Barry Bonds

Episode 183: What a Magical Time it Was!

Bruce Kimm at bat for Detroit Tigers

You never wanted to miss a game!

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

  • The Bird chirping for the Tigers and BRUCE KIMM behind the plate. Mark Fidrych’s personal catcher joins us!
  • Kaline, Brock, Seaver, Gibson — and now two MORE baseball immortals are gone: Whitey Ford and Joe Morgan.
  • LeBron says a championship is a championship — is still a championship. The boys say, “Not so fast!”
  • Bob cites abysmal TV ratings for the NBA Finals and wonders if the league will ever be the same.
  • Are you ready for some football — on TUESDAY nights too? Get used to it as COVID-19 postpones more games.
  • Ya say if the Lions lose to a miserable Jaguars team Sunday you wanna fire Matt Patricia? Who’s taking his place?
  • Stevie Y with another flurry of signings and the future looks bright! So Wings fans CLAIM, but will the honeymoon last? 
  • And Eli’s apoplectic over the LATEST cavalry charge by the mindless P.C. Posse.
  • “I traded a WHITE CAPTAIN for you!” highlights “This Day in Sports,” plus YOUR mailbag and much more — right here.
  • Eli has ‘”This Day in Sports,” Bob has YOUR mailbag and much more right here!

Episode 181: The “Doctor” is IN!

A career in football took precedent over medicine.

Welcome to the latest No Filter Sports Podcast with Eli ZaretDenny McLain and Bob Page!

  • Another top Lions talent — College Football HOF member! — WASTED in Detroit: FREDDIE SCOTT is our guest!
  • Experts claimed Denny had some fake items in his big weekend sale. BFD — if ya listen to DENNY, that is.
  • Another NFL Sunday usually means it’s time for another “Bob Page’s Lions Lament” — and you got it! 
  • Eli’s been talking to sources and now thinks he knows HOW the incompetent Ford family destroyed the Lions.
  • What better guy to discuss Bob Gibson AND adventures with the late Cards’ superstar pitcher than Denny McLain?
  • Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat: what a GAME Sunday night! Yet his life story is even better.
  • Bill Laimbeer’s a WHAT?! Bob has a choice term for the ex-Pistons star but respects him as a coach. Eli does NOT.
  • Oh, those HORRIBLY biased play-by-play and color commentators on national TV! The boys cry “Bull—-!”
  • Eli has ‘”This Day in Sports,” Bob has YOUR mailbag and much more right here!

Episode 178: Welcome, Lary! THIS is How We Roll!

Lary Sorensen

Good luck?!

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

  • Ex-MLB and U-M pitcher Lary Sorensen will have a role in many of our future shows. Did HE get an earful today as the boys fuss and FEUD! 
  • First — a fiery exchange over new Lions’ boss Sheila Ford Hamp. As usual, it’s Eli and Denny vs. Bob with “let’s give her a chance!” vs. “what a joke!” 
  • Then later, a REALLY “fiery exchange” between Denny and Bob over baseball!
  • Denny also continues to insist the FL’s will NOT fire Matt Patricia this year. Eli: hold the phone on that one with an 0-4 start looming.
  • The legendary Gale Sayers passed away this week at 77. Was he the first great BLACK halfback ever?
  • Sayers was arguably THE greatest running back PERIOD. So, who was MLB’s greatest starting pitcher? Bob says only that nobody’s ever been BETTER than de Grom.
  • With the Tigers’ season essentially over for some time, what to do about Miggy SUDDENLY looking like MIGGY again? 
  • A listener wonders where on EARTH Denny got his “scoop” that the Tigers would name Lance Parrish to replace Gardy?
  • Get ready for a whopping 16 teams in the MLB playoffs — permanently — or even more! Ya like that idea?
  • Since Denny has ZERO interest in hockey, that must mean none of YOU cares about hockey — right? Bob still pays tribute to two famous Michigan hockey products.
  • Eli has “This Day in Sports History” then wages another battle with Bob over YOUR Mailbag. WHEW! What a DAY! Those stories and more right here. Be ready!

Episode 164: The Amazing Baseball Odyssey of Jim Essian

Jim Essian wearing A's hat

Crisscrossing America for 17 years!

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

  • Just say “no” — to BO?! To ARA? To DUFFY?! How one of Detroit’s greatest all-around athletes, JIM ESSIAN, did it! 
  • The PGA Championship is underway! With NO fans —  AND with Eli asking a good question about two top stars.
  • While MLB is a mess, the NHL and NBA “bubbles” seem to be working. But hockey and basketball in AUGUST?  
  • And Bob sez, “C’mon, how much does ‘Black Lives Matter’ REALLY mean in the NHL?”
  • Imagine! College football players to coaches: “Here’s a list of demands or we’re not playin’!” THIS is happening NOW.
  • Why this CRAZY Big Ten schedule!? M v OSU in OCTOBER? Producers Brandon McAfee and Marc Fellhauer think THEY know. 
  • Kelly Stafford is furious at the NFL for Matt’s false-positive COVID test. Have OTHER testing mistakes been made?
  • Is our P.C. society SO nuts that a coach can’t even QUOTE someone dropping an “N-Bomb?” Black players USE it!
  • We MUST support local journalism in our free country. But Bob wonders how much we’re willing to PAY to do so.
  • Those stories, “This Day in Sports,” a tribute to Denny in 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 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 145: The Remarkable Life of Trixie!

Dick Tracewski in a Tigers uniform

He wore the Tigers uniform fo 28 years…more than anyone in team history.

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

  • The man who wore a Tigers uni longer than any? DICK TRACEWSKI — also Koufax’s roommate in L.A. — is our guest!
  • What NOW for MLB? Well, the post-season’s probably gonna be FRIGID! IF they DO play.
  • Minor League Baseball in a HEAP of trouble but one Florida club has a unique way of making money now anyway!
  • The NBA and NHL resuming? Eli asks how many even care about sports anymore, especially with all the trouble in the U.S.  
  • COVID-19 talk is everywhere and one of the NHL’s top young star’s career may be in jeopardy due to the pandemic.
  • No caddies allowed on the LPGA? MLS at war over when and if it can start playing soccer again? Yet the coast MAY be nearly clear.
  • For instance, Korean MLB could serve as a model for baseball to return. It’s had no outbreaks since resuming play.
  • LOOK! Denny is now ready for 1967 to begin — JUST in time for 2020 as he asks Eli for advice about (GASP!) marijuana!  
  • Detroiter Brad Keselowski has won his second straight NASCAR race. Denny recalls interviewing him when Brad was THREE!
  • How do you go through $44 million and wind up broke? Ask baseball’s Esteban Loaiza AND Mike Tyson among others!
  • Watching the Lance Armstrong doc on ESPN these days? Bob: He’s a lying SOB. NO! Eli to Bob: Aren’t you being a hypocrite?
  • A silly fan’s suggestion in YOUR Mailbag to (GULP!) get rid of BOB and hire — SERIOUSLY?!  Those stories and 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 141: Jimmy Carson: NHL Star to Business Star!

Jimmy Carson playing hockey

“I get to help a lot of families.”

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

  • “Sorry, we just traded you — for Wayne Gretzky!” JIMMY CARSON, the only OTHER teen to score 50 in one season, is our guest! 
  • So Denny, tell us about, ya know, that OTHER time you were almost arrested — and you had your LIFE threatened?
  • It was a VERY busy weekend for Eli. His beloved golf is back — well, kinda — AND he broke a Michigan law!
  • But Eli’s on edge. So are a LOT of people in Michigan self-quarantining. Now the FAMILY DOG seems to be on edge too!
  • What’s MLB gonna do now? We’re all waiting, while a big college baseball program falls victim to COVID-19.
  • If MLB does play this year, we know who its highest-paid player will be. Trout? Max? JV? NO! Wait’ll you hear.
  • And whither college football? Bob has the SECOND-worst scenario next to NO game: U-M v MSU a controlled scrimmage!
  • The once-beautiful Phyllis George has passed away. Eli and Denny lament but BOB points a finger!
  • Denny STONED for the first time ever? He STILL thinks the Packers will trade Aaron Rodgers to his treasured Bears.
  • And what kind of show would this be if we didn’t run down the NFL’s weekend rap sheet for you?
  • Those stories, YOUR mailbag featuring a certain ex-organ player warbling plus much more right here!

Episode 136: Dave Bing, THIS is YOUR Life!

Dave Bing

Let’s refresh some people’s memories.

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

  • DAVE BING could have been INFAMOUS in Detroit sports instead of one of its most BELOVED figures. The Mayor joins us today!
  • So ya wanted Denny’s big MLB “scoop” he promised recently but never delivered? We’ve got it NOW — from another source!
  • MORE lawsuits involving alleged sex abuse at Michigan State, this time a big one against the NCAA itself.
  • It’s official: college sports’ “student-athletes” are now finally allowed to make money on outside endeavors!
  • Looks like Shea Patterson WON’T be making any money in the NFL. Details of his stunning fall from grace.
  • Quick now, Denny: if’n NASCAR come back, which good ol’ boy gonna win the CO-Cola 600? Denny: UH, who’s IN it?
  • Further ugliness from the Bulls-Pistons rivalry being displayed on ESPN. WHAT is Isaiah NOW claiming?!
  • A listener takes exception to Eli’s comments about Ernie Harwell. Eli defends himself — and Bob riffs on “the meaning of Ernie.”
  • Stevie Y signs two top young Swedish goalies. If STEVIE likes ’em, WE like ’em too. After all, can we FULLY trust Bernier?
  • Listen up, all you single gals out there! Guess who’s being BOMBARDED on a dating service now? Hint: NOT Eli. NOT Bob.
  • Those stories, YOUR weekly Mailbag segment  - soon to be SPONSORED by YOU? - and much more right here!