AGRI Biz

The Toronto Raptors took advantage of the slumping Orlando Magic Wednesday night to win their only game of the seasonÆs series, 108-103. The Magic had defeated the Raptors three previous times already this season. Normally one would expect Raptors fans to be relieved and happy at finally stealing a game from their higher-rated rivals, but this game brought forth as much frustration as ecstasy. The Raptors played well in this game and ...

Jay Triano has made the inevitable announcement that on Wednesday in Orlando the Toronto Raptors Jose Calderon will be returning to the lineup after an unexpectedly long absence due to injury. And in the 13 games since Calderon last started for the Raptors, the team has managed an 8-5 record. Hence, the speculation about who should start at point guard and, from some corners, speculation about who should be the primary ...

On the night Chris Bosh passed Vince Carter for the most points scored by a Toronto Raptors player, the Raptors beat the San Antonio Spurs 91-86 in a game decided by defense. And Bosh had a good game: going 10 for 24 from the field, scoring 22 important points, and, reaching 9,248 career points to surpass Vince CarterÆs Raptors record of 9,420 in the Toronto Raptors win. It was BoshÆs night to ...

No one can say the Boston Celtics didn’t play hard.  They did! But some blatantly bad calls helped turn Tony Allen from an average backup guard who fouls at a rate of over six per 48 minutes, into an all-star caliber defender that couldn’t be beat. And one of the roughest, most aggressive teams in the NBA was only hit with 21 personal fouls, while the light-hitting Raptors were charged with 27. But ...

Just in time for New Year’s Eve, the NBA released its most up-to-date 2010 All-Star voting results .  And I’d like to think the results were a surprise.  But sadly, they were not. For the most part, the NBA has the concept of fans voting for the starting All-Stars nailed down pretty well.  Usually the best guards, forwards, and centers do get the most votes.  Fans usually do get to see ...

On the eve of 2010 and with only 49 games left for the Toronto Raptors, what New Years Resolutions will they be making (fans hope): 10)á Beat Boston In the first game of 2010 the Raptors will face the Celtics minus Garnett and Pierce!!!á Beat'em when they're down.á That's what I'm saying! 9)á Be better than .500 The time for gelling is long past.á Either the Raptors have gelled or they are Jello! 8)á Bargnani ...

The New Orleans Hornets are making news, a.k.a. speculation, again as they lost on the road to Toronto, Chicago, and Houston over the past week and are now 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. Being behind Oklahoma City, Memphis, and Sacramento and 12th in the standings is not where the Hornets thought they would be at this point in the season. A small market team that is unexpectedly weak, about $6 ...

An unusual thing happened during the recent Raptors home game against the Detroit Pistons.  Raptors TV analyst Leo Rautins sent some “love” and support out to the Raptors former number one pick, Andrea Bargnani. A Raptors TV analyst showing some support for a Raptors player during a broadcast shouldn’t be all that unusual.  At least that’s what one might think. But the Raptors TV crew doesn’t often have the usual “homer-isms” that ...

If you believe that Bryan Colangelo has been trying to recreate the 2006-07 version of the Toronto Raptors, then you will have noticed just how closely the 2009-10 Raptors have resembled that earlier version. Check out Raptors will Bounce Back in the 2009-10 Season for a complete description of all the similarities. In 2006, Bryan Colangelo started the season with only six returning players and in 2009, he did it again.á And ...

When you hear the stories about how some people made it in their chosen careers, the formula for success is often the same. Never, ever, for any reason, give up on your dream. Matt Devlin, Toronto Raptors TV play-by-play broadcaster, didnÆt just luck into one of the handful of major league professional sports broadcasting jobs.á He earned it with hard work, determination, and overcoming more than a few setbacks. But Matt didnÆt ...