Denny McLain took us back to 1968 when he won 31 games. He shared the story of the night he won #30 game and having Dizzy Dean there to congratulate him. Dizzy was the last guy to win 30 in a season back in 1934. He also talked about his very first Major League start for the Tigers. It came against the Chicago White Sox who had given up on him. Denny not only won the game, he pitched a complete game and hit a homerun. It doesn’t get better than that.

Former Houston Oiler DB & current Assistant Head Coach at Prairie View A&M Bubba McDowell, talked about what to look for from the Panthers this season, including their season opener against Rice. He also also shared stories from his time playing on those 1990’s Houston Oilers teams.

Tony Collins shares his concerns over the new tackling rules plus memories with his long time friend, former Patriots DB Ronnie Lippett. Tony talked about the incredibly long black jack games they got into starting on the plane that continued in the hotel and lasted deep into the night.

Rick Upchurch shared his thoughts on why Special Teams players aren’t in the Hall of Fame and how overlooked they are. He also shared memories of playing alongside Haven Moses, the altercation he got into with Raiders DT John Matuszak, and his expectations for the Broncos this season.

On this edition of Thursday Night Tailgate we’re joined by former Broncos Pro Bowl WR Rick Upchurch, former Patriots Pro Bowl RB Tony Collins, former Houston Oiler DB and current Prairie View A&M Assistant Head Coach Bubba McDowell, Detroit Tigers legendary Pitcher Denny McLain, and fantasy sports guru from RotoExperts.com Chris Mitchell.

On this week’s Spotlight on the Positive segment hear about the great things Dre Kirkpatrick is doing with his 21 Kids Foundation and the special relationship Patriots DB Patrick Chung has with 10 year old cancer patient Jack Berry.

Devon McDonald confirmed the rivalry between he and his twin brother Ricardo. He talked about always trying to out do each other from the time they were in the womb. We heard stories about when they faced either other in college when Devon was at Notre Dame and Ricardo played at Pitt; and how it carried over into the NFL when Devon was with the Colts and Ricardo played for the Bengals. We also got Devon’s thoughts on the Colts for this coming season.

LeRoy Irvin gave us his thoughts on the Rams this season and the maturation of Jared Goff.

Tony Collins shared more of his experiences from training camp and if veterans want or dread reps in the pre-season.

Jeff Criswell talked about his experiences during training camp with the Jets, what it’s like for the offensive line to play in front of a rookie QB. He also shared his expectations for the Jets this year. Playoffs?