May 18, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson throws out the first pitch before the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is no stranger to the baseball diamond.

As a dual-sport prep star in suburban Atlanta, CJ drew interest from Major League Baseball scouts and could have been drafted as a shortstop out of high school.

Entering the draft out of high school wasn’t an option for someone growing up in the Johnson family where a premium is placed on education.

Football won out over baseball and it is the Detroit Lions’ gain. But his time away from baseball hasn’t made him look like any less of a prospect. Johnson was at Comerica Park to throw out tonight’s first pitch but he got a few cuts in during batting practice earlier in the day.

Yeah, he homered into the bullpen. Take a look:

They now have the best 3-4 hitters in MLB in Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder and oh yeah, they have some guy named Justin Verlander who won the MVP and Cy Young award last year. The best pitcher on the planet now has two of the game’s best hitters to support him.

The Fielder signing got me to thinking. With The Lions, finally after wandering the football deserts for over forty years, planning to make a serious run for the Super Bowl title, could this be the greatest year in Detroit sports history? I know that the Tigers and Lions both won their respective titles in the same year, 1935. Everybody who remembered those crazy parties celebrating them raise their hand. That’s what I thought. They didn’t even have television then. If there’s no TV, did it really happen?

The 2012 season is primed to be a historic one in Detroit. Anyone who’s ever read this column knows that I TOTALLY believe that the Lions are poised to make a run like they did in the 50′s when they won 3 titles. The Lions ARE going to be the team of the decade. They are only one solid off-season away from laying the wood to the rest of the league.

Michael Sackett-US PRESSWIRE

I’ll admit to having little interest in the other two major teams in town. I do watch the Red Wings in the playoffs every year in their annual push for the Stanley Cup. Twenty straight years in the playoffs, damn-that is impressive. It’s exciting when they win, and I took enormous pride in the times they’ve hoisted the cup over their heads. But I never learned to skate, and only know when a goal is scored when they all start jumping around. I can’t find the puck.

I loved following the Pistons when they were good; I’m still pissed at Rasheed Wallace for leaving Robert Horry open and losing to the Spurs in game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals. But they’ve fallen on hard times and they need another year on the bottom before they can ascend to the top. The only way you succeed in the NBA is to get a high draft pick. I still don’t trust the NBA, It’s only a few steps away from the WWE. It’s not hard to see why they aren’t drawing large crowds when every other team in town can be debated as a title contender.

Think about it folks, in the span of the next year, we could be celebrating championships for the Red Wings, Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions. Let the good times roll.

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So yes — bless you boys.

You’ve given us reason to smile.

Funny thing now is, I’m not quite sure I know which “boys” I want to thank more.

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