on the SIDELINES

Limbaugh resigns from ESPN\nPHILADELPHIA -- Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh said Thursday he resigned as an ESPN sports analyst to protect network employees from the uproar over critical comments he made about Phila-delphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.\nLimbaugh stepped down from the sports network's "Sunday NFL Countdown" late Wednesday, three days after saying on the show that McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.\n"The great people at ESPN did not want to deal with this kind of reaction," Limbaugh told the National Association of Broadcasters at its convention in Philadelphia on Thursday. "The path of least resistance became for me to resign."\nLimbaugh did not directly address media reports that began surfacing Wednesday that said the talk show host was under investigation in Florida for allegedly illegally obtaining and abusing prescription painkillers.\nO'Neal ready to move on after coaching change\nINDIANAPOLIS -- Jermaine O'Neal came to camp with a fresh outlook Thursday.\nIt was just what the Indiana Pacers needed from their All-Star forward.\nO'Neal arrived heavier, stronger, and ready to take on the role of team leader. Most importantly, he's eager to resolve the offseason's biggest controversy.\n"Anybody who thinks I'm not going to go out and play hard because we have a new coach is dead wrong," he said. "I'm a reflection of this city and this team, and I'm not going to do anything to embarrass them."\nIn August, some raised doubts about how he would respond to new coach Rick Carlisle, even with a new seven-year contract worth more than $120 million.