AGRI Biz

Now that the 6.8 earthquake known as the NFL Draft is over and the subsequent aftershocks of reaction to the 255 selections has died down, something is not quite right. I can't help but wonder if ESPN analyst Jon Gruden was the reason Tim Tebow was selected in the first round last Thursday by the Denver Broncos when many projections had the former Florida Heisman Trophy winner being taken in the ...

Not the most original idea, I know. Just figured this would be some fun. From a ratings standpoint, ESPN's draft coverage was a huge success. 7.2 million people tuned in on Thursday night. Overall, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on ESPN and ESPN2, roughly 45.4 million people watched the draft, which was a 16 percent increase from last year. I watched parts of the draft on ESPN each of the three days. ...

After months of draft speculation, it was all but a certainty that Colt McCoy would be the Cleveland Browns' second-round choice. Despite president Mike Holmgren's insistence that the first two picks would not be spent on a quarterback due to more pressing needs elsewhere, the fan base of Cleveland was simply not buying it. After all, with the last year of secrecy and deception by Eric Mangini, it would ...

This weekend, several Athletic Directors and many collegiate football fans got to watch and see their schools represented at the NFL Draft in Radio City Music Hall in New York City. As players are making the transition to the NFL, their former schools get to envision their pockets getting just a little bit bigger, as several NFL players like to donate at least some of their six figure weekly pay ...

Pete Carroll and John Schneider, the brain trust of the Seahawks, have now completed six trades in the past two months, all of them involving veteran players. After a couple of iffy-value deals involving quarterbacks in March, the Hawks nailed it on draft weekend in trades that brought them veteran running backs and more. Gone are guard Rob Sims, defensive end Darryl Tapp, and quarterback Seneca Wallace. Arriving are defensive linemen Chris ...

It's now officially three days since the NFL Draft concluded, and after the Seattle Seahawks had by the far the most successful draft in their near 40-year history, everything seems to be wrapped up in a nice little package for Pete Carroll and his new team. As a fan of Pete Carroll's work, it's fair to say that he couldn't have introduced himself in a more fitting way by drafting ...

I know that the Miami Dolphins trading two second-round draft picks to the Denver Broncos is old news by now, but I didn’t have my blog when they made the move, so I couldn’t write about it then. Well, I have my blog now, so I figured I would write about one of my favorite moves in all of the years I have followed the Dolphins. This was ...

With word floating around that the Seahawks have been shopping running back Julius Jones in a trade for the past few days, it is clear that, as expected, he will not be a Seahawk for much longer.   That’s the result of the two trades that brought LenDale White and Leon Washington to the shores of Lake Washington. It’s an LW thing, apparently. Because White and Washington are each signed only for this ...

The new three day format for the NFL draft was a smashing success for the league and fans, if not for the NBA and NHL. Over 45 million people watched across three days, and there was plenty of intrigue around quarterbacks Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, and Colt McCoy, plus the usual trading action, along with hits and misses. Here are some observations:   The Patriots are the best team in the league at ...

Monday, the New England Patriots released outside linebacker Adalius Thomas. The Jacksonville Jaguars also released defensive tackle John Henderson. Both of these players will receive a lot of interest throughout the league. Both play positions the Green Bay Packers may have need for, and to see whether they should be sought by the team, check out my companion article on Packer Chatters. The 32-year-old Thomas was the prize free agent in 2007 ...