Barry Sanders thinks Calvin Johnson can reach a Super Bowl

Former Detroit Lions great, Barry Sanders will possibly go down as the greatest player to never appear in a Super Bowl. Toiling for the Lions ruined Sanders chances at any kind of postseason success. Even though the team never had much success, Sanders thinks Lions receiver, Calvin Johnson won't endure a similar fate. Sanders thinks that Johnson has a good chance to reach a Super Bowl.

 "I think for him, he has the advantage because it's a passing game. It's much more difficult to stop a passing game than it is to stop a running game, especially with the way defenses play today. So I think his chances will be better of getting to a Super Bowl."

What has Sanders been smoking? Has he really watched these Lions? The way it's looking they could be headed nowhere fast. The only way Johnson gets to a Super Bowl is if he gets traded to a contender.

I'm a Lions fan through and through but barring a reversal of fortune, I see Sanders blowing smoke up everyone's backside and providing false hope for Lions fans once again.

Bears' Devin Hester might seek trade

Devin  Hester sounded like a broken man when head coach Lovie Smith was fired by the Chicago Bears. After another frustrating end to the season and no playoffs, Hester's frustration boiled over and he threatened  to retire. After about a month he reconsidered.  

Now Hester says he might need a change of scenery. With a year left on his contract Hester spoke about his future and determined that he might be better served playing elsewhere.

"I'm going to try to get two or three more years in,'' Hester told the Chicago Tribune on Saturday. "I think I have that much left in me.

"At the same time, I think I do need a fresh start.'' 

Hester sounds like he wants to stay, but after seeing his role diminish on offense he doesn't know if he sees himself in the Bears' immediate plans. That has much to do with his frustration. Throw in Lovie Smith's firing and you have a player that says he might need to be traded.


"It's a possibility,'' he said. "I'm loyal to my team. But the fans and my teammates have to understand where I'm coming from.

"I don't want to walk away from this game with another season going the way it ended this year. … It might have to take a fresh start somewhere else.''

Hester is a playmaker, but he's more of a one trick pony than a guy to include in an offensive game plan. I don't see anyone making a trade for him, but remember the Oakland Raiders were roped into taking Carson Palmer off the Bengals' hands, so anything is possible.

Yankees' Mark Teixeira admits he's overpaid

As you age you lose a step. It's just a natural progression in life. You just can't pull off some things you used to be able to do when you were younger.

New York Yankees first baseman, Mark Teixeira is coming to grips with this reality. Even though he's only 32, Texieira's numbers have slipped since signing an eight-year, $180 million contract with the Yankees in December of 2008. His power is still there, but the batting eye is gone. No longer hitting .280, he's now hovering near the .250 mark and heading toward DH territory.

Knowing he's not the player he once was, Teixeira admits to being overpaid and knows that he's on the downside of his career.

"I looked at the first six or seven years of my career, I was in my 20s, it was easy. I wasn't searching for the right formula. To think that I'm going to get remarkably better, as I get older and breaking down a little bit more, it's not going to happen," Teixeira said.

"Maybe I'm slowing down a tick. Look, I'm not going to play forever. Eventually you start, I don't want to say declining, but it gets harder and harder to put up 30 [homers] and 100 [RBI]," Teixeira said.


"I have no problem with anybody in New York, any fan, saying you're overpaid. Because I am," Teixeira said. "We all are."

"Agents are probably going to hate me for saying it," he continued. "You're not very valuable when you're making $20 million. When you're Mike Trout, making the minimum, you are crazy valuable. My first six years, before I was a free agent, I was very valuable. But there's nothing you can do that can justify a $20 million contract."

I'll give Tex credit for admitting that he's overpaid for the production he's given the Yankees. But couldn't any player say the same? There are plenty of others who will try to justify their outrageous salary due to past performances. It shouldn't work that way, but then again, we live in a regular world and they don't.

Teixeira knows the end is coming and sounds like he doesn't want to hang on. No one wants to admit when they're declining but sometimes you just have to deal with that reality. I know I wouldn't want a fan telling me I was washed up. Don't just try to hang on trying to prove you still have something left in the tank.

Washington St. receiver busted stealing tequila

College students have a hard time making ends meet at times. But you should be able to find alcohol anywhere on a college campus. Not that I condone alcoholism, but you shouldn't have to steal it. Apparently no one got that point across to Washington State receiver Drew Loftus.

Loftus was busted early Friday for stealing two bottles of tequila from a grocery store.  


Loftus, 19, was taken to the Pullman Police Department and issued three misdemeanor citations for 3rd-degree theft, minor in possession of alcohol and minor intoxicated in public. He was released upon his signature.

Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said a store employee called the police just before 1 a.m. after observing Loftus shove two bottles of tequila — priced at $21.99 each — into the waistband of his pants. Loftus then grabbed a carton of eggs and proceeded to the checkout counter, where he attempted to pay for the eggs but not the tequila.

Loftus was also arrested in December of 2011 on a car-prowling charge, according to the Tri-City Herald. He was 18 at the time.

Loftus transferred to Washington State from Hawaii and is currently a walk on. That could explain why he was caught stealing liquor. Books I can understand, but he couldn't get one of his scholarship teammates to hook him up. Maybe not enough monetary handshakes going around Pullman these days.

Loftus' status is unresolved as of now, but coach Mike Leach can't be too happy about it, especially since he's violated one of his three golden rules.  No drug use, no stealing, and no abuse of women.

Senior defensive tackle Anthony Laurenzi was dismissed from the team just before fall camp started last season after he allegedly stole a pair of headphones from Wal Mart. So it's safe to say that Loftus is good as gone in Pullman.

Rubio would take Pau Gasol on his team

Minnesota Timberwolves guard, Ricky Rubio is standing up for Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol. Rubio doesn't think it's right that Gasol is being brought off the bench and playing limited fourth quarter minutes in some games. Rubio or Gasol don't think it's right that Earl Clark has been starting in his place.

Gasol has also been the subject of trade rumors the past two years and Rubio would gladly take him on his  Timberwolves squad if the Lakers don't want him.

 "He proved to the league he is one of the best," Rubio said. "He can pass. He can shoot. He can rebound. He can do a lot of things. I think if you use him in the right way he is a top player in this league. If they don't want him, we are more than welcome to get him."

"It's been the last two years that it seems like they don't want him, but actually they need him," Rubio said. "He's a great player. He can do a lot of things and he had some issues with the knees, too. It's been a lot of years without resting for him. But he's a veteran. He knows how to play."

Even though Gasol is having a tough year, the Timberwolves would have to give up something of significant value (Kevin Love) to get Gasol. Minnesota has been mentioned as a possible trade partner, but I don't see it happening. No matter how much Rubio wants his fellow countryman on his team.

Gasol has said that he wants to remain a Laker, but he must swallow his pride and just play ball. Maybe if he focused on that and blocked out his distractions, he and the Lakers can turn their season around.

Herman Edwards says Titans should cut Kenny Britt

The Tennessee Titans must really be desperate for receivers. The team currently employs Nate Washington and Kendall Wright and the troubled Kenny Britt. A corps to build on, but Britt shouldn't be there.

Britt has had nine brushes with the law since being drafted by the Titans in the first round in 2009. That would include his latest where he took a friend, who had been stabbed to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. Britt refused to cooperate with the police after the incident.

Former NFL head coach and current ESPN analyst, Herman Edwards told 102.5 The Game's Darren McFarland that Britt has become a distraction for the Titans and needs to be cut.


“What players don't realize is this: It's not so much your problem, it becomes the locker room's problem. Because the media come in and say, 'what do you think about Kenny Britt?' You don't even want to talk about Kenny Britt. You've got your own issues as a player. I'm trying to get ready for the Saints, and you want to talk about Kenny Britt?” Edward said. “So now you become the guy. And I always tell players, don't be that guy where all of a sudden what you're doing off the field is more important than our preparation for the week.

“So the Titans, in my opinion are gonna have to make a decision of what's best for the organization and that might even help Kenny Britt. Kenny Britt needs to be cut. When you get cut, and you can't play anymore, it's amazing because you go, 'They cut me?' Yeah, they cut you. And sometimes you have to do that not only for the sake of the team, but also for the sake of the player.”

I agree with Edwards on his take. Britt and the Titans need to part ways. But if the Titans are willing to put up with Britt's immaturity off the field, so be it. Somehow the team will pay the price for keeping him around. I guess when a team is devoid of playmakers, they'll keep you around, even if you're constantly in trouble.

'It Girl' of the week: Christine LeMaster

The 'It Girl' of the week is Christine Lemaster