ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- From his catchy nickname to his sturdy performance on the field, Calvin Johnson often seems indestructible. So it was a bit startling when the star wide receiver was limited by injuries toward the end of last season, finally sitting out the finale after his Detroit Lions were eliminated from playoff contention. Johnson had surgery in the off-season on a knee and a finger, both of which caused problems for him in 2013. He still put up terrific numbers for the Lions, but he was held under 100 yards in the last three games he played and couldnt prevent the collapse that kept Detroit out of the post-season. On Tuesday, "Megatron" was out on the practice field, preparing for what he hopes will be a healthier, more successful season. "It feels great to be out here playing with the guys," Johnson said. "I missed a lot of practice time last year before games. You definitely feel like you need that practice time before a game, just to get on one accord with your quarterback." Johnson caught 84 passes for 1,492 yards last season -- great stats for almost any player, but his worst output in both categories since 2010. It was never entirely clear how much Johnsons knee was bothering him, but then-coach Jim Schwartz conceded in late December that the star receiver was nowhere near 100 per cent. "It was bad enough where I had to get it drained every week," Johnson said. "The finger, it was stuck at 90 degrees. Its good to have those things freed up." The Lions fired Schwartz and replaced him with Jim Caldwell in the off-season, meaning Detroit is implementing a new offence. Quarterback Matthew Stafford will be under pressure to limit the mistakes that plagued him last year -- and he should have an easier time if Johnson is back at full strength. Although Johnson missed only two games last season, he wasnt able to practice all that regularly. That time is valuable even for a veteran who will turn 29 in September. "You kind of lose your wind a little bit. You know the plays, but I feel that you have to go out there and practice to be able to play at your best," Johnson said. "Im a firm believer in that. I had experience in the offence, therefore I was able to go out there and still play, but Im a firm believer that being out there during the week definitely improves your performance on Sunday." With Nate Burleson no longer on the Lions, Johnson is now the elder statesmen of Detroit wide receivers, and hes always led by example. Its easier to do that, of course, when hes healthy enough to practice. "Its nice to have him back and working at full strength. Im so happy for him," centre Dominic Raiola said. "The guys so tough. Its hard to get him out of there. Hell play through anything. For him to be healthy right now and being out there with the team, thats big time." NOTES: Caldwell said injured CB Chris Houston has been excused from practice. Rookie WR T.J. Jones, the teams sixth-round draft pick, was also excused Tuesday. ... Caldwell joked a bit about his reputation for remaining even-keeled. "Theres no need for a whole lot of cussing, screaming, yelling and all that kind of stuff," Caldwell said. "Its a mini quiz out here. I never had any of my professors yelling in my ear when I was sitting at the desk filling out those multiple-choice questions." Nike Shoes Discount Sale . They wanna make t-shirts about it and sell them at our next hockey game..DB: Wow, they want to make t-shirts? That sounds pretty amazing.MS: Yeah, I was also on the Top 10, I was number 1 today, so that was pretty cool. Cheap Nike Shoes From China .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. http://www.nikeshoesdiscount.com/.Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. Discount Nike Shoes Website . -- Top-seed Shahar Peer and Canadian Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the second round of the inaugural WTA Citi Open. Cheap Nike Shoes Wholesale . The 26-year-old Redditch, England, native played three of his past four seasons under Rennie with the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League.CHICAGO -- The Royals are complementing their solid defence and pitching with a potent offence. Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer and Kansas City completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 6-3 win Sunday. James Shields (8-3) won his fifth straight decision and the Royals extended their season-high win streak to seven games. Shields pitched out of trouble throughout his outing. Shields allowed three runs and 10 hits in six innings. Greg Holland pitched a scoreless ninth for his 20th save in 21 chances. The Royals havent lost with Shields on the mound since May 2, and hes 5-0 in eight starts because of the Royals 42 runs of support. Eric Hosmer also hit a two-run home run for the Royals. "This series we played on all cylinders," Shields said. "We pitched, we hit, we played some good defence. We drew our walks, we had good situational hitting and good timely hitting. "I think this is the first series all year that we really hit on all cylinders, so it is nice to see. Alejandro De Aza had a two-run double for the White Sox, who lost their fourth straight game. Starter Andre Rienzo (4-4) allowed six runs and six hits in six innings. The White Sox have lost 10 of their past 11 home games against the Royals been outscored 53-20 in them. "Obviously theyre playing good baseball and were scuffling a little bit," Gordon Beckham said. "You know, its part of (the game). Its frustrating, but we played a pretty good game today. Grinding out at-bats, try to do some good things. It just didnt go our way." With one out in the first inning, Hosmer connected on a 1-2 pitch for a two-run shot to centre. It was his fourth of the season. "Were getting off to early leads," Hosmer said. "Were giving our pitchers breathing room early. The way they have bbeen throwing for us all year they have been lights out.dddddddddddd Now to give them nice breathing room early and get some leads and not let them to be fine with their pitches and let them go out there and let the defence work." With the Royals up 2-1 in the third inning with two outs, Billy Butler was hit by Rienzos pitch. Alex Gordon drew a walk then Perez followed with a home run to left, giving the Royals a 5-1 lead. It was Perezs seventh of the season. Mike Moustakas scored from second on Jarrod Dysons RBI single in the fourth inning after he was initially ruled out on a force at second base. The call was overturned after a challenge. Adam Eaton led off the first inning with a hard grounder that went underneath Hosmers glove at first. Eaton wound up with a stand-up triple. One pitch later, Shields appeared to have Eaton picked off at third base, but plate umpire Paul Emmel ruled that Shields did not step off the rubber and awarded Eaton home. Royals manager Ned Yost argued the balk and was tossed by Emmel as he was headed back to the dugout. Yost then confronted Emmel for another animated conversation before leaving the game. "I said something when I was walking away that made me sit in this office," Yost said. "I dont think I ever got kicked out before the first out in the bottom of the first. I just felt really strongly that was a good play." De Aza had a two-run double off Shields in the fourth inning. NOTES: Yost was ejected for the third time this season. ... White Sox LHP John Danks is scheduled to start on Tuesday against the Giants. He is 2-1 with a 2.11 ERA in his past three starts. ... Eaton finished the game with three hits. ... White Sox C Tyler Flowers had the day off. He is in a 0-for-22 slump. After a strong start Flowers average has dropped to .250. ' ' '