During the 2011 NFL Draft, former NFL wide receiver Titus Young felt like Barry Sanders was passing him the torch when he called his name with the 44^th overall pick. Titus might have had the right idea, but it definitely wasn’t Barry doing any torch passing. Might Charles Rogers have been passing something instead?

According to the Oakland Press, Titus Young was arrested not once, but twice on Sunday by the Moreno Valley Police Department in Southern California. The first arrest occurred just after midnight when Titus was pulled over for an illegal left turn and arrested for suspicion of drunk driving. He was booked, issued a citation and released.

Titus, not one known for calling it quits, found himself in yet another pickle when he was caught trying to break into impound later that day. He was attempting to steal back his black Ford Mustang. The MVPD arrested Titus again, this time for burglary, and booked him in the same detention center. They did not charge him with stealing from the Ford Family.

Apparently, Titus Young is just as delusional about his abilities as a criminal as his abilities as a football player. It’s too bad he already quit got canned from his day job. Maybe he won’t beat Barry in any record books, but he does have at least one nailed down...

Detroit Lions (Unofficial) Record Book for Time Elapsed Between Arrests

15 Hours- Former WR Titus Young

Folks, you can put this one up there with Wilt’s 100, Gretzy’s career points and DiMaggio’s hitting streak of awe-inspiring records that will never be broken.

22 days- RB Mikel Leshoure

In 2012 Mikel was pulled over for going 92 mph on I-94 and arrested for marijuana possession. After stewing on it for almost a month, he decided the trick was to eat your weed during police traffic stops and landed in the slammer again.

31 days- RB Mikel Leshoure

Mikel helps cement himself on the list after failing to miss his ensuing court date and having a warrant issued for his arrest. He was able to work it out with the court so he didn't face contempt charges, but missing your initial court date after two marijuana arrests is impressive nonetheless. His spot as RB1 all of a sudden looked less cushiony.

54 days- DT Nick Fairley

Arrested April 3^rd 2012 for possession of marijuana and May 27^th 2012 for DUI, reckless driving, attempted fleeing/eluding and perhaps most gangsta of all, no proof of insurance.

Honorable Mention- Former WR Charles Rogers

Charles was arrested five times between 2008 and 2011, but surprisingly his arrest relapse time had a much larger margin than the fellas listed above.  He does get special brownie points for flare, though. If anyone can make a move on Titus, it’s a man with truly special talent such as Charles.

.@nflcommish and @barrysanders welcome @ziggyansah to NFL. #Lions twitter.com/freepsports/st…

— Freep Sports (@freepsports) April 26, 2013

After offensive linemen Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel went 1-2 and the Eagles took Lane Johnson at No. 4, the Lions were a lock to either go with a defensive lineman and address arguably their biggest need or trade down.

Not able to trade down, or not wanting to, the Lions opted to go with BYU's Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah with the fifth overall pick. If you're asking, who? you probably don't mind me pointing you to Wikipedia: 

Ansah was not found on any of the 2012 preseason mock drafts for the 2013 NFL draft. By mid-season, he had moved up from unlisted to the late-first round or early second round with many analysts calling him the sleeper pick of the draft. Ansah further improved his draft stock with his "outstanding defensive player" outing in the 2013 Senior bowl, where he recorded seven tackles (six solo), 1.5 sacks (for 13 yards), 3.5 tackles for loss (for 24 yards), a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. In the NFL scouting combine Ansah recorded a 4.63 40 meter time, 21 reps on the bench press, a 34.5 inch vertical jump, a 118 inch broad jump, 7.11 seconds in the three cone drill, and 4.26 seconds in the 20 yard shuffle.  

The biggest knocks on Ansah - and they're big ones - are that he's 24 years old and didn't start until his senior year of college (read: he's very inexperienced). In fact, as recent as four years ago, he was getting cut from BYU's basketball team. 

But Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz insist that Ansah will make an immediate impact and they didn't draft him to be a project. They don't have that luxury anyway. 

I was torn on how I felt about the pick at first, but I'm drinking up all the koolaid that's being provided in the ESPN feature below: 

There's also a lot of fun off-the-field reasons to love him: His name (Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah) is amazing; he wore 3D glasses to the draft; immediately after being picked, he confidently said "I think we'll be back here next year for the Super Bowl"; and he's one hellll of a model American, er, I mean Ghanaian. 

Ziggy will wear No. 94 and you can already purchase his jersey: 

PHOTO: First look at Ziggy Ansah's No. 94 Detroit #Lions jersey. twitter.com/BradGalli/stat…

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) April 26, 2013

GO LIONS.

Barry Sanders won the Madden 25 (1989-2014) cover vote on ESPN and will grace the game's cover. 

Here is the cover! Congratulations, @barrysanders! twitter.com/DetroitLionsNF…

— Detroit Lions (@DetroitLionsNFL) April 25, 2013

The Lions are back-to-back Madden cover champs! In addition to Justin Verlander being on MLB2k13 and Denard Robinson and Barry Sanders on NCAA2k, it's a pretty good time to be a Michigan sports fan.

The Madden 2014 cover vote for the 25th anniversary edition has ended, the votes are being counted, but the best running back to ever play the game of football received a ringing endorsement from arguably golf's best golfer before it was all said and done: 

I’m voting for @barrysanders for the Madden 25 cover #Madden25Barry es.pn/13jszbX

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 24, 2013

The winner is being revealed right now on ESPN2. We'll update as soon as it's announced.

UPDATE: Barry won. Was there ever a doubt? 

PRESEASON 

Week 1 - Friday, Aug. 9 - vs. New York (7:30 p.m.)
Week 2 - Thursday, Aug. 15 - @ Cleveland (7:30 p.m.)
Week 3 - Thursday, Aug 22 - vs. New England (7:30 p.m.)
Week 4 - Thursday, Aug. 29 - @ Buffalo (7:00 p.m.) 

REGULAR SEASON 

Week 1 - Sept. 8 - vs. Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 2 - Sept. 15 - at Arizona Cardinals (4:05 p.m., FOX)
Week 3 - Sept. 22 - at Washington Redskins (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 4 - Sept. 29 - vs. Chicago Bears (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 5 - Oct. 6 - at Green Bay Packers (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 6 - Oct. 13 - at Cleveland Browns (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 7 - Oct. 20 - vs. Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m., CBS)
Week 8 - Oct. 27 - vs. Dallas Cowboys (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 9 - BYE
Week 10 - Nov. 10 - at Chicago Bears (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 11 - Nov. 17 - at Pittsburgh Steelers (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 12 - Nov. 24 - vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 13 - Nov. 28 - vs. Green Bay Packers (12:30 p.m., FOX)
Week 14 - Dec. 8 - at Philadelphia Eagles (1 p.m., FOX)
Week 15 - Dec. 16 - vs. Baltimore Ravens (8:40 p.m., ESPN)
Week 16 - Dec. 22 - vs. New York Giants (4:05 p.m., FOX)
Week 17 - Dec. 29 - at Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m., FOX)

Remember this YouTube video from last year? 

Not long after signing beleaguered kicker from "The League", David Akers, the Lions went out and signed a YouTube sensation. Last time Jim Schwartz got hard watching a player's YouTube highlights, that player didn't really pan out (due to injury).

I guess we'll have to wait and see how this compelling kicker situation plays out in THE YEAR OF THE KICKER. 

No mas

A little less than a month ago, Hanson was coming back, provided he and the Lions could work out a deal. On Thursday, April 4, 2013, Jason Hanson retired from football after TWENTY ONE (21!) years of kicking for the Detroit Lions. There will be a press conference on Tuesday.

While it might seem like Hanson and the Lions couldn't come to terms on a contract, the oldest active player in the NFL indicated that a heel injury was ultimately what convinced him to hang 'em up. Believe what you will, but what Hanson says should stand and, rather than concern ourselves with the why, we should celebrate No. 4 and his great career.

Hanson was sadly the lone bright spot for many a putrid Lions teams and admirably remained loyal to Detroit despite all the downs. 21 years of steady kicking not only made Hanson the Lions' all-time leading scorer, but also helped land him third on the NFL's all-time scoring list, behind only Morten Anderson and Gary Andersen. (By the way, only three Lions on that list spent their entire career in Detroit -- Barry Sanders and Doak Walker are the other two and both have their jerseys retired.)

RT to congratulate Jason Hanson on 21 seasons with the Detroit Lions. twitter.com/DetroitLionsNF…

— Detroit Lions (@DetroitLionsNFL) April 4, 2013

Congratulations, Jason Hanson, and thank you for your service to the Honolulu Blue and Silver. 

Ndamukong Suh was eliminated from 'Splash' after just two dives, a bloody nose and saving Louie Anderson's life. His PR manager (and diving instructor) should be fired. 

GIF via Guyism

Now that the Detroit Lions have picked up Reggie Bush to complement Calvin Johnson, the new two headed monster in the Motor City might have you reaching for your wallet to purchase some season tickets for what might prove to be the most dynamic and prolific offense in the NFL. The question is, what are you waiting for? Grab those season passes right now.

If you're going to be seen in the stands, you're going to have to deck yourself out in the jersey of your favorite player as well as take on the cost of season tickets. You'll probably want to open a new credit card just for these purchases. Before you just go and open up the first offer that shows up in your mailbox, compare the best credit card offers that you can find. There are plenty of options out there - just like free agency!

This time, once you've started looking, you'll find that the best card interest rates are low and fixed. Very similar to the way the Lions let go of perennial false starter Gosard Cherilus, you can let go of some of your under-performing cards and replace them with ones that will do what you want, when you want them to, without being hit with penalties.

Ok, enough about that. Let's talk about the real deal here - the Lions actually making a deep run into the playoffs. After a dismal showing last year, mostly due to mental errors and the inability to hold a lead, there is some hope here. Not only is there a chance to have a real run game with a game breaker like Bush in the backfield. He also brings athleticism to the short pass game. Look to see a lot of inside screen passes and motion out of the backfield. There are very few linebackers or safeties that can stay with Bush in the open field. He isn't a Barry Sanders, but he is a game changer. If the Lions get a run game going, that will open up the passing game and we won't see the bookend coverage on Calvin Johnson that we saw all of last year.

The offensive line looks to be in good shape with Riley Reiff and Jason Fox stepping up to anchor the line with Dominic Raiola, Rob Simms and Corey Hilliard, we have the makings of a strong run and pass blocking core. Couple that with Will Heller and Brandon Pettigrew and the offense looks as strong as ever. (Not to mention any draft additions!)

The defense, even after losing some key players, could end up stronger than last year. Detroit will look to upgrade in the secondary and in the defensive ends to replace Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams. There are plenty of good options for each position both in the draft and in free agency.

So, get those season tickets. This could be a special season. 

Two years, $9.5 million. Glover Quin and the Human Missile, if healthy, could be quite the dynamic duo.

Glover Quin is the cover safety they've been trying to pair with Delmas for years. All of the sudden that's a position of strength for Lions

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 15, 2013

"Position of strength"! AT SAFETY. What's up, Bennie Blades?