Tampa Bay Rays

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 159: Dombro’s NEWEST MLB Challenge

Dave Dombroski

Nashville!

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

  • What REALLY happened to DAVE DOMBROWSKI with the Tigers AND the Sawx? The long-time top MLB exec joins us!
  • Canada just says “NO” — to the U.S.! But if the Blue Jays can’t play at home does it matter — with no fans at games anyway?
  • What are MLB games like now without spectators? Bob reports on his Yankees-Mets experience of the weekend.
  • And the PGA Tour experience with no gallery? Eli says he loves golf so much it’s STILL good. Denny and Bob disagree.
  • Now, boys, BEHAVE!!! ANOTHER COVID-19 melee breaks out — but don’t worry, folks. We kept it short.
  • Ditto the latest from the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Eli suggests what they SHOULD have named it.
  • No young black man’s gonna “snitch” on other young black men murdering black men, yet the NBA now has a “snitch line!” 
  • Is the NFL REALLY going to play its violent, contact sport in the new NO-contact world of today?
  • What about college football? Even MORE, what about all the workers who make their livings from football games?
  • “HETEROsexual discrimination?” One of hockey’s biggest names is claiming just that in a new lawsuit!
  • Those stories, “This Day in Sports” PLUS “This Day in NO FILTER SPORTS(?)” in YOUR mailbag — and much more!

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 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 120: A CANDID Tim McCormick Opens Up!

Black and white image of Tim McCormick in U of M basketball uniform

My real passion is broadcasting

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

  • Fed up with his LATEST sideline temper tantrum, MSU grad Bob rips Izzo a new one! Eli and Denny rip Bob right back.
  • Does every big college basketball team cheat? Eli and Denny actually believe that. Bob calls “B— s—!”
  • U-M’s OWN sex abuse scandal is growing larger — but c’mon, man! Can you actually compare it to MSU’s?
  • One of MLB’s top pitchers MIGHT be done at 30. Denny can relate — and says Chris Sale has nobody but himself to blame.
  • Are big league baseballs still messed up? Will Jacoby Jones EVER gain the stardom many predicted for him?
  • The Pistons coulda had Caris LeVert! Eli takes us through MANY bad decisions from the Pathetic Pistons’ recent past. 
  • Legal sports gambling IS coming to Michigan — but as early as NEXT WEEK? One reporter claims it’s true.
  • Knicks Nut Spike Lee is feuding with Madison Square Garden boss, James Dolan. Bob knows something about THIS!
  • Those stories, YOUR weekly mailbag and much more right here!

 

Episode 113: Is There No END to Embarrassment at MSU?!

Luke Fickell wearing headset

It’s just too messy a situation.

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

  • Pro Football HOFer HARRY CARSON joins the boys to discuss his career, Parcells, Belichick, his advocacy for player safety and more!
  • ANOTHER unmitigated DISASTER for Michigan State: “The Perfect Coach” for them sez, “thanks — but NO thanks.”
  • And that’s just part of a HOST of humiliating problems at Bob’s alma mater. Boy, does HE take it personally!
  • But wait, there’s more! On-court nightmares continue for MSU basketball with a loss at Michigan.
  • Is it the greatest rivalry in all of sports? Duke and North Carolina stage a show for the ages.
  • Andre Drummond out of the proverbial frying pan and INTO the fire of the Cadaverliers. What are the Pistons DOING?
  • The scandal that won’t go away: Denny with HIS thoughts on Hank Aaron’s thoughts on the Astros’ sign-stealing.
  • If we didn’t know better, we’d say that Eli actually sounds EXCITED about the XFL!
  • Are we BEGINNING to see some excitement about the Wings’ future? And how about that Bernier?!
  • If you can STAND it, Eli has another installment of “My Trip to the Bob Page Shrine.”
  • Denny was mentioned where last week? On WHAT show? Those stories, YOUR 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 79: Comin’ Up ROSE-y as Charlie Hustle Joins the Boys!

The Hit King Joins No Filter Sports

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

  • PETE ROSE with us for a frank and wide-ranging interview — but one of his predictions sure was a stinker!
  • Bob’s in Detroit and went to see LCA, the Wings, Pistons AND to learn who’s listening to us — and who’s not YET.
  • Wild stuff in MLB’s Playoffs! WE bust it down and Denny busts it UP by slamming a NUMBER of participants!
  • More P.C. insanity in sports, from the Braves wussing out to SOME NBA-types following suit!
  • With another college football weekend here, MSU’s problems are more OFF the field than ON at Wisconsin.
  • Should Michigan revamp its offense for mere Illinois or WAIT for the Penn State game? We have a DISAGREEMENT here.
  • Meanwhile, a different kind of controversy’s going on in Happy Valley. The coach handles it; Eli and Bob are STILL pissed!
  • It’s the Mystics versus the Sun for all the marbles tonight! Uh, WHO? And for what “marbles?” 
  • And Denny was working WHERE? Doing WHAT?! Those stories and much more coming up right here.

Episode 77: Rip My Father-in-Law and I’ll KILL You!

Baseball field diagram showing the "Williams Shift"

You Think You’ve Seen Hell? Just Wait!

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

  • Remembering Denny AND Mickey in the 1968 World Series on its 51st anniversary.
    Pardon us, WHAT did you say the Tigers did this week?!  
  • The MLB Playoffs kicked off with a HIGHLY unfortunate incident Tuesday. Will it be Bill Buckner redux? 
  • Meanwhile, baseball’s attendance took a massive hit this year and now MORE controversy over — “deadly” t-shirt guns?
  • Is Saturday the beginning of the end for Harbaugh at Eli’s alma mater? Some say Iowa is the biggest game of Jim’s tenure.
  • MSU might be embarrassed at Ohio State but a MUCH bigger problem in East Lansing has come to the fore! Bob explains.
  • California’s “Fair Pay to Play Act” is causing a ruckus in college sports and causes a BIG stir with the boys as well.
  • Whaddya know? The FL’s will get through the entire weekend without a loss!
  • And it’s finally come to this: Bob has news that SHOCKS Denny, then Denny THREATENS Bob on his next trip to Detroit!
  • Those stories and much more coming up right here.

Episode 76: TWO Questions You KNOW You’ve Wanted to Ask Eli and Denny

Did it take Denny more or less than 100 days to gain 100 pounds, and What happened to Eli in New York?

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

  • Now that nearly EVERYONE in Detroit is excited the FL’s are OBVIOUSLY going to the playoffs, Denny says WHAT?! 
  • Even more hostility than usual in the NFL: Rex vs Baker, Vontaze vs Goodell, AB vs EVERYBODY — but who WOULDN’T wanna choke OBJ?!
  • Denny claims he doesn’t see all the raw talent Michigan has? Ask Chris Ash, FIRED Sunday as Rutgers coach after that 52-0 route.
  • Was MSU exposed in a too-narrow win over Indiana? Bob says so — and that this Saturday night in Columbus might be UGLY.
  • Great! The Toothless Tigers have quickly righted their sunken ship! They’ve hired a LOT more analytics people!
  • Among other issues, what on earth are they going to do about woeful Jordan Zimmermann? That’s among LOTSA stuff in our mailbag.
  • The boys look towards the MLB playoffs now and aren’t happy about the set-up.
  • And two questions YOU want answered: Why does Lolich hate Denny so much? And what happened in Eli’s brief TV foray into NYC? 
  • All these stories — and much more for you — right here!