Larry McCarren’s Pinkey (or digitus quintus)

I am a frequent viewer of the high, high quality Mike McCarthy Show broadcast in Wisconsin every Tuesday night (just kidding about the quality, looks like it was taped by Jeff down the street using a 1988 camcorder). I have noticed two things when watching this show. First of all, I’ve noticed that the Packer players who come on the show as guests are polite, deferential, appropriate and seemingly coachable. Ryan Grant was on there tonight and he seemed like a humble but bright guy who apparently is well read. I think Ted Thompson and McCarthy have intentionally put together a team of highly coachable individuals. They may not be the brightest guys (Nick Collins), but they can be coached effectively and seem to respond to good coaching. And this is also reflected in what appears to be very solid team chemistry. 

The other thing I’ve noticed is that Larry McCarren has a broken pinky on his left hand and he’s had it for as long as I can remember – it is disgusting. I honestly think he doesn’t have it reset or unbroken or whatever they could do to easily fix it, because he thinks it’s tough. For a guy who has no Super Bowl ring, I can see him using it to lure attention to his football career: “yeah, hurt it playing football…back in ’82. Don’t hurt now though…”. It’s gross – at the middle knuckle, it just bends straight left. He and Daryl Johnston ought to get together and have a crooked pinkey fight.