ALLEN PARK — It was not just another OTA for the Lions this morning.

All eyes were on two guys — Nick Fairley and Titus Young.

Fairley was at practice despite being arrested Sunday morning for suspicion of DUI, his second arrest in less than two months.

Young was back after punching teammate Louis Delmas and not participating in OTAs last week.

It’s a huge distraction. You can’t talk it away. Nobody is talking about the deep pass caught by rookie Ryan Broyles who might not be 100 percent but is getting closer after ACL surgery six months ago.

What about the nice pass break-up by rookie Chris Greenwood? That should at least be in the discussion but it can’t because of the selfish acts of Fairley and Young.

Added with Mikel Leshoure’s two arrests for marijuana possession a few months back, and off-the-field behavior has become an issue for the Lions.

It takes focus away from their main goal.

It’s a shame.

Coach Jim Schwartz was very clear that while both players practiced today, the situation is far from normal. All has not been forgiven or forgotten.

Schwartz said that he expects younger players to make mistakes and then learn from. But when do Fairley and Leshoure wake up?

“We have a couple situations here where it has happened twice,’’ Schwartz said. “It certainly is cause for concern that they haven’t learned it. It puts more focus on it from our standpoint.

“It’s a little like I talked about with the other situation, I don’t think any of these (issues) are it’s going to be behind them right away. There’s going to be some process involved in a lot of these situations,’’ the coach added.

That will include suspensions from the league, but it might not end there.

Lions management has to stand tough.

Fans are starting to equate the Lions with the Cincinnati Bengals, famous for their off-field transgressions.

Time to put a stop to that.

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How can one person be so stupid?

Meet Nick Fairley.

The Lions defensive tackle was arrested this morning (Sunday) in Alabama for driving under the influence and attempting to elude police according to the website of WALA, a Mobile TV station.

According to the report he was arrested just before 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning. After posting a $1,750 bond he was released around 9 a.m.

This is Fairley’s second recent arrest in Mobile. He was arrested on April 3 for marijuana possession.

The Lions have not said much about his previous arrest — Lions Mikel Leshoure and Johnny Culbreath also were involved in legal issues regarding marijuana possession.

Fairley participated in OTAs last week and seemed to have a jump in his step.

“He obviously suffered through a tough rookie season — to get hurt (early in) training camp and go through the highs and lows of a rookie season. But you saw the flashes of what he can do,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said on Monday.

“He’s had a good offseason program so far; he can stay focused on those kinds of things athletically. There’s no surprise that he looks good; that’s why we drafted him,’’ Schwartz added.

Fairley, a first-round pick in the 2011 draft, needs to have a good offseason and bring it onto the field this season. He had a foot injury in training camp last year which affected him most of the season.

After his marijuana arrest, this arrest is inexcusable.

Clearly, Nick Fairley needs to get serious and grow up.

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Five things we learned about the Lions this week.

1. Titus Young needs to learn to control his temper. He sucker-punched teammate Louis Delmas according to reports, and has not been participating in OTAs. Young needs the work and this team does not need the distraction.

2. It was certainly a good sign for rookie WR Ryan Broyles that he was on the field with a helmet during the first day of OTAs. It was six months to the day since he’d had ACL surgery. Jim Schwartz is careful not to put a timeline on Broyles, but if he has no setbacks, from what we saw on Monday he should be ready for start of training camp at the end of July.

3. Also a positive to see running backs Mikel Leshoure and Jahvid Best on the field at OTAs. The offense needs them to be healthy. They made it through last season despite all the injuries at the position, but it will be much more efficient with a solid running game.

4. Matthew Stafford showed true signs of class at the Michigan fundraiser to benefit Mott Children’s Hospital last weekend. He bid $15,000 on a package for the Lions at Bears Monday night game, then gave it to his new friend Will who afterward said it was the best night of his life. Will’s sister Faith is a Mott patient. It was a grand gesture, but the true heroes are Faith, Will and their mom Mary Ann Bell. You can follow their story at her blog myfaithsjourney.com. Bring Kleenex.

5. The Lions players proved they are better at football than bocce. But at least several of them gave bocce a shot at a fundraiser on Wednesday.

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Former Lions wide receiver Johnnie Morton is the latest former NFL player to file a lawsuit against the NFL due to concussion issues. His is the 81st such lawsuit according to NFLConcussionLitigation.com.

Morton, who also played for the Chiefs and 49ers, was a healthy nut while in Detroit where he never missed a game or a practice. His injury was either hidden or happened later in his career.

As ProFootball.com pointed out, Morton’s case is a little different than most. Following his NFL career, he tried his luck at Mixed Martial Arts. In his one and only fight, which lasted 38 seconds, he got hit so hard he had to be carried off on a stretcher.

While there are 81 suits pending, they involve 2,240 former NFL players.

Where is all of this going? Who knows.

The players know the risks when they sign the contracts.

Morton played eight seasons with the LIons (1994-2001) after being drafted out of USC. He had four seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards and finished with 35 touchdowns as a Lion.

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ALLEN PARK — Before you know it they’re going to make Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who played at Georgia, an honorary Michigan Wolverine.

Stafford attended the Griese-Hutchinson-Woodson fundraiser gala for the new children's hospital at the University of Michigan on Saturday night.

He made quite a splash when he bid $15,000 on a package to the Lions at Chicago Bears Monday Night Football game on Oct. 22. He had contributed four tickets the package, ESPN’s Mike Tirico (who lives in Ann Arbor) had also contributed to it.

Not only did Stafford have the winning bid, he in turn gave the package to the family at his table. Faith Falzone is a Mott patient who will have surgery this week. Her brother Will was there and chatted with Stafford throughout the evening.

“No. 1, it’s a great cause, that hospital event is a great event. Got a chance to spend some time with them and their family. They’ve had a rough year, a rough couple years, wanted to give them something to look forward to,’’ Stafford said on Monday.

“Her brother Will was a huge Lions fan and said he’d love to go to a game. I thought it was a great opportunity to do both,’’ Stafford said.

It was spur-of-the-moment deal

“I really was looking through the live auction items and decided that would be an awesome way to do both,’’ Stafford said.

Frank Beckman, the voice of Michigan football who was at the dinner, said on his WJR radio show on Monday morning that Stafford’s generous act was one of the highlights of the evening.

Stafford also saw a little action, helping out former Michigan quarterbacks during the football toss where 200 diners paid $1,000 each for a football signed by Brian Griese, Steve Hutchinson, Charles Woodson and Brady Hoke.

Beckman said Stafford had a great time throwing from the stage near the 50-yard line, to guests down close to the end zones at the Michigan football facility.

The weekend’s events, including the dinner, raised $1.35 million.

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In case you missed it Calvin Johnson was quite impressive when he took batting practice prior to the Tigers 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night at Comerica Park.

He smacked a homer into left field. The video even shows it in slow motion.

Jim Leyland took a look. It shouldn’t be too surprising really. Calvin Johnson is an athlete and he played baseball in high school.

The Lions wide receiver was there to throw out the first pitch. He brought along teammates Nate Burleson and Marcus Harris.

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Five things we learned about the Lions this week:

1. The offensive line is in full-out serious work mode during workouts. Left guard Rob Sims said Jeff Backus is hanging in there with the rookies. With the addition of first-round pick Riley Reiff, Backus and Gosder Cherilus know they have to be at their best to keep their starting roles. Reiff could push them both. Sims said he expects Backus to be back at left tackle.

2. Rob Sims is definitely huskier with the addition of 20 pounds, but like he said it’s not “a sloppy 20 pounds.”

3. After five weeks of workouts, the players are ready to take it to the next level. They’ll do just that on Monday for the start of OTAs. Sims said he’s ready to hit someone, that won’t happen next week but it’s getting closer.

4. Reports continue that Mikel Leshoure is coming along well after Achilles surgery in August. Sims said Leshoure looks like he did last year prior to the injury. Good sign for the running game.

5. It’s just possible some of the Lions are working on their bocce games this week. Many of them will play bocce during their fundraiser on Wednesday (May 23) at Palazzo di Bocce in Orion Township. For ticket information, see DetroitLions.com for info.

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ALLEN PARK — Mikel Leshoure has made news for all the wrong reasons this offseason with his marijuana charges.

Still there are questions about the Lions running back who is coming off Achilles surgery last August.

Mainly, how is his health?

Most reports from teammates have been good. Rob Sims checked in on Thursday with this observation: “He looks good, he looks like he did last year before the injury.’’

Organized Team Activities start next week, but not sure if Leshoure will be taking part.

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ALLEN PARK — Rob Sims likely echoes the thoughts of many NFL players when it comes to the issue of concussions.

“If they told me I had to stop tomorrow, I wouldn't. ... This game has sacrifices, it's that simple,’’ the Lions starting left guard said on Thursday.

His linemate Dominic Raiola recently said he fully expects complications when he retires and gets older.

“Dom’s pretty extreme, he’s more extreme than I am. I cross my fingers and pray to God that I never end up with dementia,’’ Sims said. “I know the league is trying to take steps toward that not being an issue.

“Some older players — my father, may father-in-law —they had to go through some things for me to be here today. It’s unfortunate for them, I hope the NFL is going to be around for a long time,’’ Sims said.

His late father was former Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Mickey Sims (1977-79) while his father-in-law is Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jacob Green.

Sims has gained 20 pounds in the offseason to make him more effective this season.

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After the final sprints were run to end the Detroit Lions’ three-day rookie minicamp on Sunday, coach Jim Schwartz observed that for some of the players it was their final time on a football field.

In particular he was talking about the 20 tryout players that went through the paces for the Lions.

Two of them made the cut. It was announced today (Tuesday) that free safety Sam Proctor and wide receiver Wallace Miles (North Carolina A&T) have been signed to one-year deals.

Proctor (6-foot, 220 pounds) becomes the fourth rookie from the Oklahoma Sooners. He joins former teammates WR Ryan Broyles, DE Ronnell Lewis and LB Travis Lewis — all of whom were drafted.

Also the Lions announced today that running back Jerome Harrison was placed on the Reserve/Non-football Illness list.

If you remember, last October the Lions tried to trade Harrison to Philadelphia, but he failed the Eagles’ physical due to a brain tumor. He had surgery to remove the tumor in October. No details of his condition were released.

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ALLEN PARK — We came, we saw pretty much what we expected and then we left.

The Lions wrapped up their three-day rookie minicamp around noon on Sunday.

Coach Jim Schwartz wouldn’t say too much about the players except that he saw what he expected to see from the drafted players and some of the undrafted free agents who had been signed.

Here are my top five impressions from camp:

1. Tackle Riley Reiff is quite agile for a 6-foot-6, 313-pound guy. It showed in position drills and in the final gassers. He lined up at left tackle the first two days and right tackle on Sunday. This means nothing. He will do both throughout camp.

2. Kellen Moore shows signs that he could be a capable No. 3 quarterback. His throws on the first two days were not pretty and that’s being kind. But remember he hadn’t played in months and he was unfamiliar with the receivers and vice-versa. On Sunday, he was getting more comfortable and even connected deep a few times. It’s early but there’s a reason the Lions jumped on the chance to sign the undrafted quarterback from Boise State.

3. Defensive end Ronnell Lewis has unbelievable speed and power. He practically flies in his effort to get to the quarterback. Remember, no hitting during minicamp but he was close enough that he could have.

4. Seventh-round pick Travis Lewis, who played middle linebacker, is a take-control guy on the field. He was a four-year starter at Oklahoma and it showed. He doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder, it’s more like a boulder. Again, it’s early but he already looks like a steal.

5. Cornerback Chris Greenwood, the fifth-round pick, definitely looks like he belongs. He had an interception on Saturday and a nice pass break-up on Sunday. Sure he went to a small school (Albion) but early signs are that he can play with the big boys.

ALLEN PARK — Coach Jim Schwartz seems a little surprised at all the attention the Lions are getting at their rookie minicamp this weekend.

Is it because the Tigers are out West? Or is it that the Red Wings and Pistons are done for the season?

My guess is that all eyes are focused on the Lions practice facility because of a combination of factors. The main reason is that the Lions, coming off a 10-6 season and a trip to the playoffs, are relevant.

While it’s difficult to determine anything from rookie camp where there are no pads and plenty of mistakes, fans long for each morsel of information that becomes available.

“I never want to make too much of what guys do in this first weekend, whether it’s good or bad. It’s a chance for guys to sort of catch somebody’s eye or show what they can do, but you can get in trouble both ways,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said. “You can either get too down on a guy or too high on a guy during this stuff.’’

He added that the goal is to get them oriented so they’re prepared to work out with the veterans this coming week, then to participate in Organized Team Activities with the veterans the week of May 21.

The rookie minicamp will wrap up on Sunday.

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ALLEN PARK — Cornerback Chris Greenwood, the Lions’ fifth-round pick out of football powerhouse Albion (just kidding) had his own media following at the Lions opening day of rookie minicamp on Friday.

Greenwood, whose home in Detroit is seven minutes down the Southfield Freeway, is a good story because he came from a small college and he grew up a Lions’ fan.

But perhaps Friday was the last day that we need to focus on the fact that Greenwood came from a small school.

Coach Jim Schwartz was very clear that once the players get on the practice field it doesn’t matter where they were drafted or even if they were drafted. It doesn’t matter if they came from the Big Ten or Boise State or Albion.

“The thing is, we took them through meetings today and things like that, like I said, we’ve got a lot of different guys. We have guys who were first-round draft picks, we have guys that are young veterans that have been in our offseason program that are all out there,’’ Schwartz said.

“The thing that doesn’t matter any more is what school you went to, what round you were drafted in, what your signing bonus was, everything else. All these guys have similar opportunity; all of them are here for a reason; all of them are talented enough to be here and it’s what they make of it from this point,’’ the coach added.

That’s what makes life good for Greenwood who is 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds, a good-sized cornerback. One reason he may have come from a small college is that he said coming out of Detroit King High School he was 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds.

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On the eve of rookie minicamp, the Lions have officially announced they have signed six of the eight players from their 2012 draft class.

They include CB Jonte Green, WR Ryan Broyles, DE Ronnell Lewis, LB Tahir Whitehead, CB Chris Greenwood and LB Travis Lewis.

Also they made official the list of undrafted rookie free agents that have been signed. Most of these names had previously leaked out, but this is the first time the team is making it official.

?They are: G Rodney Austin (Elon), T Quinn Barham (Penn State), G Pat Boyle (Temple), WR Troy Burrell (Wayne State), DT Michael Cosgrove (Idaho), K Derek Dimke (Illinois), WR Patrick Edwards (Houston), TE Alex Gottlieb (William & Mary), RB Stephfon Green (Penn State), WR Jaren Karstetter (Washington State), S Alonzo Lawrence (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC), DE Edmon McClam (Old Dominion), LB Carmen Messina (New Mexico), QB Kellen Moore (Boise State), G J.C. Oram (Weber State), LB Ronnie Sneed (Kentucky) and TE Austin Wells (Northern Iowa).

The Lions will conduct rookie minicamp Friday through Sunday at their Allen Park facility. It is not open to the public.

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So far at least five of the eight Lions who were drafted two weeks ago have agreed to terms with the Lions according to multiple reports.

WR Ryan Broyles, LB Tahir Whitehead, CB Chris Greenwood, LB Travis Lewis and DE Ronnell Lewis have agreed to four-year deals, the mandatory length of the contract per the collective bargaining agreement.

The draftees, along with the Lions’ undrafted rookie free agents, will get their first taste of NFL workouts this weekend at rookie minicamp which runs Friday through Sunday. Players will report to the Allen Park practice facility today.

Broyles, who is rehabbing from ACL surgery, is not expected to be 100 percent until the start of training camp.

Drafted players who haven’t agreed to a deal are OL Riley Reiff, CB Jonte Green and CB Bill Bentley.

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Ndamukong Suh, who loves the spotlight, is spreading his wings into reality television.

The Detroit Lions defensive tackles is one of the famous bachelors and bachelorettes who will audition “sexy singles” in Fox’s new celebrity dating show called “The Choice.”

According to a story on EW.com, each episode will feature four celebrities will sit in spinning chairs and listen to “non-famous prospective dates” pitch themselves.

Over three rounds the contestant pool is narrowed down until each celebrity has chosen a date for the night.

Former NFL player Warren Sapp is also a contestant along with actor Dean Cain, model Tyson Beckford, former “American Idol” star Taylor Hicks, TV personality Rob Kardashian and Carmen Electra.

The show will air on Thursday nights starting June 7.

Suh, who is 25, has been connected with track star Lolo Jones, but has denied anything but friendship. They share the same agent. Suh attended the Drake Relays in Iowa a few weeks ago to watch Jones compete, but tried to stay in the background.

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Five things we learned about the Lions this week:

1. They are interested in free agent running back Ryan Grant who has spent last five seasons with Packers. In fact, according to ESPN reports, the Lions have made an offer to Grant who has been mostly durable during his six-year NFL career. The Lions must have injury concerns about Jahvid Best (concussions), Mikel Leshoure (coming off Achilles’ surgery) and Kevin Smith who has had trouble staying healthy. This would be an interesting move and certainly could help toward making the offense more balanced. The Lions didn’t draft a running back so it was expected they would go after one in free agency.

2. The Bills cut veteran corner Drayton Florence on Friday, but it would be surprising to see the Lions make a run at the 31-year-old. His best days could be behind him, and the Lions generally look to bring in younger talent.

3. Lions rookie camp is set for next weekend, May 11-13. Many NFL teams are holding their rookie camps this weekend, but the Lions pushed theirs back because rookies will be eligible to attend the offseason workouts the week of May 14. The three-day camp, which is closed to the public, will give us the first look at the eight newly drafted players — if wide receiver Ryan Broyles is cleared to participate — along with the undrafted free agents that have been signed.

4. One of those undrafted rookies is quarterback Kellen Moore who was signed quickly after the draft, although the Lions haven’t announced it yet. Prior to the draft there was plenty of conversation about the Boise State QB who holds the all-time record for wins by a starting quarterback in NCAA Division I. His size (slightly under 6-foot) and questions about his mobility are the likely reasons he was not drafted. He will be motivated, that’s for sure. If he hangs around, he’ll have two good quarterbacks to learn from in Matthew Stafford and Shaun Hill. (That is photo of him at his pro day workout in March.)

5. Coach Jim Schwartz is highly competitive, except not so much when it comes to Twitter followers. He has 70,490 followers while Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has 591,907. Of course Carroll arrived at Seattle from USC which makes a difference.

Schwartz was asked about this during a quick interview on the NFL Network’s Total Access show on Thursday.

“I only tweet about once in a blue moon, so, uh, yeah, anything we can do to connect to our fans is important. I very rarely tweet about football-related things, most of them are sort of music, pop culture, or different things like that,’’ Schwartz said. “Those college coaches, they run a lot deeper, use a lot of that for recruiting. It's true. ...’’

Schwartz quite often tweets from the bus on the ride to the stadium on game days. What does he share? Inactives? Injury situations? Deep personal thoughts? Nah. Usually it’s what he’s listening to on his iPod and usually it’s heavy metal. His certified account is @jscwartzlions.

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OK, so the Lions didn’t draft a running back. That doesn’t mean they won’t address the running back situation at all.

In fact, a report from ESPNMilwaukee.com, says that free agent running back Ryan Grant, who has spent the last five seasons with the Packers, has been offered a deal by the Lions per information from his agent.

Durability is key at this position and Grant has proven he fits that description. He injured his ankle in the 2010 opener and missed the rest of that season, other than that he’s been healthy.

The Lions have three running backs with durability issues —Jahvid Best (concussions), Mike Leshoure (coming off torn Achilles) and Kevin Smith who has struggled to stay healthy.

Last year Grant started 14 of 15 games he played in and had 134 carries (with just one fumble) for 559 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He also had 19 receptions for 268 yards and a receiving touchdown.

According to the ESPN report, Grant also has an offer from the Packers and has visited the Patriots.

He could be a quality pickup for the Lions although you’d think his first choice might be to return to Green Bay.

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