuka added, "All I know is from the last comment I heard, he said in (President) Obama's America, white kids are getting beat up on the bus while black kids are chanting 'right on,'" Kiwanuka told The Daily News. "I mean, I don't want anything to do with a team that he has any part of. He can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play."

These comments will definitely please some and distress others, depending on your political persuasion. It is somewhat heartening, though, to hear that a player might put principle over a big payday. Still, I find it hard to believe that Limbaugh would have trouble putting together a roster for his Rams team. The bigger question is whether he could do anything to turn around what is fast becoming the worst franchise in football.

-Despite earlier talk that there might be snowy conditions in store for the Patriots when they play the Broncos on Sunday, the forecast right now doesn't look so bad. It calls for partly cloudy conditions with highs in the low 50s, which is pretty similar to what it should be like here in New England.

Fortunately for the Pats, they don't play baseball. Saturday night's Phillies-Rockies playoff game looks likely to take place with snow falling, and temperatures around 30.

-It seems like we've heard this refrain a lot in the past, but Patriots running back Laurence Maroney still insists that the booing he hears from fans motivates him and makes him eager to eventually prove them wrong, according to the Globe's Christopher Gasper.

-Although initial reports said that Fred Taylor's ankle injury would probably not threaten his season, Gasper has a league source telling him that Taylor might not play again in 2009. But Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald says that Taylor himself believes he'll be back.

-Speaking this morning on the Dennis and Callahan Show, tight end Ben Watson said he felt badly for Taylor.

-The Broncos are expected to be without their leading rusher, Correll Buckhalter, according to the Denver Post, which means the Pats are likely to see a lot of rookie Knowshon Moreno and old friend LaMont Jordan.

-Jets coach Rex Ryan told ESPN.com's Tim Graham that he regrets exchanging trash talk over the summer with Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder. Ryan also joked that when the Dolphins play the Jets on Monday night, he would be easy to spot: He'd be wearing Jets uniform number 77. That's the number of nose tackle Kris Jenkins, who might be the only guy on the team who weighs more than coach Ryan.

-The Dolphins' Joey Porter was not in the mood for nice talk, not surprisingly, as he told reporters he was "definitely looking forward to a fight" when Miami meets New York.