CTE

Episode 193: One of MSU’s Greatest: “What? US Worry?”

Newspaper photo of John Miller

Just play hard, keep your mouth shut, and good things will happen.

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Bob Page and Fred Heumann filling in for Denny!

  • Was he THE best ALL-AROUND high school football player in Michigan HISTORY? Ex-MSU star JOHN MILLER guests! 
  • Is it POSSIBLE? Is what ELI saying about Jim Harbaugh the TRUTH? Or is it just WILD speculation? 
  • Meanwhile, Harbaugh has to settle on a quarterback to start at Rutgers Saturday. Could M even lose THIS game?
  • MSU has a QB controversy of a different kind. As Casey Stengel asked of his ’62 Mets, “Can’t ANYBODY here play this game?!”
  • Thanks to the amazing Matt Prater, the Lions’ playoff hopes are alive. Will that still be true after Sunday’s game at Carolina? 
  • Kim Ng is the first WOMAN GM in MLB history! The boys liken that to all the pony-tailed ZEBRAS we’re now seeing in football.
  • Nominations are out for this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame class. Fred has a BIG disagreement with most on who should get in!
  • Even golf wacko Eli thinks The Masters was bizarre without (sniff-sniff) “patrons.” Bob asks a good question about Tiger.
  • The NBA Draft is here. Pistons pick 7th overall! Their former and long-time TV reporter Eli Zaret is excited — NOT!!!
  • All those stories, “This Week in Sports History,” YOUR mailbag and much more right here!

Episode 169: DEXTER BUSSEY in the Battle of His LIFE!

Dexter Bussey

Typical Dexter Bussey: No complaints

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain, and Bob Page!

  • One of the most popular Lions in memory, DEXTER BUSSEY, joins the boys on his career, unusual POST-career — AND his health! 
  • You’ll hear the voice of legendary sportscaster Bob Reynolds on Dex. WHAT? Never heard of BOB REYNOLDS?! It’s NOT all pretty. 
  • Not only did the Tigers actually win a GAME against Cleveland, they won the weekend series!  
  • Now what? Does Al Avila go for broke or does he start trading guys for more “prospects” - SUSPECTS - at the deadline? 
  • The PC Posse continues its takeover of sports, UNLESS, as Bob points out, you’re a black NBA player making a racist comment. 
  • And to think of Mike Milbury being “canceled” for a totally innocuous statement — whether YOU like him as a commentator or not. 
  • Resident golf mavens Eli and Denny go NUTS over what Dustin Johnson did last weekend! Does Koepka eat humble pie? 
  • Did they just hold one of the greatest events of the sports world in veritable secrecy?! Almost seems that way! 
  • Denny may not like it, but one NFL team now says there WILL be fans at ITS home games this year. 
  • Those stories, Eli with “This Day in Sports,” Bob with YOUR mailbag and much more right here!

Episode 167: SO Many Good Questions for RICH STRENGER!

Rich Strenger

You’re not going to get me to say anything negative about Bo.

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain, and Bob Page!

  • U-M star, NFL vet AND an attorney? What better person to ask about EVERYTHING going on than RICH STRENGER!
  • How TERRIBLE are the Tigers? NOT so terrible that they can’t easily make the playoffs, especially WITH Casey Mize.
  • Covid-19 in MLB? The Cardinals are FINALLY playing again — WITH a convoy of 41 rental cars on the roads!  
  • The NBA Playoffs start(ed) Monday night. NO COVID issues there so far. Eli gives kudos to Adam Silver for that.
  • College football already slammed by COVID. The Big (14) won’t play — unless players and parents have THEIR way. 
  • Tuukka Rask of the Bruins has called it quits DURING the 2020 NHL playoffs! Bob says he quit on his TEAMMATES.
  • Kelly Stafford walks back her criticism of Colin Kaepernick. Eli and Denny laud her. Bob: Who cares what SHE thinks?
  • A BIG 80% of Packers ticket holders say they will NOT go to Lambeau this year! Eli and Denny: Would YOU go to a game?
  • Another week, ANOTHER Denny McLain scheme. Wait til you hear what he’s going to do now — AND with WHOM!
  • Eli has “This Day in Sports History,” Bob has YOUR mailbag — and MUCH more right here!

Episode 148: How on EARTH Did Polo Do It?!

Dennis Polonich playing hockey for Detroit Red Wings

He had a huge heart.

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain, and Bob Page!

  • Was he, pound for pound, the best fighter in NHL history? Ex-Red Wings fan fave DENNIS POLONICH joins the boys!
  • Eli fesses up: as a New Yawk guy, he LIKES hockey but just didn’t grow up with it. He likes most hockey players even more. 
  • The Tigers take slugger Spencer Torkelson #1 overall in the MLB draft. Bob cautions about getting TOO geeked.
  • Commissioner Rob Manfred: baseball WILL be back in 2020. Where he got THAT info, who knows? But Denny agrees.
  • NBA players are beginning to balk about resuming their season in Orlando with no family, no friends allowed to visit.
  • NASCAR has made the decision to ban Confederate flags at race events. But how will they enforce it?!
  • Allen Iverson just turned 45 this week and you can always count on Eli for some GREAT stories about A.I.
  • The PGA Tour is BACK! No fans, of course — and already some of golf’s biggest names are complaining about that.
  • Those stories, YOUR weekly Mailbag and much more right here!

Episode 121: Waiting for Godot? Waiting for Ronnie!

Ron LeFlore with an X symbol over his face

He’s SO unreliable!

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain and Bob Page!

  • He PROMISED he was going to come on with us, but Ron LeFlore wouldn’t pick up his phone — even for three old pals!
  • That doesn’t stop the boys from telling some good Ronnie tales anyway, such as the time Jim Campbell …
  • Each week the sex scandal at Michigan seems to grow. But what can be done now with the principals all dead?
  • Now the Wolverines and Spartans ready for the annual bogus, made-only-for-TV/publicity Big 13+Rutgers tournament.
  • The NFL votes on its new contract Thursday. Eli wages a passionate argument on behalf of its young players.
  • Tony Romo last week, Al Michaels and Peyton Manning getting MILLIONS this week?! CRAZY — or NOT?
  • •Bob gives us a Tigers spring training update from just around the corner in West Palm Beach.
  • (Gulp!) Will the Coronavirus shut down all of sports?! How about some FACTS to quell the mindless panic going on.  
  • A REAL shocker here, gang: Denny McLain wants to talk about the Wings and HOCKEY?! Bob does too. As usual, Eli does NOT.
  • But wait! He doesn’t want to talk about his beloved Pistons either. Or Tom Izzo either. What’s up with THIS?! 
  • Uh, he’s in Florida this week and had a tee time to get to! Those stories, YOUR mailbag and more right here.

Episode 111: Winners and Losers From the SB? WE Start With Denny!

Fist holding dollar bills with 50 yard line on football field in background

Nice weekend Denny!
It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain and Bob Page!

  • WHAT?! Denny didn’t watch the Super Bowl?! Well, at least he LISTENED to it — so he joins our big wrap-up anyway.
  • And what SB wrap-up would be complete without discussing the commercials AND the PG-13 halftime show? 
  • The Pro Football HOF announced its five new members over the weekend. What about the guys who did NOT make it?
  • And here Bob was relieved because football was FINALLY over? Denny and Eli say, “guess again!”
  • Michigan State basketball goes down to an average team it should have beaten. Was ONE player responsible?
  • Michigan gets an important win WITH Zavier back. Why was he suspended? Don’t ask the feckless Detroit sports media.
  • So you’re unhappy playing for Juwan? Why not jump to Izzo instead — and be in the lineup the very next season?!
  • The Pathetic Pistons pissing off their own coach now — and let’s be real about Sunday’s win over Denver.
  • Ex-Tiger fan-favorite/great-guy Curtis Granderson calls it a career — probably two years too late.
  • And how would another ex-Tiger fan favorite have fared in the current era of baseball? Don’t make Denny laugh!
  • THAT story’s in YOUR Mailbag segment, PLUS criticism of our Kobe coverage and much more right here.

Episode 109: Chris Spielman: A Football Life

Chris Spielman playing in Lions uniform

In A Violent Game, Spielman Stood Out as One of the Fiercest

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain and Bob Page!

  • With The Super Bowl almost here, ex-Ohio State and Lions star Chris Spielman is our guest on the show!
  • BOB, at least, remains in shock following the death of Kobe Bryant. Eli and Denny? Slightly different story.
  • A longtime private pilot, Denny takes us through what may have happened with the doomed helicopter.
  • Did you know Kobe was almost a Piston? We explain — while Eli says the current Pistons need to start tanking NOW!
  • MSU basketball stock? UP, despite a tough loss at Indiana. Michigan’s? DOWN. Eli’s pessimistic. Bob is  NOT.
  • Castellanos signs a big free-agent deal with Cincy. And YOU thought the Tigers smart enough to bring Nick back?!
  • Yes, the SB is indeed finally upon us. Excited? Or have you had WAY too much football at this point?
  • HUH? ANOTHER SB was played this past weekend? We explain why it was kinda like the blind leading the blind!
  • Zion Williamson getting unusual medical treatment from the Pelicans. Eli has those details.
  • Simona WHO? Is she one of those “big girls” who DO cry? Meanwhile, Tiger is back. What does it mean for golf?
  • And 2019 MIGHT not have been the worst year for Detroit sports after all. THAT’S in YOUR mailbag plus more right here.

 

Episode 108: The Great MARK Howe: His OWN man

Mark Howe in uniform

He Was One Of The Great Defensemen

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain and Bob Page!

  • Overshadowed by his famous dad? Not much! MARK Howe, an NHL Hall of Famer in his own right, is our guest!
  • Derek Jeter’s now in the BASEBALL Hall. How could ONE guy NOT vote for him?! Bob says he has an idea.
  • We speak of two Detroiters who had a big hand in Jeter’s career and we look ahead to the class of 2021.
  • Who’s gonna go in then? Denny sez to expect the unthinkable!
  • Computerized umpiring in MLB? It’s going to be here a LOT faster than Denny thinks, whether HE likes it or not.
  • And while Al Avila is signing has-beens and never-wases, bookies are making dire predictions about his pathetic team.
  • The “student-athletes” have a busy night in Lawrence, Kansas — no doubt on their way to study hall.
  • So why don’t universities just put a stop to corrupt big-time sports? Ask ELI, who’s excited about HIS alma mater’s team! 
  • The “other” Eli retires from football. A Hall of Famer? For SURE! Whether he BELONGS is a different matter.
  • And it looks like it’s official: the Dead Wings are now mailing it in. 
  • Those stories, Denny talks of late Tigers owner John Fetzer in YOUR mailbag segment and much more right here.

Episode 107: The SB, MLB Scandal and Earl Cureton on Roundball

Mahomes and Garoppolo

It’s Just About A Pick’em.

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain and Bob Page!

  • He was a teammate of some of the great players in NBA history! Detroiter Earl Cureton is with us today.
  • EVERYBODY is looking forward to THIS one! The Chiefs versus the Niners in the Super Bowl.
  • Eli tells us Netflix has a new doc out on the tragic life of Aaron Hernandez — and a wild story it is!
  • The Astros’ pitch/sign-stealing scandal rages on. How do YOU and others feel about it? ESPN has an answer.
  • Hand the boys a napkin: They need to wipe the EGG of their faces about Sparky and some of his ex-players.
  • Wither the maybe-NOT-so-pathetic Pistons? Bob says things might be looking up —  and SIGN Drummond. Eli: NO!
  • Why haven’t the WINGS signed Gerard Gallant yet as the disaster rolls on unmitigated?
  • Eli recaps the UFC McGregor/Cowboy bout. DENNY for “Sports Person of the Year”? Someone in the mailbag thinks so!
  • And Detroit pro teams are bad. Uh, HOW bad ARE they? Those stories and much more right here!

Episode 92: It’s Here at LAST: THE Game! We’ve ALL Been Waiting!

Welcome to No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Denny McLain and Bob Page!

  • It’s Michigan-Ohio State week! Ex-Wolverines great Reggie McKenzie joins us to talk all about it AND, of course, O.J.!
  • Whose home game WAS it last Saturday — Michigan’s or Indiana’s? 
  • MSU rolls in Jersey and Bob’s no longer alone in DESTROYING Rutgers. He gets a big hand after RU’s latest humiliations. 
  • A “new low” for the FL’s? BALDERDASH! Sunday’s LATEST humiliating loss still can’t compare with 0-16!
  • Meantime, the fallout grows deeper in Detroit AND in D.C. WHY won’t the Fords and Little Danny just sell and go AWAY?!
  • Eli reports that the NBA may be looking to make big changes by adding a — WHAT?
  • Both U-M and MSU are in holiday basketball tourneys, but a BIG blow to MSU has Izzo talking about something else!
  • Fire Jeff Blashill NOW as the Wings’ embarrassing collapse continues? The boys differ but only Stevie Y can DO it.
  • MLB? Are managers almost becoming obsolete? Denny GOES OFF on the Yankees’ new WOMAN hitting coach!
  • Those stories plus YOUR mailbag segment and much more right here!