Umpires

Episode 172: Shep: LIVIN’ THE DREAM!

Matt Shepard

It’s a blast…every single day.

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

  • So how do you get to be an MLB play-by-play announcer? Guest MATT SHEPARD had a VERY unusual path to the Tigers!
  • The sports world mourns the death of one of the greatest pitchers ever. The boys reminisce on Tom Terrific.
  • The Tigers’ win streak ended at six. With five games against the Twins now on tap, is this the season’s telling point?
  • Looks like Eli’s suddenly started to watch the NBA playoffs. He did NOT like what he saw from one game in particular.
  • Bob on the NHL Playoffs: Is the great Zdeno Chara finally finished at 43 — or just finished in Boston?
  • Get ready, gamblers! Denny has his pick on Saturday’s Kentucky Derby for you — NOT! 
  • Legal sports gambling rages on. Denny updates us on what the Cubs are doing — and WHAT’S that about MJ?!
  • Big Ten(14!) football after all? President Trump will want to take credit IF that occurs — but would he deserve to?
  • MSU’s Kirk Cousins raked over the coals by the media for his ideas about COVID-19! Denny and Eli to the rescue.
  • How much would YOU pay for a presence at FL’s games? “ZERO?” Producer Brandon McAfee sez $100 but he does have limits.
  • Eli with “This Day in Sports History,” Bob’s got YOUR mailbag segment and much more right here!

Episode 158: SUPER-Sub Johnny Grubb!

Johnny Grubb batting

Everybody understood what our roles were.

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

  • 1984 Tigers hero JOHNNY GRUBB joins the boys on his long MLB career, playing for Sparky AND Duke Snider — and more!
  • What’s NEXT in this wacko P.C. world? One of the great powers in college basketball forced to change ITS nickname too?!
  • Chase Elliott has won the NASCAR All-Star Race before 20,000 REAL fans! Bob asks why the major sports can’t have fans too?
  • Would it help your enjoyment if ALL sports teams used fake crowd noise and fan cut-out figures in the seats? You GOT it!  
  • Is playing on the PGA Tour without fans EASIER? Denny says NO. Everybody in golf seems to say YES!
  • Excited about phenom Casey Mize pitching for Detroit this year? Denny sees a BIG potential problem for him already!
  • The NBA’s “Bubble” apparently has a big hole in it now — but only if you’re a hot 20-something young woman.
  • Eli has This Day in Sports which includes one of the worst collisions ever seen in baseball.
  • Those stories, You-Know-Who on the Hammond Organ in YOUR mailbag segment and much 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 85: Mr. McLain, Do You GAMBLE on Baseball?!

I had a great night with that home run!

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

  • So, does Denny still have such little respect for “Mercenary Max” Scherzer NOW? 
  • The boys wrap up the World Series and pull no punches about the umpiring and managing we saw.
  • And to think that Denny picked the Nats to win it all! Rest assured, he’s NOT too shy to mention that — or his BETS!
  • The FL’s go to Oakland to face the Raiders with a ONE-GAME win streak! Exciting! But Bob sez fans know what usually comes next.
  • Michigan and Michigan State have byes this Saturday. Well, the Wolverines, ya know, TECHNICALLY …
  • Meanwhile, the broken record keeps skipping: still MORE trouble for MSU off the field.
  • Ypsilanti, Michigan high school hoops superstar Emoni Bates has landed on the COVER of S.I. — at age 15! Too much, too soon?
  • Eli strikes out on the meaning of “load management” in sports. Oh, you too? You likely won’t be happy to learn what it is.
  • Boo-Hoo! The Pistons are under .500 cuz they have injuries. So how have the Raptors flown out of the gate without Kawhi?
  • Plus Gary McCord surprised, unhappy by his firing at CBS, we hear from YOU in our weekly mailbag and much more right here!

Episode 80: Ty Cobb to Denny and HIS generation: You Guys Suck!

These Kids Don’t Know How To Play The Game

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

  • Oh, the homers, the strikeouts, etc. in the MLB playoffs! Denny: It’s a different game. Bob: And blah, blah, blah.
  • And the baseballs themselves! “Wouldn’t It be NIce?” if everyone would just stop bitchin’ cuz “It’s Kind of a Drag.”
  • Denny finally goes to school on a future Hall of Famer — just one of the MANY baseball topics we’ve got for you.
  • Matt Stafford is on the cusp of breaking MORE records as the FL’s go to play — Bob’s favorite team? 
  • No matter any one result, Eli’s also had enough of the FL’s and harkens back to the glorious 50’s — all we have left!
  • The new “biggest game of Harbaugh’s Michigan career” looms at Happy Valley this Saturday.
  • While Michigan State MAY be playing — WHEN they play -the FINAL games of Mark Dantonio’s career.
  • Bo and his presidency of the Tigers: the boys have plenty of stories on that — none that would make Bo proud!  
  • Eli’s been TRYING to tell us so: a younger Steve Yzerman really WAS a big pain in the, uh — butt!
  • Those stories — the Wings desperate already?- and much more coming up right here.

Episode 58: When a Team Quits, Who’s Responsible?

If they’re quitting, it’s the managers’ fault.

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

  • An NFL Strike?! TV Networks blacking out games now?! What a potential relief for fans of the FL’s – and the Terrible Tigers!
  • With training camps now open, the boys riff on Zeke vs. Jerry, a longer season and new Lion Mike Daniels’ amazing statement!
  • After somehow losing four straight to the Miserable Mariners, have the Tigers officially quit? Has Miggy? And is much of it Gardy’s fault?
  • Part of it is surely Al Avila’s – but is he a RACIST too? That’s the allegation in a pathetic lawsuit just filed.
  • Denny talks pitching – and talks about Trevor Bauer’s shameless “snap.”
  • Eli talks about golf – uh, his OWN game. Bob on one pro sports owner who REALLY gets it.
  • Those stories and much more right here!
 

Episode 31: HBO on LCA: Fair Reporting or a Hit Job?

It should not surprise anyone that these accusations are made.

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

  • HBO’s “Real Sports” rocks Detroit and the Ilitch family — but was the reporting “fair and balanced?”
  • The NFL Draft is front and center! What major gaffes will the FL’s make THIS year?
  • The Tigers have swept a twinbill at Boston for the first time since 1965 — but Denny has a “senior moment” on his role back then.
  • Meanwhile, Bob puts Denny in his place for spreading an absurd rumor that’s years old on our last podcast.
  • The Drew and Mike Show discovers a bizarre website which has forced Michigan’s Jordan Poole to turn pro. Eli explains.
  • Controversy continues over concussions in the NHL and the NFL as the boys argue about fighting in hockey — from Probie to present.
  • Those stories, the NBA with its cast of TV bimbos and much more right here