I knew it was going to be a different kind of a Friday when I realized the date--November 13th--as I pulled on my watch getting out of the shower.

      To top it off, a black cat crossed in front of my car as I was eastbound on Capitol Drive, heading toward Radio City.

      All I needed now was to crack my rear view mirror and I'd have a superstition trifecta.

      I'd seen the story right after I'd gotten up and checked out JS Online--the one about a Lambeau Field maintenance worker getting fired after an encounter with Packers Coach Mike McCarthy.     It had happened a few days before the Vikings game in Green Bay, with employee Mike Wood claiming he told McCarthy to have the boys ready to "kick some butt."      The Packers say Wood cracked off something about not "laying an egg."      Wood got fired just before kickoff, ending a 22 year run with the team.

      One of our Friday morning features on "Wisconsin's Morning News" is a live chat with the Coach, so I knew there was no way we could do our spiel and NOT ask about such a touchy subject.

      I also wished like hell that the story had broken Saturday.

      So it goes in this business.     With the glamor that comes with chatting up an NFL coach on a weekly basis comes the responsibility of asking tough questions.    It hasn't been easy of late, what with the Packers playing the way they have.    It's always fun when the team is on a roll.     It's always a chore trying to strike the right note when the club is faltering.

       So, when it became 6:25 a.m. and the Coach was on the line, we came up with our plan of attack--partner John Jagler would ask about McCarthy's birthday (November 10th) and I'd follow up with what I would call "a bit of unpleasantness."

       The Coach didn't flinch, but stuck to a theme of "I didn't get anyone fired", maintaining that he has no sway over the maintenance crew.     After two approaches, we moved on to other things, like football.

        I don't know if McCarthy thought we were going to visit the subject, and there are some who think his answers were less than forthcoming.      More than a few say he probably shouldn't have even tackled the issue.     He would go into a little more detail later in the day, but really didn't change his story, other than to admit to an encounter with a worker while adding, "He made a comment to me, I made a comment to him; it's not the worst thing that's been said, but I would not say it to a fellow employee.  So that's as far as I want to go with it."

        Mike Wood is now the most reluctantly famous Lambeau maintenance employee in Packers history, while McCarthy and the team are probably seen as thin-skinned bullies who are worried about trivialities instead of the bigger issues at hand.    No matter what Wood said (Jagler incisively wonders who uses the term "lay an egg" any more, and I wonder if what REALLY was said was a cruder phrase that rhymes with it) the team can't win in the court of public opinion.    It never should have come to this.

       I believe McCarthy when he says he didn't get Wood fired, although he does admit asking others who the worker was after the encounter.     Once he did that, it was on--Wood's supervisor did what he thought he had to do to appease the Coach: offer up the head of the offending employee.

       Now that it's happened, the best thing that could happen would be for the team to bring Wood back, have him and McCarthy hug it out and let Wood return to his job before Sunday's game against Dallas.   

       And, as tough as it might be for a proud organization like the Packers and an intense, no-nonsense guy like McCarthy, the team and the Coach should admit that they over-reacted.     Out loud.     Via press release.     In fact, have McCarthy hand Wood his time card back and welcome him into the team's warm embrace once again with cameras rolling.   

      Story over.    McCarthy is redeemed, and so is the franchise.

      If not, you can bet there'll be stories all over local TV Sunday night, right after the sports anchors show the highlights of the Cowboys game.     They'll be showing Wood, sitting somewhere other than Lambeau, watching his beloved team on t-v.      He'll be sticking to his story that he loves the Packers and did nothing untoward.      Wood will be portrayed as a reluctant victim of an unfeeling organization and an overly sensitive coach who, in the big picture, has larger  things to worry about.    

      Think how that story is going to play before Wisconsin goes to bed Sunday night.     And think how much worse it'll look if McCarthy and the Packers "lay an egg" against Dallas.

      Or, something that rhymes with the phrase.