Packers skip Tuesday OTA practice to go bowling

The Green Bay Packers have historically taken one day out of their spring practices to skip the on-field work and undertake a team-building event instead.

This year, instead of doing that during the team's mandatory minicamp - which is scheduled for next week from June 14-16 - Mike McCarthy elected to do so a week early. According to Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com, the head coach rolled a clip from "The Big Lebowski" during the team's morning meeting on Tuesday, signifying that the team was about to head out on its annual excursion.

Hodkiewicz noted that the star of the day was long-snapper Rick Lovato, who threw a 210 and vowed never to bowl again. And with the team randomly assigned partners on their five-man lanes, players who had never met - like Randall Cobb and punter Peter Mortell - got to know each other over a few games and some fun.

What this means for Packers fans is that by skipping a day of closed OTA practice, it likely will not take off a day of open minicamp practice in favor of a team-building event. In all likelihood, the Packers will practice in front of the fans all three days next week, from Tuesday, June 14th through Thursday, June 16th.

For now, the Packers will get back to work on Wednesday and Thursday to wrap up OTAs, and will be back at practice in front of the fans again in a week. Still, it's always nice to relax for a day, and the Packers' players seemed to appreciate today's event.