Sorry about the delay in posts but that’s what happens when your power goes out because of a big old hail storm. Anyway, we’re back. Below is the story on McKinnie. A shorter version will appear in Sunday’s paper. The Cliff notes on this: He had the meeting on Friday, it was supposed to be kept quiet, somebody with loose lips decided to start talking and now the entire world knows.

HERE IT IS 

With the NFL considering disciplinary action against Bryant McKinnie, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with the Vikings left tackle on Friday.

The meeting — first reported by the website Pro Football Talk on Saturday — had been expected after McKinnie’s latest legal troubles in Florida. He was arrested Feb. 24 after being involved in a brawl outside a Miami nightclub and is facing four charges, including one felony for aggravated battery, after fighting with a member of the nightclub’s security staff. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

McKinnie’s attorney, Larry Kerr, has asked that the state of Florida allow his client to enter a pre-trial diversion program; that could lead to the charges being dismissed. Right now, McKinnie has a court hearing scheduled for June 20 in Miami-Dade County Court.

No matter what happens in the legal system, McKinnie could face a possible fine or suspension from the NFL because he is a repeat offender of the league’s personal conduct policy.

Randall Liu, information manager for the NFC, declined to confirm the meeting between Goodell and McKinnie, stating in an e-mail that the league does “not comment on the review process of a potential disciplinary matter.”

“If the commissioner makes any decision impacting a player’s status we announce it,” Liu said in his e-mail. A Vikings spokesman said the team would have no comment and McKinnie’s agent, Ben Dogra, did not return messages.

This latest incident marked the fourth time McKinnie has had legal issues since the Vikings took him in the first round of the 2002 draft.

In one case no charges were filed and in another misdemeanor charges were dropped. McKinnie did plead guilty in 2006 to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in connection with the 2005 boat incident involving Vikings players on Lake Minnetonka. He paid $2,000 in fines, performed 48 hours of community service and was fined one game check ($41,176) by the NFL.

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