Pro Bowl Time

Pro Bowl Time : Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie made a mess of his first trip to the Pro Bowl. The NFL dismissed McKinnie from the NFC team after he was unexcused from practice Friday and Saturday, a league spokesman said Pro Bowl Time : McKinnie headed to Miami this week with plans to play in Sunday's all-star game. Instead, he exposed himself to questions about why he wasn't at practice and his professionalism. Late Thursday night, McKinnie posted on his Twitter account that he was on his way to a club in the Miami area and that he was getting ready to "shut it down." Then at 12:06 a.m., McKinnie posted that the club was "packed."

Although the league clearly stated McKinnie was dismissed from the team, McKinnie offered a different version of events. He posted on his Twitter account that he had to withdraw.

"I've been playing thru pain the last month and need time 2 let my body heal," McKinnie wrote. "I was trying 2 push myself 2 play n this game and I thought my body would start feeling better the later we got in the week."

McKinnie went on to write that he called his agent Friday and told him he didn't think he would be able to play in the game.

McKinnie was voted to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career this season. His dismissal means that there are just four remaining Vikings in tonight's game: Defensive end Jared Allen, left guard Steve Hutchinson, running back Adrian Peterson and special-teams ace Heath Farwell.

Five Vikings players who made the

Pro Bowl withdrew from the game in the wake of the team's loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC title game: quarterback Brett Favre, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, kick returner Percy Harvin, receiver Sidney Rice and cornerback Antoine Winfield.