If the NBA wants its Slam Dunk contest to regain any popularity, it’s needs one man: LeBron James.

When I was a kid, all the superstars participated in the Slam Dunk Contest. Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, and even Vince Carter helped bring the contest back from the dead for a minute. Now we have all of these guys who are generally the 12th or 13th guy on certain teams that you have never heard of or never will hear of. I remember one year James said he would participate and later backed out.

On Friday, Magic Johnson said he would offer James $1 million if he were to participate. His ESPN counterpart, Jalen Rose, said more elite players needed to take part as well.

“LeBron James, Blake Griffin both have to be in it,” Rose said.

Johnson agreed. “All-Star-caliber players helping build the league during All-Star weekend.”

They’re both right. Though I think Johnson should donate that $1 million elsewhere like maybe towards AIDS research or Hanley Ramirez’s contract or something.

Not everyone is crazy about the Alex Smith trade to the Chiefs.

One of my friends who is a 49ers fan expressed to me on Facebook how disappoined she was that he was being traded. As she put it, it’s like throwing away an old toy instead of donating because you don’t want someone else to play with it.

I don’t know that it’s all that bad of a trade. In fact, I think it was a great trade. Before Jim Harbaugh came along and helped bring some life into Smith’s career, he may not have been worth a team trading away a second round pick like the Chiefs did. In fact, I doubt a fourth round pick would’ve been traded for his services by any team. The Chiefs were right to give a second round pick to the 49ers.

Plus it gives Smith a chance to prove his true talent.

I am not sure if he will pan out in Kansas City, partly because he was in a great system with the 49ers. If he does, that’s cool. If not, then it wasn’t meant to be.

Memo to Mike Trout’s agent: He is not being underpaid.

In the offseason, the Angels renewed his contract for $510,000 as per the parameters of the collective bargaining agreement. Trout’s agent, Craig Landis, feels otherwise.

“During the process, on behalf of Mike, I asked only that the Angels compensate Mike fairly for his historic 2012 season, given his service time,” Landis said in a statement. “In my opinion, this contract falls well short of a ‘fair’ contract and I have voiced this to the Angels throughout the process. Nonetheless, the renewal of Mike’s contract will put an end [to] this discussion.”

Trout has one year, 70 days of major league service and is likely to be eligible for arbitration after the 2014 season and for free agency after the 2017 World Series.

I understand that Landis wants to get the most for his client, I do, but Trout needs to wait it out a little longer. You don’t see other guys like Buster Posey who haven’t been playing very long and their agents coming out saying that their guy is underpaid after being in the league such a short time. Trout will get a max deal in the near future just like Posey presumably will (How do you not reward a reigning MVP?), so Landis needs to wait until Trout’s had some more big league service under his belt.

I am starting to wonder: Can anyone beat the Chicago Blackhawks in regulation?

The latest team to try to do it, the Detroit Red Wings, took the Blackhawks to a shootout Sunday,but it wasn’t enough, Chicago won 2-1. They are now 19-0-3 with an astounding 41 points.

This team is overloaded with talent with guys like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane,and Marian Hossa. They’ve even got two good goaltenders in Corey Crawford and Ray Emery. Right now this team just keeps having enough gas to win them. They’re probably getting pretty tired,but they don’t look it. I have a hard time believing they won’t lose in regulation anytime soon. I also have a hard time seeing anyone else but them will win Lord Stanley’s cup at season’s end.

Catch me and the great DJ Mappquest on Sports Madness, this Tuesday from 6-7pm Pacific Time on kssu.com, Sacramento State Student Radio. You can also listen to our show via the TuneIn Radio app on your smartphone. Search: KSSU