Gridiron America Radio

Despite wowing at the NFL Scouting Combine, workout warrior Mike Mamula struggles on the field. Highly-touted running back Kijana Carter has a disappointing career, while draft afterthoughts Terrell Davis and Curtis Martin become stars. Features interviews with Tom Coughlin, Tony Dungy, Derrick Brooks, Curtis Martin, Terrell Davis, Kijana Carter and more.

Against the backdrop of highly-touted quarterbacks Trent Dilfer and Heath Shuler jockeying for position, a verbal on-air spat between ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr. and Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Tobin, and the NFL becoming a year-round sport, the NFL Draft becomes the must-see event it is today. Additionally, players such as Kurt Warner, Rod Smith, Jeff Garcia and D’Marco Farr go undrafted. Features interviews with Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, Bill Tobin, Trent Dilfer, Mel Kiper, Jr., Peter King and more.

Bill Walsh trades up with the New England Patriots and lands wide receiver Jerry Rice. But was that the original plan? For the first time, former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Sam Wyche reveals Walsh’s frantic efforts to trade for the top-billed receiver in the draft, Eddie Brown, while Bernie Kosar stuns the world by entering the supplemental draft and landing in Cleveland. Features interviews with Jerry Rice, Bruce Smith, Randall Cunningham, Doug Flutie, Herschel Walker, Ernie Accorsi and more.

Engaged in a bidding war with the USFL, the 1984 NFL Draft takes place in one marathon day after the USFL Draft had concluded. Future Hall of Famers Reggie White and Steve Young signed with the USFL, while Boomer Esiason fell to the second round of the NFL Draft after saying he did not want to play in the USFL. Additionally, the first overall pick is traded twice and NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. makes his ESPN debut. Features interviews with Boomer Esiason, Steve Young, Irving Fryar, Peter King, Mel Kiper, Jr. and more.

In a draft that would be remembered for Walter Payton, top pick Steve Bartkowski sets the NFL world afire by asking his college dorm-mate Leigh Steinberg to negotiate his contract. Features interviews with Leigh Steinberg, Gil Brandt, Hollywood Henderson, Dan Fouts, Steve Bartkowski, Robert Brazile and more.

The Pittsburgh Steelers change the way organizations view the NFL Draft by adopting a philosophy of building a championship team through the draft and selecting four future Hall of Famers in Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster. Features interviews with the first ‘draftnik’ Pete Marasco, Lynn Swann, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, and more.

The 1965 Draft was the most fiercely fought event between the rival National and American Football Leagues. It was a fierce battle for such  future Hall of Fame greats Joe Namath, Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers. The two arch-enemies competed for the top college talent by breaking gentlemen agreements, testing limits of NCAA boundaries, and even  sabotaging each other with “dirty tricks” and deceptions that mirrored  the real-world Cold War and the spy movies and TV shows of the era.  Features interviews with Joe Namath, Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Craig  Morton, Fred Biletnikoff, Ron Wolf and more.

In a draft that included 11 Hall of Famers – more than any other draft in  NFL history – the Dallas Cowboys revolutionize the scarcely covered  player selection meeting and plant the seeds for a national phenomenon  with the selections of Roger Staubach, Bob Hayes and Mel Renfro.  Additionally, the New York Jets lay the foundation for their Super Bowl III championship with the selection of six eventual starters, and number one overall pick Dave Parks later makes history by being the first marquee player to challenge the league on player movement. Features interviews with Roger Staubach, Bill Parcells, Peter King, Bobby  Beathard, Dan Daly and more.

Scott and Greg are joined by former CFL All-Star Bryant Turner, Jr., who talks about his love for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, his best memories from his playing days and how important fan/player relationships are in professional football.  From 2011 through 2015 Bryant spent five seasons in blue and gold, followed by two seasons in with the British Columbia Lions. During his time in Winnipeg, as a defensive tackle, he appeared and started in 71 games, in which he recorded 26 sacks, five forced fumbles and 75 total tackles. He also appeared in three playoff games for the Bombers, including the 2011 Grey Cup.

How do you turn two tons of copper into a statue? Illinois alumnus George Lundeen has been doing this for more than 30 years. Lundeen creates  realistic portrayals of athletes, presidents and animals in his Colorado  studio. Now, Lundeen has been given the honor of creating a 12-foot  replica of one of the University's most famous alumni, Harold "Red"  Grange. As an artist, Lundeen is faced with the task of creating a piece  encompassing the persona of an individual whose very name is synonymous  with Illinois Football. This program is a companion piece to the  sculpture that now stands west of Memorial Stadium in Champaign. This  documentary takes viewers behind the scenes at Lundeen's studio to learn  how he envisioned his giant likeness of Grange. Alongside the  progression of Lundeen's work, viewers will also learn the history of  Red Grange at Illinois. The program takes us past Grange's  accomplishments on the gridiron, to reveal him as an the first sports superstar and a man who transformed the NFL.

In 1985 the Chicago Bears dominated the game and embodied everything that encapsulated that memorable decade: flash, chaos and a get-out-of-my-way attitude. Their Super Bowl winning season had it all - the birth of Buddy Ryan's 46 Defense, the loss to the Dolphins that ruined their perfect season, the "Super Bowl Shuffle" and a colorful group of misfits who became the toast of football.

Hosted by Jessica Savitch, "An Unauthorized History of the NFL" was the first episode of the long running Frontline. It took a look at the secret connections of the NFL and the world of sports gambling and organized crime.

The National Football League, a multibillion-dollar commercial juggernaut, presides over America’s indisputable national pastime. But the NFL is under assault: thousands of former players have claimed the league tried to cover up how football inflicted long-term brain injuries on many players. What did the NFL know, and when did it know it?

Two weeks into the 1987 season, the NFL's players went on strike. As the strike fanned fires across the country, no one felt the heat more than the 1,500 replacement players, who were caught in the crosshairs of media fueled controversy between owners, players and fans alike.

An intimate look inside one of the great rivalries in the history of the National Football League - Raiders legend Al Davis and former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Their battle grew so intense that players, owners, franchises - even the League itself - became characters in a three-decade long Shakespearean feud that changed football forever. As the Raiders play their inaugural season in Las Vegas with a brand-new stadium, something Al Davis often dreamed of building himself, it's time to examine the adversarial relationship between the two visionaries most responsible for building the league to its current greatness and who, in the course of trying to destroy each other, created the NFL landscape that thrives today.