In an intro dripping with sarcasm, Chris Matthews, on Thursday's Hardball, opened his show by declaring Rush Limbaugh's "racially inflammatory words," have "knocked him out as a potential NFL owner." Matthews went on to mock the radio talk show host as the "master of righteous indignation," and rhymed "that it takes large forces indeed, to bring down so grand a man as he." 

The following is Matthews' complete introduction to the August 15 edition of Hardball:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Blocking the Rush. Let's play Hardball! Good evening I'm Chris Matthews in Washington. Leading off tonight, sacked. Rush Limbaugh, a man who traffics in words has learned the important lesson - words count. Rush's words, his racially insensitive and inflammatory words, have knocked him out as a potential NFL owner. The master of righteous indignation blames many for his failure, including the President of the United States and the Democratic Party, implying that it takes large forces indeed, to bring down so grand a man as he.

—Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.