Faulk was the second overall pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 1994 NFL Draft and won both the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP Awards. He was traded to the St. Louis Rams prior to the 1999 season and won a Super Bowl that year, as well as the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. The following season, Faulk won the NFL MVP Award.

After missing the entire 2006 campaign due to a knee injury, Faulk was forced to retire in 2007 and has been a staple on the NFL Network as an analyst ever since. He finished with 12,279 rushing yards, 6,875 receiving yards, and 136 combined touchdowns. Faulk will go into Canton, Ohio along with his fellow inductees that include Deion Sanders, Richard Dent, Shannon Sharpe, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter and Ed Sabol.

MuscleSport Radio can be heard live every Tuesday from 1:00 to 1:30 PM Eastern time on www.blogtalkradio.com and all episodes are archived on Blog Talk Radio, MuscleSport Mag and iTunes.

Please feel free to join us and give us your opinion, ask Marshall a question or make a comment. Our call-in number is 347-884-8157. Be sure to visit Faulk’s official website, www.marshallfaulk.com.

MuscleSport Radio has enjoyed a steady flow of special guests since launching, with famous names in the bodybuilding and sports industry such as Samir Bannout, Bill Grant, Boyer Coe, Troy Brown, Ronnie Coleman, Gunter Schlierkamp, Leo Ingram, Heather Mae French, Cathy LeFrancois, Colette Nelson, Cathy LeFrancois, Dena Westerfield, Bill Romanowski, Tony Mandarich, “Leapin’” Lanny Poffo, Taylor Boyd, Steve Michalik, Dan Lurie, Emy Silvagni, Rae Holitt, Tom Terwilliger, Dan “The Beast” Severn, Kevin Levrone, Layne Norton, Randy Roach, Debi Laszewski, Heather Armbrust and more.

Woodson, who starred for four franchises as a cornerback and safety but is mostly remembered as a Pittsburgh Steeler, was humbled by the entire experience. “I didn’t start playing football because I wanted to be in the Hall of Fame,” he said. “I started playing because my brothers played it.”

Still the NFL’s career sack leader with 200, Smith spent the majority of his 19-year career in Buffalo. The ex-defensive end spoke of what his former head coach Marv Levy told him before he approached the podium. “He said to me, ‘You have cause to celebrate tonight and there’s no curfew.’”

A special announcement followed Wilson’s name being called with this year’s Hall of Fame Game on August 8 to feature the Bills taking on the Tennessee Titans, who – along with Buffalo – were one of the original American Football League teams when they were still known as the Houston Oilers. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the formation of the “rival league.”

Unable to attend was Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Randall McDaniel, but via telephone he gave credit to the two most important people in his life. “I’ve got to thank my folks for raising me the right way.”

Representing Thomas was Kansas City Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt, who remembered more than just the linebacker’s talent on the gridiron, speaking of his annual Thanksgiving food drives and Third and Long Foundation.

“He was an incredible player and an incredible person,” Hunt said. “Derrick Thomas was the cornerstone of the modern era of the Kansas City Chiefs.” Thomas died nine years ago in an automobile accident while he was an active player.

Lucille Hester, the sister of Hayes, read a note that he had left for her to read for him “in case this day ever came.” When she finished, there was not a hush in the overcrowded auditorium at the Tampa Convention Center. The former Dallas wide receiver died in 2002 at the age of 51 after suffering liver ailments, prostate cancer and kidney failure.

All of the whispers and rumblings will be monitored and given to you. The entire town of Tampa will be exploding and it all comes to a head at 6:24 PM on the first day of February at the state-of-the-art Raymond James Stadium.

Photo by Bill Menzel

It has been a long stretch since the Pro Bowl back in February. Even for those lucky enough that have the opportunity to watch replayed games on the NFL Network. Once the games get going again – even something as menial as the NFL Pre-Season, there seems to be a little more juice flowing.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game begins the exhibition season each year, and tonight on NBC, the Indianapolis Colts will face off against the Washington Redskins, who have already shined in Canton, Ohio during HOF Weekend. On Saturday, Darrell Green and Art Monk were among the six inducted into the hallowed halls, and the two former Redskin players stole the show. Emmitt Thomas, a former Washington coach and player with Kansas City, Fred Dean, Andre Tippett and Gary Zimmerman rounded out the rest.

With a considerable amount of Redskin fans in the crowd, Green and Monk brought them to their feet when they walked across the stage. Two huge parts of Washington’s success – one on defense and one on offense – were honored together and will be forever linked and remembered for their yellow blazers now as much as their white jerseys.

Stages and speeches aside, what happens between the white lines is key, and we will see this evening a little of what the offseason has brought these two clubs.

The big headline with the Colts has been their injury situation, topped with Peyton Manning. The perennial Pro Bowl quarterback will miss the game, along with Marvin Harrison, Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney, Michael Coe and Philip Wheeler.

On the ‘home’ sideline, the ‘Skins will make their debut with new head coach Jim Zorn and defensive end Jason Taylor, who was acquired last month from Miami. Zorn may elect to not play the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year until he gets more reps in training camp. Veterans do not see a lot of game action in August, especially this early on the exhibition schedule.

Whomever is out there, ‘Football Night in America’ is back and Sunday just seems a whole lot better all of a sudden.