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NFL draft primer

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By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON

arichardson@tampatrib.com

Published: April 25, 2009

This is the 74th NFL draft, and some things never change.

Jets fans will boo whoever their team selects, Cincinnati will select a player who will be out the league before the next presidential election - see Akili Smith, Ki-Jana Carter, David Pollack and Odell Thurman - and New England will draft a quarterback who will be a star one day.

Here are some other things you'll want to know about this year's draft:

Less is more

Only first- and second-round selections will be made today. The first round starts at 4 p.m., one hour later than last year, and the second round should be over by 10 p.m. The draft resumes Sunday at 10 a.m. for the final five rounds and ends at 6:30 p.m.

Television coverage

There will be more than enough coverage to give football fans their fix. ESPN and the NFL Network begin coverage today at 11 a.m. with five hours of pre-draft reporting. On Sunday, the NFL Network starts at 9 a.m. and ESPN at 10 a.m.

On the clock

Teams will have plenty of time to make their initial selections, but the clock moves faster on Day 2.

Round 1: 10 minutes per

selection.

Round 2: Seven minutes per selection.

Rounds 3-7: Five minutes per selection.

In the house

The following players will be at Radio City Music Hall today:

• Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree

• Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry

• USC LB Brian Cushing

•Kansas State QB Josh Freeman

• Virginia T Eugene Monroe

• Mississippi T Michael Oher

• Texas DE Brian Orakpo

• Baylor T Jason Smith

• Georgia QB Matthew Stafford.

It must be the hair

One thing is for sure, every strand of ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s hair will remain intact even if a tornado rips through Manhattan.

Chris Berman, Keyshawn Johnson, Steve Young and Kiper will be on ESPN's main set in Radio City Music Hall. Trey Wingo, Herm Edwards and Chris Mortensen will report from additional sets. Reporter Erin Andrews will conduct green-room interviews, and guru Todd McShay will contribute from ESPN's Bristol, Conn., studios.

NFL Network will feature Rich Eisen, Mike Mayock, Charles Davis, Steve Mariucci, Jon Gruden, Charley Casserly, Brian Billick, Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders and Jamie Dukes.

Anwar S. Richardson

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