Vin Scully

Episode 185: Role Model for Girls? Role Model for ALL!

Manon Rhéaume

She just happens to be a woman.

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

  • Wow, a WOMAN guest — our first one ever! And what better choice than hockey trailblazer Manon Rhéaume?
  • All the sturm und drang, all the controversy over MLB’s COVID-bastardized season — yet justice is done anyway.
  • After seeing the talent level of the playoff teams, now it’s Eli’s turn to be angry with Al Avila and the Tigers. 
  • Denny takes exception to the hot-dogging from some of the players. Bob doesn’t dig the fraternizing.
  • A win at Jax and now it’s on to the playoffs! Don’t SOME members of the media and Lions fans EVER learn? 
  • “Who the hell was YALE LARY?” The uneducated young generation scoffs. Bob gives ’em a MUCH-needed lesson.
  • And Eli gives the young an important black history lesson in his “This Day in Sports.”  
  • Big Ten(14) football is BACK! Could lowly Rutgers destroy Mel Tucker’s MSU debut? What if Harbaugh loses at Minnesota?
  • Take a bow mid-Michigan! Two of your native sons brought us Sunday night’s thrilling Game 7.
  • And from Michigan’s Thumb comes news of the retirement of one of broadcasting’s all-time greats. 
  • Those stories, Bob has YOUR mailbag segment and WE’VE got much more right here!

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 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 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 140: The Greatest Legend in MLB HISTORY?!

Jim Abbott

The No-Hitter in Yankee Stadium was really special.

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

  • How did JIM ABBOTT do it?! Born without a right hand - yet became a star pitcher at U-M AND in MLB?! Jim joins the boys!
  • Sports are slowly coming back — but maybe not MLB. WAAYYY too many money issues, as we’ve reported previously.
  • So that begs the question: do people NEED sports or do MORE people HATE sports? Eli has some passionate thoughts on that.
  • But there’s plenty to do and watch without sports — as Denny found out during an impromptu stroll down Memory Lane!  
  • What about the NFL? Bob details a LOT of issues that may keep IT from opening too. No more TAILGATING?!
  • Not guilty! A judge has dismissed the charges from the Nassar Nightmare against former MSU President Lou Anna Simon.
  • Meanwhile, there’s surprising news about former Spartan star linebacker, the late Mike Labinjo.
  • Ohio State and Michigan SCARED of a football rival? MSU, Penn St and Wisconsin too? Not YET, at least, but maybe soon?
  • Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland (mercifully?) blown out of the Monday Night Football broadcast booth. NOW what?
  • Our producer Brand McAfee makes a SHOCKING confession about his childhood — and STILL can’t let go of it! 
  • YOUR Mailbag may now have a theme song! You, uh, might NOT want to hear it as warbled by DENNY McLAIN, though. 
  • Those stories 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.

Episode 132: YOU asked for him! You GOT Dan Petry!

Dan Petry pitching

The perfect gentlemen.

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

  • Great guy! Great guest! Ex-Tiger Dan Petry joins us to talk about HIS career, son Jeff’s NHL career and more!
  • What day is it? Who knows? Temper-temper! The boys get nasty again over their opposite thoughts on COVID-19.
  • Bob asks, “Is this woman a NUT?!” over Michigan Governor Whitmer’s shut-down of almost the entire state!
  • Why no GOLF?! In FLORIDA, pro wrestling has now been deemed an “essential business!”
  • Think it has to do with a Dem running Michigan and a Republican running Florida? Denny says NO. Bob says YES.
  • The NFL has it’s first Covid-19 diagnosis as MSU alum Brian Allen tests positive. He’s just fine, thank you.
  • What’s that, Mr. NFL player? You DON’T wanna play for the FL’S? Golly, why NOT?  
  • The moment we’ve all been waiting for: BASEBALL is underway again! Uh, in Taiwan AND with fake fans!
  • Long-time pilot Denny gives us his take on the disturbing new report re Roy Halladay’s plane-crash death.
  • Can U-M athletic director Warde Manuel survive his gaffe in the Wolverines’ own sex scandal? MSU redux?!
  • Eli tells us there’s trouble for Michigan basketball too. Juwan suddenly loses his top two recruits!  
  • Those stories, a rising NASCAR driver turns into a pariah, YOUR mailbag and much more right here!

Episode 122: “Panic at the DISCO?” Panic EVERYWHERE!!!

Group of medical face masks

It’s not panic. It’s called precaution.

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

  • The most famous AND controversial ump in MLB, COWBOY JOE WEST, joins us today with LOTSA great stories!
  • Stand by, ladies and gents, cuz ELI ZARET has a special announcement to make! Whether you’ll believe him is …
  • Help! Help! We’re ALL gonna DIE of Coronavirus! At least Eli and Denny seem to think so. BOB calls “bulls—!”
  • Sports betting is now legal and open for business in Michigan! Only problem is, there may not be any sports to bet on.  
  • First tennis, then college basketball tournaments, then the NBA and MORE! OMG, what will we DO without SPORTS?!
  • Um, spend more time with our loved ones and friends? (Gasp!) read BOOKS? Get off the couch and go work out?
  • The TPC is still on — as of THIS writing. Can slumping Brooks Koepka win? HE sez he’s gotten some VERY special help.
  • Tom Brady is launching a production company. Make Eli LAUGH! HE knows what a daunting thing that is to do.
  • Ex-MSU football assistant Curtis Blackwell is back with ANOTHER lawsuit, now alleging Mark Dantonio is a RACIST! Yeah, right.
  • Gronk to become WHAT? A pro wrestler for the WWE? Our resident expert, producer Brandon McAfee, is all over it! 
  • Those stories, YOUR mailbag segment and much more right here.

Episode 95: DIRECT from Hamtramck AND MLB — It’s “WIMPY!”

Tom Paciorek (Hawk and Wimpy)

You never lose a nickname! 

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

  • FUNNY guy, GREAT personality! Tom Paciorek shoulda been a media star after his MLB career! Wait. He WAS! And he’s our GUEST!
  • A special thanks from Denny to YOU and to so many others for the condolences pouring in over Sharon’s passing.
  • Sweet Lou failed again with HOF Vets Committee voters. An injustice? Did his personality cost him? 
  • Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller DID get in but Bob attacks Miller for MLB’s money INSANITY. Eli and Denny attack Bob BACK!
  • And those two big bullies ALSO air it out with poor Bob on Ken Harrelson, who MAY be about to go in!
  • The boys are NOT getting along! Eli gets BIG pushback from Bob: won’t he PLEASE stop talking so much about the FL’s?!
  • And Mr. Z recaps, uh, some kind of heavyweight title fight this weekend. Quick now! Name ANY current champ you can!
  • It’s U-M (gulp!) vs Alabama in ONE bowl game and MSU (gulp!) vs Wake Forest and its hi-powered offense in another.
  • Eli takes us on a (comical) tour of some of the VERY BIG bowl games on the slate for lucky US.
  • PLUS, a WOMAN head coach in the NBA(?!), M and MSU basketball, YOUR comments in the mailbag and more right here!

Episode 68: The DEATH of one your kids: may it NEVER happen to you!

Ken Daniels, Detroit Red Wings Play by Play Announcer

Life will never be the same. 

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

  • TV voice of the Red Wings Ken Daniels joins us with a surprising prediction about the Wings’ coming season!
  • He, Eli & Denny have one TRAGIC thing in common: each had a child die. They all open up about it.
  • It’s another no-hitter for JV who joins other Al Avila give-aways now tearing it up in MLB.
  • Well, at least they both WON! Our recap of last weekend’s Michigan and Michigan State games.
  • Among NFL roster cuts? Teez Tabor — still ANOTHER blown high draft pick by the FL’s!
  • Bob asks if LeBron were drunk or high — or BOTH in his embarrassing “Taco Tuesday” rant. 
  • Ripping poor Coco Gauff to shreds? That’s like ripping Santa Claus — yet Denny does it anyway!
  • We’ve got the weekly mailbag with YOUR comments & questions. Call us too at (760) 89-BALLS!
  • And two out of three college basketball coaches would just say NO to Trump. Those stories and more right here.