Pity Brian Calhoun

Detroit drafted him.

Madison -- Tailback Brian Calhoun waited longer than he anticpated to hear his named called in the 2006 NFL draft.

Calhoun, who set several school records in his lone season at the University of Wisconsin, was selected with the 10th pick of the third round by the Detroit Lions on Saturday, the 74th pick overall and just the seventh running back taken.

The six running backs selected before Calhoun, a former all-state performer from Oak Creek High School, were: USC's Reggie Bush at No. 2 by New Orleans; Minnesota's Laurence Maroney at No. 21 by New England; Memphis' DeAngelo Williams at No. 27 by Carolina; LSU's Joseph Addai at No. 30 by Indianapolis; USC's LenDale White at No. 45 by Tennessee; and UCLA's Maurice Drew at No. 60 by Jacksonville.

Most NFL scouts do not view Calhoun as an every-down back but he proved to be durable and versatile in 2005 for UW.

In 12 regular-season games, Calhoun had 73.4% of the team's rushing total (1,423 of 1,939 yards) and 43.1% of the team's total offense (1,986 of 4,607 yards).

He capped his season in style by rushing 30 times for 213 yards and a touchdown in UW's 24-10 upset of No. 7 Auburn in the Capital One Bowl, helping to send coach Barry Alvarez off with a bowl triumph and a 10-victory season. Calhoun thus became just the second player in NCAA Division I-A history to record at least 1,500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the same season.

Overall, Calhoun finished with 348 rushing attempts, a UW season record and the No. 7 mark in Big Ten Conference history; 1,636 rushing yards, the No. 5 mark in UW history; 53 receptions for 571 yards, both season records for a UW running back; and 2,207 all-purpose yards, the No. 2 mark in school history.

Detroit is NFL Hell. Run by fools and idiots. When I was watching the Draft w/ Marcus today in Sheboygan, we both joked about them taking another WR in the 1st Round.

They didn't, they took a Linebacker.

I'm still convinced their GM, Matt Millon, has polaroids of the Ford family to ensure his continued employment with the team.