Muhammad Ali

Episode 180: What’s WRONG with U-M Football? BUTCH Has an Idea!

Butch Woolfolk

They need to go with a more athletic quarterback.

It’s the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli Zaret, Bob Page — and Lary Sorensen sitting in for Denny!

  • Ya better be TOUGH to play for Bo AND Parcells! BUTCH WOOLFOLK was — and DID! The ex-Michigan star running back is our guest.
  • The MLB Playoffs had more games Wednesday than the entire post-season of many past years! And WHAT time did that Yankees game end?
  • Modern technology is changing baseball even further. Lary tells us about pitchLogic and Bob has more on the umpires versus the computers.
  • Is the pandemic slowly starting to wane? MLB announces that there WILL be fans at some upcoming games.
  • “I can not BELIEVE that jerk dropped the ball!!!” Yep, it sure is easy watching games from the couch. Lary calls us all OUT on that.
  • Was Denny RIGHT on our last show? Could The NBA Finals indeed be a four-game sweep for the Lakers over Miami.
  • Eli has some strong words for the possible upcoming McGregor/Pacquiao fight.  
  • And so the stage is set for still another Detroit Lions collapse — just when some fans (who don’t know any better!) are getting excited.
  • Mr. Z also has “This Day in Sports,” Bob has YOUR mailbag segment and we’ve got much MORE right here!

 

Episode 177: “Matt Patricia Looks Done Already”

Matt Patricia

Fans don’t even know what to say anymore.

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

  • Bob Page had some technical difficulties this morning, so he’s taking the day off.
  • The Detroit Lions have dropped their 11th straight game.
  • Eli rolls through every Lions coach since the 1970’s. How many more losses until Matt Patricia is FINALLY fired? Peter King says is look DONE.
  • The NFL ratings are way down and despite the reasons we laid out last week, Eli believes that the games have lost legitimacy.
  • Some MAJOR injuries in Week 2 include Saquon Barkley, Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey, Drew Lock and others.
  • Fred Heumann joins us mid-show to rip the Lions a little bit more.
  • The guys show some
  • Ron Gardenhire has stepped down as manager of the Tigers. Who will be the next coach? The boys argue that the team won’t go anywhere until Miguel Cabrera is gone.
  • Justin Verlander may be finished as he is to undergo Tommy John surgery. Denny sees some light at the end of the tunnel.
  • ANOTHER sports guy is in trouble for criticizing ESPN’s Maria Taylor. This time, because she left Anthony Davis off the 1st, 2nd and 3rd All-NBA Teams.
  • Bryson DeChambeau destroyed the competition at the U.S. Open. We debate his unconventional play.
  • Eli with “This Day in Sports History,” the mailbag gets praise… on the mailbag, and much more right here!

Episode 170: Oh, NO! The Grim Reaper COMETH!

Stu Grimson

Who was that man gone mad?!

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

  • A “reluctant warrior?” You’d never have known it from watching STU GRIMSON fight! “The Grim Reaper” is our guest!
  • Rioting across the country, violence, looting and SO many sports events canceled over a police shooting of a black man.
  • Famous black sportswriter Jason Whitlock has had enough, though. He calls LeBron a “bigot;” claims he’s promoting racism!
  • How to protest racial injustice, make a strong point —  but do it in a much better way? Bob says check out the NHL.
  • Casey Mize — so FAR? Meh. Denny has some advice for the Tigers’ rookie: you’ve got a fastball, kid. USE IT!
  • In this bastardized MLB season the ALL-STAR BREAK is now upon us! Well, at least its the mid-way point of the schedule.
  • Ex-MLB pitcher Lary Sorensen out of the University of Michigan tells Bob he too was “examined” by Dr. Robert Anderson.
  • So ya thought a TEN-PART series on Jordan was waaayy too long? Denny’s got a role in a new 20-part series on Mantle!
  • Eli has “This Day in Sports History,” Bob’s got YOUR mailbag segment and much more right here!

Episode 154: GREAT boxer. Greater GENTLEMAN!

Boxer Hilmer Kenty

Detroit’s first champion since Joe Louis.

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

  • Ex-world champ HILMER KENTY joins us to discuss his career, Emanuel Steward, the Kronk, the current state of boxing and more!
  • A big 50th anniversary this week for Denny AND for Bob who reminisce about the night he came back from his MLB suspension.
  • And just to set the record straight, Mr. Giacalone, what did you DO to poor Denny to help end his career? Oh? REALLY?!
  • The Tigers have done WHAT? PARTNERED with a gambling sports book?! Denny: “I was SUSPENDED for doing the same thing!”  
  • Baseball, uh, “spring training” has resumed, but Eli says we STILL don’t know what the season sked looks like.
  • P.C. Madness: we now learn from The Lunatics that “Honest Abe” apparently WASN’T so “honest.” HIS statue must go too!
  • Tag! YER it — or maybe yer NOT! Conflicting COVID tests all over now allow one PGA tour player into this week’s Detroit stop.
  • Ya say it doesn’t matter? Ya say prep superstar Emoni Bates won’t ever actually PLAY for MSU? Bob explains why it DOES matter.
  • Our Detroit radio affiliate WDFN is gone, suddenly changed to another format. Denny and Bob: sorry to hear it. Eli: SCREW radio!
  • Mr. Z also has This Day in Sports and a SHOCKING statement about YOUR weekly mailbag segment. It’s all right here!

Episode 153: NFL MUST Go On — but with Eric Hipple’s Solution?

Eric Hipple in Lions uniform holding a football

I’m going to be controversial. Quarantine and isolate. You don’t have to see your family during the season.

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

  • QB ERIC HIPPLE had it bad enough just PLAYING for the Lions, but what he suffered after was MUCH worse. Eric guests!
  • Eli and Denny spent their weekends watching - what else? - GOLF. They seem okay with its current state. Bob’s NOT.
  • The NBA playing in empty arenas and now with P.C. social messages on the backs of unis?! Had enough of pro basketball yet?
  • The FANS, the FANS! Bob says there are no sports and no sports media without YOU — so why play ANY games this year?
  • Even as Bill Belichick pays up for cheating — AGAIN — he brilliantly delivers what COULD be a big blow to other teams.
  • What does M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E spell? “THE NHL!” The league’s idiotic draft set-up screws the Red Wings.
  • Johnny Manziel has put football behind him: “I just want to be happy for the rest of my life.” WE have a suggestion!
  • More CRAZINESS everywhere. Kansas State’s football team boycotts; says THEY will control who’s enrolled at the university.
  • Statues being illegally torn down or replaced. How far will it go? Two American ICONS may be next — for very different reasons.
  • Eli provides “This Day in Sports History,” Bob rolls out YOUR Mailbag and much more — right here!

Episode 151: “SUDDEN Sam McDowell?” SCARY Sam!

Sam McDowell pitching

Something of a terror on the mound.

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

  • SAM McDOWELL: I worried about killing a batter my entire career. Sam has an amazing life story and he joins the boys!
  • We have a winner from the Belmont Stakes — DENNY! Others say ANYBODY coulda picked Tiz the Law.
  • Eli (GULP!) went OUT to a restaurant Saturday night and almost NO ONE was wearing a mask! He’s still with us — so far.
  • Many athletes have tested positive for COVID-19, not that they’ll have symptoms. Should sports just go away at this point?
  • Controversy over the Confederate flag NOT going away for a while — but a NOOSE hung in the garage of a black NASCAR driver?!
  • Muhammad Ali Jr. says his late father - and Eli’s hero - would not have supported BLM. Eli pooh-poohs him.
  • The Pistons hired - WHO? - Troy Weaver as GM. Bob only wonders why there’s an extra executive ABOVE him.
  • The DH is FINALLY coming to the National League! When you hear Mr. McDowell talk about HIS HITTING, you’ll know why.
  • Two statues of well-known former team owners REMOVED. NYC even removes a statue of Teddy Roosevelt!
  • When the Tigers DO play again, don’t be surprised if THEY remove the statue of TY COBB from Comerica Park.
  • Those stories, YOUR mailbag segment and much more right here!

Episode 147: He’s Multitalented and Multifaceted! He’s John Smoltz!

John Smoltz

Maybe I would have been the next Lawrence Welk. Who knows?

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

  • Ah, what might have been for JOHN SMOLTZ and the Tigers! The MLB Hall of Famer from Lansing is our guest!
  • Smoltzie just wants to be doing TV baseball again, but politics and demonstrations have taken over the sports world instead.
  • Will the NFL now let its players stage protests during the national anthem?! Bob wonders where THAT might lead.
  • For all you Caucasians, are YOU now “embarrassed to be a white person?” Don’t laugh! An NBA coaching star says HE is!
  • During a demonstration, what would happen if you caught a punk destroying your car? Well, YOU might be arrested!
  • Producer Brandon McAfee and the boys take a vote: would they watch a big game with no fans to cheer?
  • Ultimate Fighting Champ Conor McGregor retires — again. Eli and Denny yawn: “he’ll be back.”
  • Golf IS back and now you can even use a special cart with a partner (GASP!) — if you’re really THAT worried about COVID-19.
  • Wimbledon? Canceled! The U.S. Open? Probably not, but would it be worth watching without “The Big Three?”
  • Those stories, a listener wants to ask Denny’s questions FOR him on YOUR mailbag segment and much more — right here!

Episode 144: From the Ol’ Farm — to Scoring a Super Bowl TD!

Tom Nowatzke on trading card

The only Lion of that era to win a Super Bowl!

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

  • Our guest is the bruising fullback, TOM NOWATZKE, on his 1960’s Lions, Colts teammate Johnny U and MUCH MORE!
  • While pro sports leagues FIGHT during negotiations on when and how to start playing again, Eli and Bob repeat: go away til 2021.
  • No sports? No games to gamble on, no casinos to gamble IN! One way or another the city of Detroit may pay an awful price.
  • No football? Not only does Dolphins owner Stephen Ross say we WILL have an NFL season but he has unusual plans for his stadium.
  • Bob asks why Jim Harbaugh seemed so thrilled to recruit only a good, not great, player this week. Is it THAT bad in Ann Arbor now?
  • VERY different opinions among  the boys over golf and last Sunday’s “The Match.” If you watched it, you were NOT alone.
  • The Michigan House has passed a bill allowing college athletes to make extra money on the side — and Eli’s apoplectic!
  • From Denny: the legendary overseas boxing match he actually went to! And does his ex-catcher Jim Price really HATE him?!
  • The latter question comes from YOUR mailbag segment. We’ll have that and many other top stories right here!

Episode 143: Drew Stanton’s LONG & WINDING Road

Drew Stanton in MSU uniform preparing a throw.

Things fell into place.

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

A GREAT career as an NFL quarterback wasted as a back-up? Don’t tell that to MSU’s DREW STANTON, our guest!  
  • Today we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for OUR freedoms as we observe Memorial Day.  
  • It’s a special day for another reason: Eli remembers the Ali/Sonny Liston rematch on its 55th anniversary!
  • Bob reminds SOME people (not naming any names from THIS show!) who Brad Keselowski IS and why he matters.
  • Did you like the Tiger/Phil/Brady/Peyton golf outing? Didn’t even bother to watch? No worries. Eli and Denny DID.
  • Philip Rivers has a new job waiting for him: HIGH SCHOOL head coach in Alabama. He should NOT ask Mike Singletary for advice!
  • Prez Mark Schlissel’s not worried about no fans at U-M games. He won’t ALLOW football if no students are on campus!
  • As the NBA plots restarting in Orlando, we pay tribute to the great Jerry Sloan who died this weekend, as did Eddie Sutton.
  • How bad is it for the Wings? They’re officially among the “Stigmatized Seven,” awful clubs that won’t be part of summer playoffs.
  • Racism in hockey? It’s been an issue for a long time and now another black ex-player has come forward with HIS tales of abuse.
  • Those stories, Eli bitching all through our Mailbag segment while YOU enjoy it — and much more right here!

Episode 135: “Local Boy Makes GOOD?” Makes BIG STAR!

Gus Johnson

On his way up he did all kinds of things!

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

  • Did you know that national play-by-play star Gus Johnson is from Detroit AND was a great athlete in his own right? Gus Guests!
  • Meanwhile, Denny suddenly reveals a STUNNER about one of the most beloved play-by-play men in HISTORY!
  • Larry Adderley has died. Bob’s ex-colleague at WXYZ-TV a victim of Alzheimer’s — as is ANOTHER top Detroit sportscaster.
  • Can’t ANYONE stop these bull-bleep NFL post-draft analyses? NOBODY KNOWS who had a good or bad draft! We’ll talk in FIVE YEARS!
  • The ESPN coverage itself is a BIG part of the problem. But we all watched, didn’t we? Did you like what YOU saw?
  • What does your high school kid need to gain entrance to prestigious Tulane? A damn good jump shot! We explain.
  • “The Last Dance” episodes 3 and 4 aired over the weekend featuring the Bulls vs Pistons 88′ - 91′. Had enough Rodman YET?
  • Denny tells of once facing the hardest-throwing pitcher who ever LIVED! RIP Steve Dalkowski.
  • Good news! He also says there may be hope for a legendary Tigers World Series opponent whom we’d THOUGHT to be dying.
  • Those stories, Eli — WHAT?! — uptight about YOUR Mailbag and much more right here.