Manti Teo's Dead Girlfriend is a hoax

[3irty1]

http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-the-most-heartbreaking-and-inspirational-story-of-the-college-football-season-is-a-hoax

Read the story. Mind blowing. She never even existed. Pretty sure its obvious what's going on here. Manti Teo is gay. Probably with that conspirator mentioned in the story.

[Joemailman]

It will be interesting to hear his side of the story, to say the least. If this is true, it could raise huge character issues, and could affect his draft position more than a poor game against Alabama did.

[woodbuck27]

As the world turns... on and on and on and......

[mraynrand]

Is he hanging out with Lance Armstrong?

[Joemailman]

Notre Dame has issued a statement which says on December 26 they were informed by Te'o and his family that he had been the victim of a hoax. This is going to be one weird story.


Notre Dame Statement: Manti Te’o

On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te’o and his parents that Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia. The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. While the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception to entertain its perpetrators.

Dennis Brown
University Spokesman | Assistant Vice President

[Zool]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lumssw5oGb1qbnggp.jpg

[KYPack]

Yep, things got out of hand on these two gay boys.

Let's draft him. He'll fall like crazy in the draft after trying to float this "fairy tale".

Who cares if he's a crazy, gay, bullshit artist, can he play?

[Joemailman]

Yep, things got out of hand on these two gay boys.

Let's draft him. He'll fall like crazy in the draft after trying to float this "fairy tale".

Who cares if he's a crazy, gay, bullshit artist, can he play?

If it turns out he's a dishonest ass, I don't think it would happen. To the best of my knowledge, TT has never drafted a character risk in the 1st 2 rounds of the draft.

[Joemailman]

Teo's statement:

"This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her. To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother's death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life. I am enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends and Notre Dame fans throughout this year. To think that I shared with them my happiness about my relationship and details that I thought to be true about her just makes me sick. I hope that people can understand how trying and confusing this whole experience has been. In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious. If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was. Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130116/manti-teo-notre-dame-girffriend-hoax/#ixzz2IBWMEeM5

[Patler]

What a fool. He better work on a good story for the combine interviews, because everyone will ask about it.

But, in the end, some teams won't care. The draft all kinds of character risks every year. All they care about is if he can play.

EDIT - I see he already has a good start on his story. I typed this before seeing his "statement".

[Bossman641]

Teo's statement:

"This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her. To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother's death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life. I am enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends and Notre Dame fans throughout this year. To think that I shared with them my happiness about my relationship and details that I thought to be true about her just makes me sick. I hope that people can understand how trying and confusing this whole experience has been. In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious. If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was. Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130116/manti-teo-notre-dame-girffriend-hoax/#ixzz2IBWMEeM5

Sorry Manti but that doesn't explain your father, among other's explanations that you hung out with her.

[Patler]

Did a first round draft pick just become a 2nd?

[Joemailman]

Sorry Manti but that doesn't explain your father, among other's explanations that you hung out with her.

If he's concocting a lie to cover up a deception, he's just digging himself deeper.

[Patler]

Sorry Manti but that doesn't explain your father, among other's explanations that you hung out with her.

Ya, how does one have a "girlfriend" that he never met in person? Even if he was duped (which I have serious doubts about), he overplayed his hand with publicity about his "girlfriend", who would have been nothing more than an online acquaintance.

[MadtownPacker]

So some hoe played him. What's the big deal?

[Patler]

October 18, 2012:


‘‘It was hard, you know?’’ Te’o said. ‘‘I lost two women that I truly love. But I had my family around me. I had my football family around me. I had my girlfriend’s family around me. And . . . family is forever. I’m going to see them again, and it’s going to be a very happy day when I do.’’

Your "girlfriends family"? Huh? A family of a girl that never existed?

[sheepshead]

He's either a hoaxter or a nutjob. Either way buyer beware on draft day.

[Joemailman]

Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN who had interviewed Te'o in October about the story is saying that he had asked Te'o if he would provide pictures of the girl. Te'o said the family would prefer that this not be done.

Notre Dame is scheduled to have a 7 PM press conference.

[Patler]

He's either a hoaxter or a nutjob. Either way buyer beware on draft day.

Ya, if he was simply overwhelmingly naive, can you imagine the fun that the veterans will have with him in training camp?

[Deputy Nutz]

What goofy bastard. You are either completely stupid, or a complete sociopath. Skinbasket help me out here.

[Kiwon]

What is wrong with people?

To lie so publicly and think that you will not be caught.

In all my studies for my three Ph.D's, I've never encountered such a story of hoax, self-deception, whatever it is.

[MadtownPacker]

Why would he need to say his girlfriend died? His Grandma had died the same week right? I just don't see what he had to gain by lying.

I guess he could just be a sick MFer like you foolz are saying.

[SkinBasket]

What goofy bastard. You are either completely stupid, or a complete sociopath. Skinbasket help me out here.

DRAFT HIM NOW!

[MadtownPacker]

You know I kinda feel the same way. He has already proven he is way more bold than Hawk.

[SkinBasket]

To elaborate:

You sad crying fools want more attitude on defense? How about someone crazier than Wayne Simmons? If this guy is willing to make up a second imaginary life filled with mystery and romance, he's crazy enough to literally murder Adrian Peterson, which in the grand scheme of things, would be a good thing. Football wise. Not, like, morally or whatever.

[3irty1]

Of course this is going to hurt his draft stock.

1. If he's telling the truth, which is 0% likely, then he's the most gulible tard alive. More gullible than Walden who got sucked in on every damn playfake imaginable on Saturday.

2. He's not telling the truth he's super gay. I doubt every team in the NFL is equally prepared to handle that kind of situation.

[Joemailman]

Notre Dame is standing by Te'o saying they have uncovered online chatter in which 2 people are talking about how much they're enjoying perpetrating the hoax. They're saying there were a number of online characters involved, although it is uncertain whether there were a bunch of people involved, or just 2 people creating characters.

[MadtownPacker]

Of course this is going to hurt his draft stock.

1. If he's telling the truth, which is 0% likely, then he's the most gulible tard alive. More gullible than Walden who got sucked in on every damn playfake imaginable on Saturday.

2. He's not telling the truth he's super gay. I doubt every team in the NFL is equally prepared to handle that kind of situation.
1. Repped for Walden bit.

2. Some believe the Packers GM would be prepared.

[Joemailman]

Of course this is going to hurt his draft stock.

1. If he's telling the truth, which is 0% likely, then he's the most gulible tard alive. More gullible than Walden who got sucked in on every damn playfake imaginable on Saturday.

2. He's not telling the truth he's super gay. I doubt every team in the NFL is equally prepared to handle that kind of situation.

In his PC, the Notre Dame President said. "The saddest think about this is, the most trusting person I've ever met will never be the same again". Notre Dame is sticking their neck out for him big time. If he was involved in the hoax, and has also been lying to Notre Dame as they defend him, he really is a low-life.

[3irty1]

Notre Dame is standing by Te'o saying they have uncovered online chatter in which 2 people are talking about how much they're enjoying perpetrating the hoax. They're saying there were a number of online characters involved, although it is uncertain whether there were a bunch of people involved, or just 2 people creating characters.

Or he had to kill off his fake girlfriend/beard because he was getting too famous to keep using it to cover for his forbidden mormon love. Then had to choose between getting outted or telling Notre Dame, which he did on the 26th then laid and egg against Bama while suffering from a broken heart. Because he's gay.

[LegandofthePack15]

Manti Teo is gay.

Cool! Now Manti Teo is gonna be a Packer one way or another. The Packers need a hotshot ILB and when Ted Thompson wants something very bad, he gets it. Might I add, Thompson is also....

I can almost see it.
That dream I'm dreaming, but
There's a voice inside my head saying
You'll never reach it
Every step I'm takin'
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction,
My faith is shakin'
But I, I gotta keep tryin'
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waitin' on the other side
It's the climb

[Cleft Crusty]

Notre Dame is standing by Te'o saying they have uncovered online chatter in which 2 people are talking about how much they're enjoying perpetrating the hoax. They're saying there were a number of online characters involved, although it is uncertain whether there were a bunch of people involved, or just 2 people creating characters.


Who would perpetrate such deception? Unthinkable.

[pbmax]

What is wrong with people?

To lie so publicly and think that you will not be caught.

In all my studies for my three Ph.D's, I've never encountered such a story of hoax, self-deception, whatever it is.

Repped.

[pbmax]

DRAFT HIM NOW!

I bet Wayne Simmons had a dead girlfriend or two.

[Deputy Nutz]

I bet Wayne Simmons had a dead girlfriend or two.

repped

[mraynrand]

I bet Wayne Simmons had a dead girlfriend or two.

So did Torrance Marsahall. Oh, I'm sorry, that was a fictitious GF. But that's appropriate here, if she had cancer. Maybe if she's still alive, she'll post something.

[pbmax]

In his PC, the Notre Dame President said. "The saddest think about this is, the most trusting person I've ever met will never be the same again". Notre Dame is sticking their neck out for him big time. If he was involved in the hoax, and has also been lying to Notre Dame as they defend him, he really is a low-life.

Notre Dame is in serious trouble then. In addition to the quote Patler had earlier about how he had been around his girlfriend's family, there are also stories from his father about the girl coming out to Hawaii to visit them. Another story said his parents met her.

But most of all, the original story was that they met out at Stanford after a game in 2009.

[3irty1]

Who would perpetrate such deception? Unthinkable.

Well mormons have been known to make shit up on occasion.

[KYPack]

The kid is in some deep yogurt.

For one other thing, Teo (or somebody) used a girl's picture on the net/Twitter. She is alive & all + she doesn't like all this shit about being used as the fake dead girl.

That can get Teo's ass in another sling.

I think the kid falls to the 3rd or lower.

yeah, let's grab him.

His boyfriend can move to Allouez or somewhere.

[Joemailman]

The story gets stranger:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8851033/story-manti-teo-girlfriend-death-apparently-hoax


Reagan Mauia, an Arizona Cardinals fullback, said he believes Kekua existed because he met her in person when he and other Polynesian teammates and Pittsburgh Steelers star Troy Polamalu went to do charity work in American Samoa in June 2011.

"This was before her and Manti," Mauia said Wednesday evening. "I don't think Manti was even in the picture, but she and I became good friends. We would talk off and on, just checking up on each other kind of thing. I am close to her family. When she was going through the loss of her father, I was -- I offered a comforting shoulder and just someone to bounce her emotions off. That was just from meeting her in Samoa."

Mauia said Tuiasosopo -- whom Mauia believes is Kekua's cousin -- introduced the two. After the initial meeting, Mauia said he met her at an "after-party" for all of the athletes involved in the camp.

"She was tall," he said. "Volleyball-type of physique. She was athletic, tall, beautiful. Long hair. Polynesian. She looked like a model ... "

He said it is his understanding that Kekua's mother is operating her Twitter account. He said he'd never met her mother. When told by a reporter that she apparently might not have existed, Mauia said: "No, she is real."

[pbmax]

The story gets stranger:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8851033/story-manti-teo-girlfriend-death-apparently-hoax

Maybe Tuiasosopo is Samoan for "grifter". In the Tuiasosopo family, either you play football or you grift football. The story about someone else claiming to have met her sounds possible, because Manti was not the first online romance she developed.


Was this Lennay Kekua? We spoke with friends and relatives of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo who asserted that Ronaiah was the man behind Lennay. He created Lennay in 2008, one source said, and Te'o wasn't the first person to have an online "relationship" with her. One mark—who had been "introduced" to Lennay by Tuiasosopo—lasted about a month before family members grew suspicious that Lennay could never be found on the telephone, and that wherever one expected Lennay to be, Ronaiah was there instead. Two sources discounted Ronaiah's stunt as a prank that only metastasized because of Te'o's rise to national celebrity this past season.

Wonder if Ronaiah had a female accomplice? Teo told the Notre Dame AD that they had talked on the phone and she called him early in December, to tell him she had not died. But did need help getting money out of Nigeria.

[Brandon494]

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/25935_10200471478694373_1153618300_n.jpg

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/547058_10200471478414366_998490166_n.jpg

[Jimx29]

First interview with the girlfriend

http://i.imgur.com/LNnPK.jpg

[JohnMexico]

Uhhttp://i.imgur.com/hzfrR.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/555266_10151199026647694_400046920_n.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IbLgU.png

[rbaloha1]

Boy, this is disgusting.

Reporting of this story is much different in Hawaii. Teo is a very trusting person that is naive.

IMO, Manti was victimized by a sick sophisticated sophmoric hoax. In Hawaii there is always much jealousy/resentment with success on the national and international level. There is saying in Hawaii about the not allowing the crab in the bucket to escape and hitting down the nail that sticks out.

Samoans place a huge emphasis on family and community. The Tuiasosopo family will release the truth which imo ultimately ends Teo's shame.

Maybe Teo falls to the Packers -- but please rats stay away from this island boy.

[KYPack]

I bet this kid is real happy he didn't win the Heisman trophy now.

One thing is sure. He is in the driver seat for the "Fuck-up of 2013" trophy.

[3irty1]

Come on there is no way he wasn't in on this. Dude needs to fess up to being a fanny bandit and explain his stupid actions as being driven by the pressures of mormons and playing football at a prestigious catholic school. Ironically even if he were somehow not gay, getting all the sympathy that comes with being outed by deadspin is still his best option. Then he gets to be the gay high-profile athlete that society has been waiting for.

[rbaloha1]

Come on there is no way he wasn't in on this. Dude needs to fess up to being a fanny bandit and explain his stupid actions as being driven by the pressures of mormons and playing football at a prestigious catholic school. Ironically even if he were somehow not gay, getting all the sympathy that comes with being outed by deadspin is still his best option. Then he gets to be the gay high-profile athlete that society has been waiting for.

Hope you are wrong.:no:

On the face of it this is an easy assumption.

The truth shall emegre quickly.

[3irty1]

The options are:
1) Dumbest athlete alive
2) Huge attention whore
3) Gay athlete in a very tough spot

I hope for his sake its number 3. People are still going to resent the outrageous story and cover-up lies but I think people can still be understanding including Notre Dame and at least 2 NFL locker rooms which is all he needs to keep some draft stock.

[woodbuck27]

Yep, things got out of hand on these two gay boys.

Let's draft him. He'll fall like crazy in the draft after trying to float this "fairy tale".

Who cares if he's a crazy, gay, bullshit artist, can he play?

Think ...... Vontaze Burfict.

Does anyone here believe that today the Cincinnati Bengals organization is second guessing it's decision to give Vontaze Burfict a chance?

Is there even the slightest chance that Manti Te'o could 'in TRUTH' be the victim of his naivety in this ridiculous story?

Why is this story IMO, ridiculous as an important topic of discussion!?

Because as Packer fans we have alot more important issues to discuss then smut stories. Can't Ted Thompson and our teams Scouting Dept. delve into Manti Te'o sexuality in terms of his draft status and our posssible needs for him?

"Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events,weak minds discuss people." Socrates

Vontaze Burfict:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000119783/Week-17-Vontaze-Burfict-highlights

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20121230/SPT02/312300098/Vontaze-Burfict-finishes-season-Bengals-leading-tackler?nclick_check=1

[SkinBasket]

Why are all Samoans gay? Is it because their island is on the verge of tipping over so everyone's got sexual vertigo? Or was that Guam?

[Cheesehead Craig]

Best tweets on this:
"These Te’o jokes are all very funny but let’s all try and remember that a person who never existed is dead."
@sethmyers21

"At least my girlfriend, Halle Berry, is real. It’s just the relationship that’s imaginary. #MantiTeo"
@SI_PhilTaylor

"Let those of you that haven't made up a fake twitter-girlfriend and killed her off cast the first stones. #MantiTeo"
@jefflind

[Fosco33]

Lance has got to be happy with this news clouding his Oprah interview...

Sports...

[rbaloha1]

Why are all Samoans gay? Is it because their island is on the verge of tipping over so everyone's got sexual vertigo? Or was that Guam?

Why are all the rednecks gay? Is it from inhaling nascar fumes?

[denverYooper]

Boy, this is disgusting.

Reporting of this story is much different in Hawaii. Teo is a very trusting person that is naive.

IMO, Manti was victimized by a sick sophisticated sophmoric hoax. In Hawaii there is always much jealousy/resentment with success on the national and international level. There is saying in Hawaii about the not allowing the crab in the bucket to escape and hitting down the nail that sticks out.

Samoans place a huge emphasis on family and community. The Tuiasosopo family will release the truth which imo ultimately ends Teo's shame.

Maybe Teo falls to the Packers -- but please rats stay away from this island boy.

Is that the angle that is playing in HI?

Your post provides an interesting bit of context that I haven't heard on national reports.

[rbaloha1]

Is that the angle that is playing in HI?

Your post provides an interesting bit of context that I haven't heard on national reports.

There is hero worship with Manti in Hawaii.

In Hawaii and Polynesia being gay is not an issue since it is part of the culture and everyone lives together. It is open and embraced. Rainbow is still part of the University of Hawaii's athletic nicknames.

It is the hardcore right wingers with issues about this kind of stuff.

[Deputy Nutz]

Or the Mormon faith

[rbaloha1]

Or the Mormon faith

Yup another issue.

Manti is from Laie which is similar to Utah. Courtship is much different for true mormons. Being engaged to multiple women simultaneously is common.

It was only recently Mormons stopped being polygamists.

[SkinBasket]

Why are all the rednecks gay? Is it from inhaling nascar fumes?

Esera Tuaolo is not a redneck.

[rbaloha1]

Esera Tuaolo is not a redneck.

Okay -- one. Does this mean the entire race?

[rbaloha1]

Esera Tuaolo is not a redneck.

http://wikiality.wikia.com/Gay_NASCAR_Drivers_Monthly

Here are your gay brother nascar drivers.

[SkinBasket]

Okay -- one. Does this mean the entire race?

Maybe.


Here are your gay brother nascar drivers.

I don't own any NASCAR teams.

I just checked. Samoans don't believe in gayness. They call it falaffle or something. I'm guessing that's kind of like snowballing or feltching. Those island guys are weird about what they do with their penises.

[KYPack]

Easy, RB.

If the kid can play, he'll make the league, if he can't, he won't.

I'm still not sure if this kid is a big thing or not. He has talent and is a good hustling kid, but there are also holes in his game. He is relatively slow footed and has shed problems. ND played a lot of shield fronts and kept the blockers off him. He had a lot of tackles and got in a lot of plays. but I saw a couple games where the opponents got blockers on him and he had a ton of shed issues. Pitt and (of course) Bama handled Teo pretty easily in their games.

He gets in the action and had 7 picks last season. That's definitely in his favor, but can he cover NFL TE's and RB's? That's still in question.

All this "scandal" shit will fade and it will knock him down a round or two. It will take NFL game action to see if this kid is a pro ILB.

[rbaloha1]

Easy, RB.

If the kid can play, he'll make the league, if he can't, he won't.

I'm still not sure if this kid is a big thing or not. He has talent and is a good hustling kid, but there is also holes in his game. He is relatively slow footed and has shed problems. ND played a lot of shield fronts and kept the blockers off him. He had a lot of tackles and got in a lot of plays. but I saw a couple games where the opponents got blockers on him and he had a ton of shed issues. Pitt and (of course) Bama handled Teo pretty easily in their games.

He gets in the action and had 7 picks last season. That's defintely in his favor, but can he cover NFL TE's and RB's? That's still in question.

All this "scandal" shit will fade and it will knock him down a round or two. It will take NFL game action to see if this kid is a pro ILB.

Braddah it cool. Manti can play and would make an excellent Packer.

[pbmax]

Boy, this is disgusting.

Reporting of this story is much different in Hawaii. Teo is a very trusting person that is naive.

IMO, Manti was victimized by a sick sophisticated sophmoric hoax. In Hawaii there is always much jealousy/resentment with success on the national and international level. There is saying in Hawaii about the not allowing the crab in the bucket to escape and hitting down the nail that sticks out.

Samoans place a huge emphasis on family and community. The Tuiasosopo family will release the truth which imo ultimately ends Teo's shame.

Maybe Teo falls to the Packers -- but please rats stay away from this island boy.

I think woody hacked rb's account.

[3irty1]

Braddah it cool. Manti can play and would make an excellent Packer.

Gay player joins the Packers? Those jokes make themselves.

[pbmax]

I am voting for attention whore, with a side of embarrassment over being hoaxed.

There are some indications he was familiar with the Tuiasosopo kid. And he is the one who planted the story they met at Stanford. On the other hand, Desdspin had someone tell them this had happened before with this group and that they hooked a different athlete with the same fake girl.

So far, only the hometown folks and the ND Athletic Department believe Teo was duped fully and completely.

We'll see.

[3irty1]

I am voting for attention whore, with a side of embarrassment over being hoaxed.

There are some indications he was familiar with the Tuiasosopo kid. And he is the one who planted the story they met at Stanford. On the other hand, Desdspin had someone tell them this had happened before with this group and that they hooked a different athlete with the same fake girl.

So far, only the hometown folks and the ND Athletic Department believe Teo was duped fully and completely.

We'll see.

The dad had quotes in the ND paper about how they met I thought.

[KYPack]

The poor kid fucked up so bad, I feel sorry for him.

Got a bit of advice piled up from years of experience.

Manti, when you find yourself in a hole this deep, drop the shovel and stop digging.

Brah.

[rbaloha1]

I am voting for attention whore, with a side of embarrassment over being hoaxed.

There are some indications he was familiar with the Tuiasosopo kid. And he is the one who planted the story they met at Stanford. On the other hand, Desdspin had someone tell them this had happened before with this group and that they hooked a different athlete with the same fake girl.

So far, only the hometown folks and the ND Athletic Department believe Teo was duped fully and completely.

We'll see.


Hawaii TV news reporter Steve Uyehara is reporting the girl on the phone speaking to Manti is going to speak today about the hoax.

[pbmax]

Hawaii TV news reporter Steve Uyehara is reporting the girl on the phone speaking to Manti is going to speak today about the hoax.

Might help out a lot.

[SkinBasket]

Didn't take long to find a crack whore on the island willing to play the part for a few bucks. Manti's got good PR people.

[SkinBasket]

I'm still not sure if this kid is a big thing or not. He has talent and is a good hustling kid, but there are also holes in his game. He is relatively slow footed and has shed problems. ND played a lot of shield fronts and kept the blockers off him. He had a lot of tackles and got in a lot of plays. but I saw a couple games where the opponents got blockers on him and he had a ton of shed issues. Pitt and (of course) Bama handled Teo pretty easily in their games.

So he's a gay Poppinga is what you're saying.

[mraynrand]

"I had breakfast with John Tuttle just this morning"
http://www.tvacres.com/images/desk_blake.jpg

[rbaloha1]

Didn't take long to find a crack whore on the island willing to play the part for a few bucks. Manti's got good PR people.

R U part of the PR team? I may need your help.

[KYPack]

So he's a gay Poppinga is what you're saying.

I actually don't give a shit if the kid is gay. He wouldn't be the first gay NFL player and he wouldn't be the last.

Brady Poppinga is a lot faster than this kid. Brady burned a 4.59. Teo is more in the 4.75 range, Teo is a natural in pass coverage, has great instincts, constant motor, has trouble shedding blocks and is a tad slow. Teo wouldn't be the only ILB prospect that only runs in the 4.75 range.

I really don't know if this kid will be a big time NFL player or not.

As far as this whole "Catfish" scandal, it's pretty freakin' entertaining.

[3irty1]

He's a solid player for sure. A good athlete but what makes him special his is ability to be where he needs to be before he needs to be there. He's more like the LB version of Charles Woodson. If he were more intense or had a more physical style I'd find him easier to like.

[pbmax]

"I had breakfast with John Tuttle just this morning"
http://www.tvacres.com/images/desk_blake.jpg

He's a Druid.
What's that?
They worship trees.
Ohh, a tree doctor.

[pbmax]

A lot of Twitter links to this guy (https://twitter.com/justinrmegahan), who dug up two of the perps laughing about their scam. While they don't say so explicitly, they acknowledge, shortly after ND/Teo claim, that it was a scam like catfish. Catfish, apparently, being another social scam that is now a movie or TV show or something.

So it follows that Teo is a victim here, at least at first, of a hoax. Here are the Tweets (http://everyfacetofthegame.blogspot.com/2013/01/catfished.html), sample below:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cRwgiLUCOMU/UPfeeqXGTQI/AAAAAAAAA_U/1n74912Y_Ec/s1600/1a.JPG

[woodbuck27]

I think woody hacked rb's account.

Yaa sure I must be guilty of that. :grin:

[mraynrand]

I'm beginning to think Packerrats is an elaborate scam perpetrated by all my enemies.

http://www.treatment4addiction.com/images/article_images/conditions-disorders_personality_paranoid.jpg

[woodbuck27]

Maybe Tuiasosopo is Samoan for "grifter". In the Tuiasosopo family, either you play football or you grift football. The story about someone else claiming to have met her sounds possible, because Manti was not the first online romance she developed.



Wonder if Ronaiah had a female accomplice? Teo told the Notre Dame AD that they had talked on the phone and she called him early in December, to tell him she had not died. But did need help getting money out of Nigeria.

Do you lads need any more than this:

" .... need help getting money out of Nigeria."

Key words money and Nigeria.

Lord help us all. :wow:

[HowardRoark]

I'm beginning to think Packerrats is an elaborate scam perpetrated by all my enemies.

http://www.treatment4addiction.com/images/article_images/conditions-disorders_personality_paranoid.jpg

Don't worry, we're all real.....you have nice eyes.

[3irty1]

This is hilarious now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGgIwSc8M3M&feature=player_embedded#!

[MadScientist]

I'm beginning to think Packerrats is an elaborate scam perpetrated by all my enemies.

http://www.treatment4addiction.com/images/article_images/conditions-disorders_personality_paranoid.jpg


Don't worry, we're all real

And we are your enemies.
Have a nice day.

[Bossman641]

http://3432-boston.voxcdn.com/files/2013/01/ND_angle-NAVY_Green-480x480.jpg

[mraynrand]

This is hilarious now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGgIwSc8M3M&feature=player_embedded#!


best comment:

"Real hoax was Notre Dame being rank #1"

[mraynrand]

I heard his new girlfriend is from Canada, but she was too busy to come down for the National Championship Game.

http://daybreakservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Anthony_Michael_Hall-1.jpg

[SkinBasket]

You know, I don't care if he's gay. No... actually I do. Not because he's putting his penis in the wrong place, but because rookies have about a bazillion things to worry about, adjust to, and deal with, all of which can cause their career to end before it really begins. From what I've read, most NFL locker rooms are still rather homophobic, if not downright homohostile, so I'm not really interested in bringing someone in who's immediately going to have a rather im-pack-ful hurdle to clear in his life, in his career, and with the sports media sticking their noses up his ass at every turn.

If he's gay.

If he's not, I don't like him anyway because ND is crap and the people who go their all turn out to be assholes, no offense to present alumni.

[Fosco33]

Educational material for you Rats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa'afafine

[woodbuck27]

I heard his new girlfriend is from Canada, but she was too busy to come down for the National Championship Game.

http://daybreakservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Anthony_Michael_Hall-1.jpg



sniff, sniff on that......: :razz:

[Guiness]

Yup another issue.

Manti is from Laie which is similar to Utah. Courtship is much different for true mormons. Being engaged to multiple women simultaneously is common.

It was only recently Mormons stopped being polygamists.

Um, say what? It's been over 100 years since Mormons denounced plural marriages and excommunicated those that entered into new ones. There are some splinter groups even today, but they live outside the church and the law.

No, I'm not a Mormon, but I play Scott Cambell on TV...

[woodbuck27]

Um, say what? It's been over 100 years since Mormons denounced plural marriages and excommunicated those that entered into new ones. There are some splinter groups even today, but they live outside the church and the law.

No, I'm not a Mormon, but I play Scott Cambell on TV...

Then ......you play the part of 'a dangerous man'........... with a tattoo gun .

http://scottcampbellstudio.com/

http://cdn.respect-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Scott-Campbell-by-Stefan-Ruiz-00.jpg

[gbgary]

http://3432-boston.voxcdn.com/files/2013/01/ND_angle-NAVY_Green-480x480.jpg

:-D

[pbmax]

Don't worry, we're all real.....you have nice eyes.

Careful Howard. They found the girl who was the source for those photos. Can you be sue over an avatar?

[pbmax]

No, I'm not a Mormon, but I play Scott Cambell on TV...

Scott lives in one such splinter group with his three wives, located in Austin, Texas. He enjoys expresso, microbrews and indie-folk-roots-grunge-outlaw music.

[SkinBasket]

Educational material for you Rats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa'afafine

Yeah, like I said, falaffle. Try to keep up.

[woodbuck27]

Yeah, like I said, falaffle. Try to keep up.

Yea it's deliscious served with Tahini Sauce:

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2010/05/19/falafel-sandwich/

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQDNjYLHscMYqCblct9qew6IY-5RoC1Tr4tnA6uai5QGaqoav6I

[woodbuck27]

You know, I don't care if he's gay. No... actually I do. Not because he's putting his penis in the wrong place, but because rookies have about a bazillion things to worry about, adjust to, and deal with, all of which can cause their career to end before it really begins. From what I've read, most NFL locker rooms are still rather homophobic, if not downright homohostile, so I'm not really interested in bringing someone in who's immediately going to have a rather im-pack-ful hurdle to clear in his life, in his career, and with the sports media sticking their noses up his ass at every turn.

If he's gay.

If he's not, I don't like him anyway because ND is crap and the people who go their all turn out to be assholes, no offense to present alumni.

" ... ND is crap and the people who go their all turn out to be assholes ...." SkinBasket

What University did these fellas attend?

a) Paul Hornung http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hornung

b) Mike McCoy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_McCoy_(defensive_tackle)

c) Aaron Taylor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Taylor_(born_1972)

d) Tom Clements http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clements

I'll throw in this fella:

e) Tim Brown http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Brown_(American_football)

[SkinBasket]

Are you supposed to be making a counter-argument or bolstering mine?

[woodbuck27]

Are you supposed to be making a counter-argument or bolstering mine?

Specifically in terms of what?

To head you in the right direction. I won't bolster your position RE: Notre Dame 'Fighting Irish' football players.

The head of the snake in that opening also has a tail. :wink:

[TravisWilliams23]

I really don't give a crap about whether he was in on it or just gullible. What bothers me most is that this story came out in maybe late September. Where the hell was the press on this? Other than reporting what he said, doesn't ANYONE in the news media have a responsibility to check up on a story to get the FACTS straight! Nobody bothered to give this girl family a call for an interview? Nobody bothered to Google her name to see what comes up on a simple internet search? Nobody! CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, FOX, CNN you name it. What other stories have we been spoon fed to believe that are just as much bull shit as this? That's the really scary part about this whole episode.

[mraynrand]

I really don't give a crap about whether he was in on it or just gullible. What bothers me most is that this story came out in maybe late September. Where the hell was the press on this? Other than reporting what he said, doesn't ANYONE in the news media have a responsibility to check up on a story to get the FACTS straight! Nobody bothered to give this girl family a call for an interview? Nobody bothered to Google her name to see what comes up on a simple internet search? Nobody! CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, FOX, CNN you name it. What other stories have we been spoon fed to believe that are just as much bull shit as this? That's the really scary part about this whole episode.

The press was a little preoccupied with the election - ironically, they were reporting on women with cancer that Romney killed. He probably killed this guy's GF too.

[Joemailman]

One of the reporters who had interviewed Te'o said he did Google Lennay Kekua's name looking for an obituary. When he didn't find it, he chalked it up to the family wanting to maintain privacy in a tragic situation.

[sheepshead]

I really don't give a crap about whether he was in on it or just gullible. What bothers me most is that this story came out in maybe late September. Where the hell was the press on this? Other than reporting what he said, doesn't ANYONE in the news media have a responsibility to check up on a story to get the FACTS straight! Nobody bothered to give this girl family a call for an interview? Nobody bothered to Google her name to see what comes up on a simple internet search? Nobody! CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, FOX, CNN you name it. What other stories have we been spoon fed to believe that are just as much bull shit as this? That's the really scary part about this whole episode.

You need to look no further than the current and two term occupant of the white house to answer this question.

[woodbuck27]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_scam

There is one TRUTH in all of this buzzzzzz....

The internet is alive with scams. Where will this story end up?

Do you truly care ?

[rbaloha1]

You need to look no further than the current and two term occupant of the white house to answer this question.

A right winger rears its head -- visited any KKK meeting or NRA rallies recently?

[Joemailman]

Let's keep the political stuff in FYI please. That's what it's there for.

[SkinBasket]

Let's keep the political stuff in FYI please. That's what it's there for.

It's a legitimate tie in. The "press" has demonstrated that journalism is dead these past four years. This story just proves it isn't just politics. NO ONE researches anything anymore beyond google and wikipedia, both of whom have pretty open political and social agendas.

I was going to ponder on the same thought before, but since I give less than a flying fuck about Noter Dame, I didn't even hear of the original story, much less see how it was covered. I don't expect any real reporting out of ESPN beyond their standard deep throat slobber job to maintain their grip on priority access to athletes, but the fact no other news organization did even an iota of research is indicative of how our public has become so poorly informed on a multitude of issues, this included.

[SkinBasket]

A right winger rears its head -- visited any KKK meeting or NRA rallies recently?

That's very open minded of you.

[woodbuck27]

It's a legitimate tie in. The "press" has demonstrated that journalism is dead these past four years. This story just proves it isn't just politics. NO ONE researches anything anymore beyond google and wikipedia, both of whom have pretty open political and social agendas.

I was going to ponder on the same thought before, but since I give less than a flying fuck about Noter Dame, I didn't even hear of the original story, much less see how it was covered. I don't expect any real reporting out of ESPN beyond their standard deep throat slobber job to maintain their grip on priority access to athletes, but the fact no other news organization did even an iota of research is indicative of how our public has become so poorly informed on a multitude of issues, this included.

Good post....yet news should be news worthy.

[mraynrand]

Good post....yet news should be news worthy.

And it was - as far as sports news goes - the video shows Te'a was playing it for all it was worth. The press should have at least verified the existence of the GF, the funeral, etc. etc. instead of just taking the player's word for it. At least digging the obit out of the local paper in the past would have been SOP.

[mraynrand]

Let's keep the political stuff in FYI please. That's what it's there for.

Madtown can split the thread, if he wants to exhaust himself - or he could just hand out negative rep points.

[Kiwon]

I really don't give a crap about whether he was in on it or just gullible. What bothers me most is that this story came out in maybe late September. Where the hell was the press on this? Other than reporting what he said, doesn't ANYONE in the news media have a responsibility to check up on a story to get the FACTS straight! Nobody bothered to give this girl family a call for an interview? Nobody bothered to Google her name to see what comes up on a simple internet search? Nobody! CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, FOX, CNN you name it. What other stories have we been spoon fed to believe that are just as much bull shit as this? That's the really scary part about this whole episode.

Travis, this is the place for real news.....(okay, okay, so what if they don't know the difference between running back and linebacker?)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=voHBIPUklBI#!

[rbaloha1]

That's very open minded of you.

Thanks for the compliment:-?

[MadtownPacker]

Madtown can split the thread, if he wants to exhaust himself - or he could just hand out negative rep points.
Or I could just be the little bitch you always accuse me of and zap all your accounts? Why cant I give negative rep? You where the one that took the first political shot after all. Plus it gave you a clear understanding.

With that said, lets save the politics for the FYI everyone.

[Kiwon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_scam

There is one TRUTH in all of this buzzzzzz....

The internet is alive with scams. Where will this story end up?

Do you truly care ?

Woody, 'ole PR buddy, I'm in trouble and need your help.

I missed my connecting flight and I'm stuck in an airport in Spain. My luggage was already on the other plane and I just had my wallet stolen while I was in the bathroom. Everything's gone, my ID, credit cards, cash....My phone won't work since I don't have roaming service. I've got nothing but the clothes I'm wearing.

Fortunately, I found a computer terminal at the Help Desk. They are not much 'help' but at least they let me use the computer.

I'm in desperate straits here, buddy. Do you think you could send $3,500 to my PayPal account just to tide me over? I don't know who to call or what to do. Please help.

When I get back to the States, I'll pay you back, plus I'll give you a special coupon for a Power Chair from 'The SCOOTER Store'. In my case, I didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my Power Chair. Medicare and my insurance covered it all. You're Canadian though, so everythng's free up there! :-)

[HowardRoark]

The press was a little preoccupied with the election - ironically, they were reporting on women with cancer that Romney killed. He probably killed this guy's GF too.

Maybe the fake woman died in the fake War on Women.

[mraynrand]

Or I could just be the little bitch you always accuse me of and zap all your accounts? Why cant I give negative rep? You where the one that took the first political shot after all. Plus it gave you a clear understanding.

With that said, lets save the politics for the FYI everyone.

not hardly. Ban me. I dare you.

[Guiness]

You need to look no further than the current and two term occupant of the white house to answer this question.

Don't go there! To FYI with you!

[pbmax]

If you start fact-checking inspirational sports stories pretty soon there will be virtually no inspirational sports stories. And half of America's sports reporters would be out of a job.

Pete Thamel who write the story that breathed national life into this whole tale, said he was granted an interview with Teo on Sunday, after having been on campus the previous week. Story was due Monday AM so they cold fact check and close it by Monday night to go to press.

They found nothing for the girl in Lexis Nexis but did not consider that too strange for a college age kid or her brother. He called Stanford but they couldn't find her in an alumni magazine or anyone who knew her. Current student records are protected, so I am unsure whether the SID or staff could search through enrolled student listings. Possibly not. So they dropped references to Stanford from the story. Then they found no reference to the drunk driving car accident in the news. So they took out drunk driving and left it as a car accident.

I would call this less a fact check and more a cannot possibly be sued check.

[sheepshead]

A right winger rears its head -- visited any KKK meeting or NRA rallies recently?

Moron

[sheepshead]

Don't go there! To FYI with you!

This is really about the press. As someone said, legitimate press is dead. Come on, no matter what side of the aisle you're on you cant objectively look at the current white house press corps on things like Benghazi, the dirty campaign we just witnessed or in the case of sports media the gushing love for domers and the sappy story of Te'o's hologram and no one questions any of it?

[SkinBasket]

If you start fact-checking inspirational sports stories pretty soon there will be virtually no inspirational sports stories. And half of America's sports reporters would be out of a job.

Pete Thamel who write the story that breathed national life into this whole tale, said he was granted an interview with Teo on Sunday, after having been on campus the previous week. Story was due Monday AM so they cold fact check and close it by Monday night to go to press.

They found nothing for the girl in Lexis Nexis but did not consider that too strange for a college age kid or her brother. He called Stanford but they couldn't find her in an alumni magazine or anyone who knew her. Current student records are protected, so I am unsure whether the SID or staff could search through enrolled student listings. Possibly not. So they dropped references to Stanford from the story. Then they found no reference to the drunk driving car accident in the news. So they took out drunk driving and left it as a car accident.

I would call this less a fact check and more a cannot possibly be sued check.

Outside of the terrible work by Mr. Thamel, the problem comes when it became a national story and was carried by major news agencies. You just pointed out that every half hearted attempt to verify failed, excuses or no. It would have taken an unpaid intern all of 10 minutes to make two more phone calls and come to the conclusion that this story should not be run because it could not one aspect of it could be verified - at all.

Like I said, this is just another failure of a "news" media in this nation who's sole concern has become "creating a narrative" instead of reporting facts and truth. Regardless of whether it's for political/social agendas or ratings, it's pathetic to watch.

Speaking of pathetic, this kid went out there and kept telling people in national interviews about what a wonderful person she was and perpetuating the lie for weeks after he told ND it was a hoax, and Noter Dame allowed it, or maybe even encouraged it. That's enough right there for me to say fuck this kid, and the school, both of whom intentionally lied, regardless of the reason. One thing is clear, Manti and the people at ND who knew about this are lying cowards.

[sheepshead]

By the way, Fox is ramping up it's own sports network. I hope they see it through, cant come a minute too soon. I only watch espn if I absolutely have to.

[pbmax]

Everyone is gearing up their own sports network after finally realizing ESPN is doing nothing amazing except squatting on a cable monopoly (only Turner as competition in basketball). NBC has its own sports network running now and I just found out yesterday, they are running a radio network and have affiliates in Madison and Milwaukee. FoxSports is still in Milwaukee I think.

As for Thamel and SI, the story would still have been written. The Grandmother was still dead and Teo was having a great season. But I agree that if you can't confirm a death (much less a life) or reach any family, you can't report that. Report that he says he has a girlfriend unverified? Sure. But not a dead one.

[Guiness]

Speaking of pathetic, this kid went out there and kept telling people in national interviews about what a wonderful person she was and perpetuating the lie for weeks after he told ND it was a hoax, and Noter Dame allowed it, or maybe even encouraged it. That's enough right there for me to say fuck this kid, and the school, both of whom intentionally lied, regardless of the reason. One thing is clear, Manti and the people at ND who knew about this are lying cowards.

I didn't know this part...he kept talking after he realizedit and told the school? That hurts his "I was fooled too" argument more than just a little.

BTW the bolded part made me laugh - Canadian spelling?

Have to wonder, not that we'll ever know, what the hell happened here. At first blush I was inclined to think this was a tall tale he told that spun out of control. When it got tough to maintain, he didn't take KYPack's advice, and drop his shovel. Instead he dropped his shovel...and rented heavy equipment! This sounds like an old SNL skit "No, no, you can't meet her. She's dead. Ya, she's dead, that's the ticket..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkYNBwCEeH4

[RashanGary]

I don't really care. The guys grandma died. He was going through and emotional time. He let it go, even fed into it. If there are other red flags along with it (and we don't know.) then I start worrying. If not, if the guy is a hard worker and a well liked guy. . . . . he's 22 years old. He's in a whirlwind of fan fare and pressure from the media. The guys head is probably spinning at times.

The pure fact that death and cancer are involved here makes is seem more disgusting than it is. Really, if it was pre-meditated and used as some form of pub, it is disgusting. . . I just don't give as much credit to 22 year olds for being that friggin manipulative and crafty. It was like that 21 yr old CB who was accused of rape by the 30 year old prostitutes. Everyone hears a disgusting word and wants to blame, but lets look at some context first. The first thing I look at is the age of the person. 22 year old men = retarded. If there's a demographic that can get themselves in completely retarded situations without having the malice or conning traits it appears they have, it's a 22 year old man. The odds of a 21 year old CB conning a couple of 30-somethings is slim to none. The odds of a 22 year old LB conning the public like this, or even attempting it, is slim to none. The guy fell into it and didn't have his head enough to turn it around soon enough.

My bet is he's a fine kid.

[rbaloha1]

I don't really care. The guys grandma died. He was going through and emotional time. He let it go, even fed into it. If there are other red flags along with it (and we don't know.) then I start worrying. If not, if the guy is a hard worker and a well liked guy. . . . . he's 22 years old. He's in a whirlwind of fan fare and pressure from the media. The guys head is probably spinning at times.

The pure fact that death and cancer are involved here makes is seem more disgusting than it is. Really, if it was pre-meditated and used as some form of pub, it is disgusting. . . I just don't give as much credit to 22 year olds for being that friggin manipulative and crafty. It was like that 21 yr old CB who was accused of rape by the 30 year old prostitutes. Everyone hears a disgusting word and wants to blame, but lets look at some context first. The first thing I look at is the age of the person. 22 year old men = retarded. If there's a demographic that can get themselves in completely retarded situations without having the malice or conning traits it appears they have, it's a 22 year old man. The odds of a 21 year old CB conning a couple of 30-somethings is slim to none. The odds of a 22 year old LB conning the public like this, or even attempting it, is slim to none. The guy fell into it and didn't have his head enough to turn it around soon enough.

My bet is he's a fine kid.


Manti is known for having a kind and trust ing heart -- call it naive if you must.

Unfortuntaley what is emerging is Manti was not part of the initial hoax but continued it. Why?

1. MT was emabarrassed and ashamed

2. The publicity was positive and the overwhelming support and the love was too much to give up.

3. MT is a diva for attention

4. Enhanced Heisman campaign.

5. Hoax helped people like Ronaiah Tuiasosopo who was part of a cancer fundraiser for the fake girlfriend.
http://www.csnchicago.com/01/17/13/Radio-interview-sheds-light-on-Teos-rela/nbcsportsnd.html?blockID=824541&feedID=3126

Bottom Line: A sick twisted hoax that hopefully ends with a Manti statement soon. Its an embarrassment to the Teo family, Notre Dame, and the state of Hawaii and Polynesia.

[SkinBasket]

I didn't know this part...he kept talking after he realizedit and told the school? That hurts his "I was fooled too" argument more than just a little.

I believe it was that TV interview they keep showing where he talks about what a wonderful person she was. He gave that 2 days after notifying ND that it was a hoax.

I heard it here last night while trying to fall asleep to the beautiful sounds of Gretta's voice: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/index.html#/v/2101929399001/the-tangled-quest-for-the-truth-in-teo-girlfried-hoax/?playlist_id=86925

[pbmax]

Continuing the lie after he found out he had been duped (for 2 days or 2 weeks) is understandable. It would take at least that long to process, admit you were an idiot and prepare to accept the derision sure to come. Even if it was just from those immediately around you. That part I get.

The part I don't get is a 21 YO kid still believing you can pull off a relationship online and call her your girlfriend when you have never met. Its the modern equivalent of a Canadian girlfriend from 20 years ago. Even if you DID meet her camping in Minnesota or traveling to Toronto, no one will believe it so there is no benefit to keep yapping about it. There are plenty of reports he saw women at ND. He wasn't picked up as a castaway from a far away island at age 17, unwise to the ways of actual, other people.

However, there was a benefit to the tragedy of the situation. The publicity was encouraging. So part of me think he was complicit in his situation, even if it wasn't premeditated.

[denverYooper]

All I really wonder about is whether a large part of the Packer fanbase will call him Manty and not Manti if GB were to draft him.

[mraynrand]

All I really wonder about is whether a large part of the Packer fanbase will call him Manty and not Manti if GB were to draft him.

?

if he plays for the Bears or Vikings, they will call him Pussi

[sheepshead]

The kid's an idiot. Plain and simple. This get's to the bone of a right vs. wrong issue. Somewhere in this timeline he (and the ND brass for that matter) should have woke up one morning and fessed up. Ended it. I say this scheme goes back a long way with these two. Kind of like Obama putting children or fake doctors in lab coats on a stage. Both equally pathetic.

[MadtownPacker]

The kid's an idiot. Plain and simple. This get's to the bone of a right vs. wrong issue. Somewhere in this timeline he (and the ND brass for that matter) should have woke up one morning and fessed up. Ended it. I say this scheme goes back a long way with these two. Kind of like Obama putting children or fake doctors in lab coats on a stage. Both equally pathetic.
You where given a fair warning, see you in a few days.

[3irty1]

I thought we established that he was queer as a plaid rabbit.

[KYPack]

I thought we established that he was queer as a plaid rabbit.

Firstly, thx Mad for doing a good job of room service. Leave the political bullshit alone, FYI is it's home(I never go there).

31, I've abandoned the gay theory in this thing. I thought initially it was a classic case of two queens doing a "beard", but now i don't think so

I think the buddy was trying to scam Teo and he fooled him for a bit. Then the kid got so far over his head, he was stupid and over-whelmed.

The family (some of 'em) are pissed that Gramma got lost in the shuffle, like Mad was saying initially.

The kid deserves to get a solid beating with a rubber bat, but it's also time to move along.

The kid is a glory hog and a dumb (but not gay) bunny.

[Guiness]

You where given a fair warning, see you in a few days.

repped

[red]

what kind of NCAA rules did ND break by hiring a PI for their star football player?

[Cheesehead Craig]

The family (some of 'em) are pissed that Gramma got lost

My family gets pissed when that happens to.

[mraynrand]

Firstly, thx Mad for doing a good job of room service. Leave the political bullshit alone, FYI is it's home(I never go there).

Evaluation of the role of the press - which has political implications - was reasonable.

[mraynrand]

The family (some of 'em) are pissed that Gramma got lost in the shuffle, like Mad was saying initially.

http://oddlovescompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/bc625dbe-97c3-4c76-a435-1562b3a96cb3.jpeg

[rbaloha1]

Manti Te'o has told family and friends that the woman who was the voice of his fictitious girlfriend “Lennay Kekua” called him in December and said she had to fake her own death months earlier to elude drug dealers, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser has learned.

The woman, who has yet to be identified, tried to re-engage a relationship with Te‘o months after she supposedly had died of leukemia in early September, the Notre Dame All-American linebacker has told the people close to him. The account was shared with the Star-Advertiser by a source close to the Te‘o family.

According to the account, Te'o asked the woman to transmit a photo to him with a date stamp, which she did, but this did not allay his suspicions and he later told his family and Notre Dame officials about being scammed.

The account does not give the date of the call but on Wednesday Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told a campus press conference that the woman contacted Te'o on Dec. 6 while he was in Florida for an ESPN post-season awards show. "He received a phone call from a number that he recognized as having been associated with Lennay Kekua," Swarbrick said. "When he answered it, it was a person whose voice sounded like the same person that he had talked to, who told him she was, in fact, not dead."

On Dec. 26, Te'o notified school officials, according to a statement from Te‘o Wednesday.

Subsequently Notre Dame commissioned an investigation that concluded Te'o had been the victim of a hoax, the school said.

In his statement, Te‘o said he was embarrassed to acknowledge that he was the victim "of what apparently was someone's sick joke and constant lies,” a hoax in which he had a long-distance online and phone relationship with a fictitious woman, whom he knew as Lennay Kekua.

However, Te'o has yet to address questions about statements he made to the press about her death from cancer after Dec. 6.

The bizarre case became national news after the website deadspin.com published a story Wednesday that Kekua did not exist. The story of Te‘o playing through the pain of having his grandmother and girlfriend die within 24 hours of each other became a major narrative in Notre Dame’s storybook 2012 season. With Te‘o as a team captain, the Fighting Irish had a 12-0 regular season and lost in the championship game to Alabama on Jan. 7.

The new details on the December phone call come on the heels of a report earlier today by ESPN which quoted a woman who said the California man allegedly behind the girlfriend hoax had admitted to her that he and his cousins had duped Te‘o, a 2009 Punahou School graduate from Laie.

The woman told the ESPN show “Outside the Lines” that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo of California cried when he admitted to her in December that he was involved in the scam. ESPN did not identify the woman at her request but described her as in her 20s and a church friend of Tuiasosopo.

"He (Ronaiah) told me Manti was not involved at all, he was a victim. The girlfriend was a lie; the accident was a lie; the leukemia was a lie," the woman told ESPN. "He was crying; he was literally crying. He's like 'I know, I know what I have to do.'"

She added, "It is not only Manti, but he was telling me that it is a lot of other people they had done this to."

Outside the Lines interviewed two others who said they had family members who had a similar hoax played on them by Tuiasosopo.

The deadspin.com story identified Tuiasosopo as the man behind the scheme, but also raised questions about whether or not Te'o was a willing participant in the hoax.

Notre Dame’s Swarbrick, meanwhile, said Friday he has strongly encouraged the Te'o family to speak publicly. Except for the brief written statement Wednesday following the deadspin.com report, the family has not commented. A planned one-on-one interview Thursday with Te'o was scrubbed.

Meanwhile, several TV sites, including Inside Edition, have identified the woman in the photo that had been posted on Kekua's Facebook page as Diane O'Meara, a 23-year old who works in marketing. She has said the photo was used without her permission and she was not involved.

O'Meara was not at her Torrance, Calif., office Friday. Messages left on her voice mail were not immediately returned to the Star-Advertiser.

[denverYooper]

?

if he plays for the Bears or Vikings, they will call him Pussi

:lol:

There are a few Mantys in the UP, though they aren't quite as prevalent as Makis. I just imagined a bunch of Yoopers calling him Manty (man-teee).

[MJZiggy]

Outside of the terrible work by Mr. Thamel, the problem comes when it became a national story and was carried by major news agencies. You just pointed out that every half hearted attempt to verify failed, excuses or no. It would have taken an unpaid intern all of 10 minutes to make two more phone calls and come to the conclusion that this story should not be run because it could not one aspect of it could be verified - at all.

Like I said, this is just another failure of a "news" media in this nation who's sole concern has become "creating a narrative" instead of reporting facts and truth. Regardless of whether it's for political/social agendas or ratings, it's pathetic to watch.



Exactly. My job is to create narratives--because I don't work for a newspaper. The rule when I came out of school and for about 10 minutes thereafter, was that you had two sources for any piece of information you published and you verified everything for accuracy or you didn't publish. What's happened to the news trade these days is disgusting.

[red]

Exactly. My job is to create narratives--because I don't work for a newspaper. The rule when I came out of school and for about 10 minutes thereafter, was that you had two sources for any piece of information you published and you verified everything for accuracy or you didn't publish. What's happened to the news trade these days is disgusting.

media makes their own news these days. plus gossip and rumors are big money

we've become a tabloid society

[Kiwon]

Hold your nose.......another Jason Whitlock special......the NCAA is modern-day slavery...slaves destroying their brains through concussions, all for your amusement.....Shame, shame....

A few choice quotes....

"Lying is easy when you’re living one. No institution is living a bigger lie than Notre Dame. The Golden Dome believes it can live up to its religious ideals while participating in the systematic financial exploitation of young people.

Let me remind you of Walter Byers’ confession. Byers, a white, conservative from Kansas, created the modern NCAA and wrote these words in his 1997 memoir “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting the Student-Athlete:

“Today the NCAA Presidents Commission is preoccupied with tightening a few loose bolts in a worn machine, firmly committed to the neo-plantation belief that the enormous proceeds from college games belong to the overseers (administrators) and supervisors (coaches). The plantation workers performing in the arena may only receive those benefits authorized by the overseers.”

That’s not the race card played by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton or me. That’s unvarnished truth from the owner of the plantation."
...............................

"Everyone associated with the lie of amateurism is all in with Manti Te’o. Look at the media. Our biggest complaint about big-time college football is that there is no playoff system. In the era of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (concussions), we’re campaigning for more games, more money, more exploitation.

To justify our hypocrisy, we need more Manti Te’os."

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/manti-teo-notre-dame-hoax-media-outrage-hypocritical-fake-dead-girlfriend-011813

[rbaloha1]

media makes their own news these days. plus gossip and rumors are big money

we've become a tabloid society


It works because of a gullible society.

[pbmax]

Exactly. My job is to create narratives--because I don't work for a newspaper. The rule when I came out of school and for about 10 minutes thereafter, was that you had two sources for any piece of information you published and you verified everything for accuracy or you didn't publish. What's happened to the news trade these days is disgusting.

Magazine writers aren't writing the news. SI gets published every week, this wasn't a breaking story for them. I don't expect the same standards as newspapers or TV news because I realized long ago that writers (especially in magazines) aren't experts in these matters and the narrative is what they specialize at.

The story was about more than the girlfriend and would have been published on the cover regardless of her existence. What surprises me is that they buried the lede of their own story. And they buried it precisely because they couldn't confirm it. It should not have made it past that point. They tried to sneak it through and got burned.

[pbmax]

It works because of a gullible society.

Don't agree with this at all. Gullibility has stayed the same. Medium has changed. I have serious doubt that the reporters of the day would have cared enough to debunk this story 30 years ago. Especially of you had to travel to California to get it.

[pbmax]

I don't know why I stick with this story but here is the latest stuff I found (was pointed to by Twitter*): http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130117/manti-teo-girlfriend-hoax-quotes/


Father Paul Doyle, the rector of Dillon Hall, where Te'o lived for three years, told me, "I think I had met the girlfriend. I think she had been here visiting the year before."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130117/manti-teo-girlfriend-hoax-quotes/#ixzz2IRJ5Y2Qa


Coach Brian Kelly, defensive coordinator Bob Diaco and teammates such as Theo Riddick, Robby Toma and Cierre Wood described in painstaking detail Te'o's emotions on the day he got the call in the locker room that Kekua had died. I was told by teammates and coaches that Te'o had been on the phone with her while getting his ankles taped and for weeks after her death he stayed in close communication with her supposed family.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130117/manti-teo-girlfriend-hoax-quotes/#ixzz2IRK6fHT9



Before I went to campus, I had conducted lengthy interviews with Brian Te'o, Manti's dad, and Dalton Hilliard, a close friend from Punahou High in Honolulu who played at UCLA. Both said they were in frequent communication with Kekua; Brian Te'o told me he had received a condolence text from her after his mother died. They also spoke on the phone at length, as he did with Lennay's brothers after her "death." Hilliard said he received frequent texts and tweets from her.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130117/manti-teo-girlfriend-hoax-quotes/#ixzz2IRKFSRY0


For the interview on Sunday afternoon Te'o and I sat in the linebacker meeting room in Notre Dame's football facility and he looked straight at me as he spoke. His eyes welled up at times. The only time he didn't speak with confidence was when I asked how they met. I didn't press him, as it was clearly something he didn't want to share. I suspected they may have met online, understood he wouldn't have wanted that public and moved on.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130117/manti-teo-girlfriend-hoax-quotes/#ixzz2IRKXne6H

The guy and girl running this hoax were very committed to it. I don't keep up that same level of communication with my actual family.


* Maybe Twitter is the problem. I only *think* I am not watching a celebrity gossip show.

[mraynrand]

Don't agree with this at all. Gullibility has stayed the same. Medium has changed. I have serious doubt that the reporters of the day would have cared enough to debunk this story 30 years ago. Especially of you had to travel to California to get it.

You remember we had telephone back then, right?

[Patler]

Don't agree with this at all. Gullibility has stayed the same. Medium has changed. I have serious doubt that the reporters of the day would have cared enough to debunk this story 30 years ago. Especially of you had to travel to California to get it.

I'm not sure I agree that reporters of the past wouldn't have been interested in debunking a story like this. I think they would have, or at least would have been forced to have independent corroboration whether they wanted to or not. The news services required it. Reporters lost there jobs for having major errors in the factual basis of a story. Now, it seems everyone is more interested in speed than accuracy. Get it out there, and correct it later. There isn't the embarrassment for being wrong that there was in the past.

They did have telephones in those days, so a trip to California wouldn't have been required. The various news services also had very extensive networks of "stringers" who were independent but paid for information provided. They were often used to verify information such as this. A stringer would have relished a story like this.

[pbmax]

You remember we had telephone back then, right?

I remember something hanging from the wall with an elongated, twisted cord ...

But it would still have taken more time and more than one person. Most of Deadspin's exposé was Internet search. So vastly more people have the resources to do that story, making it more likely to happen, especially when not constrained by deadline. Blogs have a lower threshold at which they'll chase gossip. The cost of fact checking the girlfriend was higher, previously.

Plus all the hints that, as it turned out, were hiding in plain site on some social networks.

In that way, I am not comparing apples to apples. Teo's story 30 years ago would have been the girlfriend he met on vacation, not online.

[Patler]

The guy and girl running this hoax were very committed to it. I don't keep up that same level of communication with my actual family.


Sure seems that way, doesn't it? Apparently Te'o wasn't their only victim.

[pbmax]

I'm not sure I agree that reporters of the past wouldn't have been interested in debunking a story like this. I think they would have, or at least would have been forced to have independent corroboration whether they wanted to or not. The news services required it. Reporters lost there jobs for having major errors in the factual basis of a story. Now, it seems everyone is more interested in speed than accuracy. Get it out there, and correct it later. There isn't the embarrassment for being wrong that there was in the past.

They did have telephones in those days, so a trip to California wouldn't have been required. The various news services also had very extensive networks of "stringers" who were independent but paid for information provided. They were often used to verify information such as this. A stringer would have relished a story like this.

Perhaps, but the cost of debunking (rather than just fact checking an original story with her in it) would be more expensive back in the day.

There would be interest perhaps on the part of suspicious reporters, but would an editor approve the cost of the reporting for a story with that kind of risk and reward? I doubt it. I think these smaller scale stories passed right through the filter previously.

[pbmax]

I wonder if there is something special about this circumstance. Most major media outlets will not simply report that someone else is reporting something without doing their own work to advance it. But even then, the NY Times did mention this story and referred back to the South Bend Tribune. This probably reflects the differences between sports and news.

But I suspect the presence of a magazine, rather than daily newspaper lowered the threshold for skepticism.

[Patler]

Perhaps, but the cost of debunking (rather than just fact checking an original story with her in it) would be more expensive back in the day.

There would be interest perhaps on the part of suspicious reporters, but would an editor approve the cost of the reporting for a story with that kind of risk and reward? I doubt it. I think these smaller scale stories passed right through the filter previously.

Simple fact checking would have debunked it, and that would have been relatively easy. A stringer walking into the Registrars office at Stanford could easily have found out if she was a student. No body much cared about confidentiality in those days. The same checking they did for obituaries, traffic accidents, etc. could have been done by the local stringer at minimal cost.

My brother was a radio news reporter in the '60s & '70s. They often had to sit on stories, even insignificant stories of minimal interest while facts were being at least corroborated if not verified.

[Patler]

Most major media outlets will not simply report that someone else is reporting something without doing their own work to advance it.

Interesting that you bring that up. Several months ago my wife and I were discussing that very thing about another news story. The "news" we saw was that another outlet had a report about something. Maybe that way they absolve themselves for inaccuracies?

[pbmax]

Interesting that you bring that up. Several months ago my wife and I were discussing that very thing about another news story. The "news" we saw was that another outlet had a report about something. Maybe that way they absolve themselves for inaccuracies?

This is one area social media and blogs have really changed the standard. In most print editions, you still will not see them do a story (unless its too major to ignore). But on TV and on the web, they have to link to it in some way or lose eyeballs.

In this regard, at least for sports, Pro Football Talk rode this model to success. The outright recognition that they are reporting rumors, speculation and sourced material all in one spot. It was simple and genius in its timing. I found the site after literally Googling for "internet nfl rumors" after more than once reading a reporter being skeptical about those internet rumors. After more than one came to fruition, I wanted to know who had it.

[pbmax]

Simple fact checking would have debunked it, and that would have been relatively easy. A stringer walking into the Registrars office at Stanford could easily have found out if she was a student. No body much cared about confidentiality in those days. The same checking they did for obituaries, traffic accidents, etc. could have been done by the local stringer at minimal cost.

My brother was a radio news reporter in the '60s & '70s. They often had to sit on stories, even insignificant stories of minimal interest while facts were being at least corroborated if not verified.

Yes. The fact check did work, and I doubt a more reputable, daily outfit would use it. At least not without everything in quotes. SI as a magazine takes more liberties than the daily paper can.

However, to come back to debunk the story is something I don't think happens until this era.

[woodbuck27]

Woody, 'ole PR buddy, I'm in trouble and need your help.

I missed my connecting flight and I'm stuck in an airport in Spain. My luggage was already on the other plane and I just had my wallet stolen while I was in the bathroom. Everything's gone, my ID, credit cards, cash....My phone won't work since I don't have roaming service. I've got nothing but the clothes I'm wearing.

Fortunately, I found a computer terminal at the Help Desk. They are not much 'help' but at least they let me use the computer.

I'm in desperate straits here, buddy. Do you think you could send $3,500 to my PayPal account just to tide me over? I don't know who to call or what to do. Please help.

When I get back to the States, I'll pay you back, plus I'll give you a special coupon for a Power Chair from 'The SCOOTER Store'. In my case, I didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my Power Chair. Medicare and my insurance covered it all. You're Canadian though, so everythng's free up there! :-)

" I'm in desperate straits here, buddy. Do you think you could send $3,500 to my PayPal account just to tide me over? I don't know who to call or what to do. Please help."

Now that shouts of SCAM.


Kiwon there's no 'FREE' Taxes except for the very poor ! The Medicare plan comes from the abundance of TAX's we pay.

[Patler]

This is one area social media and blogs have really changed the standard. In most print editions, you still will not see them do a story (unless its too major to ignore). But on TV and on the web, they have to link to it in some way or lose eyeballs.

In this regard, at least for sports, Pro Football Talk rode this model to success. The outright recognition that they are reporting rumors, speculation and sourced material all in one spot. It was simple and genius in its timing. I found the site after literally Googling for "internet nfl rumors" after more than once reading a reporter being skeptical about those internet rumors. After more than one came to fruition, I wanted to know who had it.

What has really surprised me is nfl.com now doing the same thing, running stories about rumors. It seems to me that the official league website should stick to fact reporting, and leave rumors to others.

[woodbuck27]

I don't really care. The guys grandma died. He was going through and emotional time. He let it go, even fed into it. If there are other red flags along with it (and we don't know.) then I start worrying. If not, if the guy is a hard worker and a well liked guy. . . . . he's 22 years old. He's in a whirlwind of fan fare and pressure from the media. The guys head is probably spinning at times.

The pure fact that death and cancer are involved here makes is seem more disgusting than it is. Really, if it was pre-meditated and used as some form of pub, it is disgusting. . . I just don't give as much credit to 22 year olds for being that friggin manipulative and crafty. It was like that 21 yr old CB who was accused of rape by the 30 year old prostitutes. Everyone hears a disgusting word and wants to blame, but lets look at some context first. The first thing I look at is the age of the person. 22 year old men = retarded. If there's a demographic that can get themselves in completely retarded situations without having the malice or conning traits it appears they have, it's a 22 year old man. The odds of a 21 year old CB conning a couple of 30-somethings is slim to none. The odds of a 22 year old LB conning the public like this, or even attempting it, is slim to none. The guy fell into it and didn't have his head enough to turn it around soon enough.

My bet is he's a fine kid.

Among too many other things that include's ** too many awards to mention for his outstanding abilities as an outstanding defensive football player:

** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manti_Te'o

Fr. this LINK:

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/149863/liars_like_lance_armstrong_manti

" Similarly, we don't know all the exact details behind the Manti T'eo mess, but it seems like the guy lied because he got swept up in the fable. Couldn't face the consequence of the truth coming out. (Not that that fear prevented it from happening!)

And really, who hasn't been in a situation like that? Even if it was a little white lie you told once, we've all been scared silly to admit the truth at one time or another ... So how can we judge these guys so harshly for doing the same very human thing -- that happened to unfold in front of cameras and entire country?

The way I see it -- it boils down to them just being flawed in a regretable but deeply human way. So the humane thing to do is to consider forgiveness."

[Kiwon]

" I'm in desperate straits here, buddy. Do you think you could send $3,500 to my PayPal account just to tide me over? I don't know who to call or what to do. Please help."

Now that shouts of SCAM.


Kiwon there's no 'FREE' Taxes except for the very poor ! The Medicare plan comes from the abundance of TAX's we pay.

Hey, man! I thought we were tight. I've been at this Help Desk for two days awaiting your response. They are starting to get annoyed with me. They've asked me to pay an extra $500 for some miscellaneous fees. This is the last time I'm passing through Spain. Please just send me $4,000 so I can get out of here!

What's that you say? 419 scam? No, no,...I'm in a Spanish airport, not a Nigerian Internet Cafe.

But, if you send me the money quickly I will introduce you to a relative of an African Prince who died. This guy needs some help getting gold coins to Canada. He'll share 25% with you if you advance him some funds to help with security and shipping costs. He's a real nice guy.

[woodbuck27]

Hey, man! I thought we were tight. I've been at this Help Desk for two days awaiting your response. They are starting to get annoyed with me. They've asked me to pay an extra $500 for some miscellaneous fees. This is the last time I'm passing through Spain. Please just send me $4,000 so I can get out of here!

What's that you say? 419 scam? No, no,...I'm in a Spanish airport, not a Nigerian Internet Cafe.

But, if you send me the money quickly I will introduce you to a relative of an African Prince who died. This guy needs some help getting gold coins to Canada. He'll share 25% with you if you advance him some funds to help with security and shipping costs. He's a real nice guy.

Yea ! Sure !! I'll get back to you but right now I have to get my poodle clipped.

[mraynrand]

Kiwon there's no 'FREE' Taxes except for the very poor ! The Medicare plan comes from the abundance of TAX's we pay.

can we keep the political stuff in FYI please. My sensibilities are being hurt.

[MadtownPacker]

How about we respect the rules of the forum and the wishes of the football posters who use the Packers area?

Oh wait those rules just apply to everyone else.

[MJZiggy]

I'm not sure I agree that reporters of the past wouldn't have been interested in debunking a story like this. I think they would have, or at least would have been forced to have independent corroboration whether they wanted to or not. The news services required it. Reporters lost there jobs for having major errors in the factual basis of a story. Now, it seems everyone is more interested in speed than accuracy. Get it out there, and correct it later. There isn't the embarrassment for being wrong that there was in the past.

They did have telephones in those days, so a trip to California wouldn't have been required. The various news services also had very extensive networks of "stringers" who were independent but paid for information provided. They were often used to verify information such as this. A stringer would have relished a story like this.

The story wouldn't have needed debunking because without proper corroboration, it would never have seen the light of day in the first place.

[MJZiggy]

Magazine writers aren't writing the news. SI gets published every week, this wasn't a breaking story for them. I don't expect the same standards as newspapers or TV news because I realized long ago that writers (especially in magazines) aren't experts in these matters and the narrative is what they specialize at.

The story was about more than the girlfriend and would have been published on the cover regardless of her existence. What surprises me is that they buried the lede of their own story. And they buried it precisely because they couldn't confirm it. It should not have made it past that point. They tried to sneak it through and got burned.

Actually I work corporate, but when I put out a press release, you can be damn sure that everything in it is correct and verified. And if you aren't an expert, all the more reason to make sure that all of your sources are good. There is no excuse for any entity that refers to itself as a media outlet to do otherwise. The story never should have been considered for publication until they found evidence of her and their relationship.

[pbmax]

Actually I work corporate, but when I put out a press release, you can be damn sure that everything in it is correct and verified. And if you aren't an expert, all the more reason to make sure that all of your sources are good. There is no excuse for any entity that refers to itself as a media outlet to do otherwise. The story never should have been considered for publication until they found evidence of her and their relationship.

It would be tough to find a comparable situation but he had a Priest, a Father, Mother and teammates who all claim they knew who she was and 2 of those claim they met her.

Having a girlfriend was the easy part. Her being dead was a bad job of reporting.

[Deputy Nutz]

Having a girlfriend was the easy part. Her being dead was a bad job of reporting.

Dead fake girlfriends are even hard to cover up.

[KYPack]

Dead fake girlfriends are even hard to cover up.

The kid could still make hay with a few things.

A book, "I did not have sex with my dead fake girlfriend".

Ya know, shit like that.

[Deputy Nutz]

Or "My Fake Girlfriend Won't be Found Washed Up on the Shores of San Francisco Bay."

[pbmax]

You know what they say: "Never get caught in bed with a dead girl, or a live boy".

[Deputy Nutz]

You know what they say: "Never get caught in bed with a dead girl, or a live boy".

I think Bill Clinton said that

[KYPack]

I don't give a shit about this anymore, like most of the country.

But the kid is still screwing this up.

He's gonna do an interview with Katie Couric on her show.

I really didn't know Katie Couric HAD a show.

Manti, drop the shovel.

When you hit Katie Couric's show, you have reached bottom.

Maybe the boy is right, once he appears there, everybody will forget about him.

[rbaloha1]

Manti needs to repair his national image. In Hawaii, Manti is still legendary.

[MadScientist]

Manti needs to repair his national image. In Hawaii, Manti is still legendary.

Real problem is that if he is this gullible, he's going to bite on every good play fake.

[gbgary]

Te'o's e-harmony ad (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/18/manti-teo-eharmony-ad-funny-or-die-video_n_2506648.html)

[KYPack]

That's some funny shit, GBG.

[Joemailman]

If Te'o is available when the Packers pick, and TT calls him on the phone to tell him they are picking him, will Te'o believe it's really TT on the phone?

[Deputy Nutz]

I wonder if Teo will have his girlfriend with him in the Green Room?

[wootah]

This fake girlfriend thing is becoming quite the hype... Here's Russell Wilson's reaction when he was informed that the relationship with his girlfriend was a hoax as well:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1086998/wilsongf.gif

[mraynrand]

I think Bill Clinton said that

Confine the political stuff to FYI, please

[KYPack]

Heard some stuff from Peter King that makes some sense this AM.

King had talked to a head of Personnel with an NFL team. Most of the teams had Teo ranked as the 8 -10 player in the draft. With all the Juniors coming in this draft, he may fall to 20 - early second round. Each draft, the teams discover some crazy shit about the potential draftees. Finding out your guy did some incredibly stupid shit is old hat to most personnel staffs. Each team has guys that are basically stone crazy. if the kid makes it thru a few individual interviews OK, this cat thought he still will go in the first 40 picks easily.

Manti Teo is just another in a long line of young kids that have done goofy shit.

They are trying to ball in the NFL, not run for office.

[pbmax]

I wonder if Teo will have his girlfriend with him in the Green Room?

How will we know?

[mraynrand]

They are trying to ball in the NFL, not run for office.

I'd appreciate it if you'd keep the political commentary in FYI. Thanks.

[mraynrand]

if the kid makes it thru a few individual interviews OK, this cat thought he still will go in the first 40 picks easily.

Manti Teo is just another in a long line of young kids that have done goofy shit.

Those interviews at the combine ought to be a hoot.

[Deputy Nutz]

Confine the political stuff to FYI, please

Bill Clinton is so famous he goes beyond the political spectrum

[mraynrand]

Bill Clinton is so famous he goes beyond the political spectrum

especially as a musician, playing on his saxophone, if you catch my drift.

[swede]

I am content to have very little idea what this story is about. It reeks of stupid young people, social networking and modern media, though.

The only spark of curiosity I have, given the very little I know, is to know how a guy is in trouble for having an imaginary girlfriend who dies if she was imaginary. Does it show bad judgment that she was imaginary or that he did nothing to prevent her death?

On second thought, I don't want to know.

[Iron Mike]

This fake girlfriend thing is becoming quite the hype... Here's Russell Wilson's reaction when he was informed that the relationship with his girlfriend was a hoax as well:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1086998/wilsongf.gif

Hey....is that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog she's holding on to there???

[Patler]

The only spark of curiosity I have, given the very little I know, is to know how a guy is in trouble for having an imaginary girlfriend who dies if she was imaginary. Does it show bad judgment that she was imaginary or that he did nothing to prevent her death?


I think it shows bad judgment that he didn't pretend to go to the fake funeral service for his imaginary girlfriend. That should have been the least he would be willing to not do.

[sharpe1027]

I think it shows bad judgment that he didn't pretend to go to the fake funeral service for his imaginary girlfriend. That should have been the least he would be willing to not do.

He probably sent some imaginary flowers.

[denverYooper]

I think it shows bad judgment that he didn't pretend to go to the fake funeral service for his imaginary girlfriend. That should have been the least he would be willing to not do.

We're only a few steps away from a bold new re-interpretation of L'Étranger!

[pbmax]

Seems appropriate at this juncture.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmxSMIN3-WI

[swede]

I think it shows bad judgment that he didn't pretend to go to the fake funeral service for his imaginary girlfriend. That should have been the least he would be willing to not do.


We're only a few steps away from a bold new re-interpretation of L'Étranger!


True, true. And Manti Teo is forced back into the 2nd round, a metaphor, as it were, for the guillotine, while the fans reject media absurdisms and instead display philosophical indifference by asking about his 40 time.

[KYPack]

True, true. And Manti Teo is forced back into the 2nd round, a metaphor, as it were, for the guillotine, while the fans reject media absurdisms and instead display philosophical indifference by asking about his 40 time.

Yo. Chopping the kid's head off for this might be a little extreme.

[denverYooper]

Yo. Chopping the kid's head off for this might be a little extreme.

He'd better stay away from the beach, then.

[RashanGary]

Heard some stuff from Peter King that makes some sense this AM.

King had talked to a head of Personnel with an NFL team. Most of the teams had Teo ranked as the 8 -10 player in the draft. With all the Juniors coming in this draft, he may fall to 20 - early second round. Each draft, the teams discover some crazy shit about the potential draftees. Finding out your guy did some incredibly stupid shit is old hat to most personnel staffs. Each team has guys that are basically stone crazy. if the kid makes it thru a few individual interviews OK, this cat thought he still will go in the first 40 picks easily.

Manti Teo is just another in a long line of young kids that have done goofy shit.

They are trying to ball in the NFL, not run for office.

This is about where I stand. Here are some red flags I'd move a guy down for:

-Lazy, inconsistent, no passion for ball
-heinous crimes
-Severe personality clashes with teammates and/or coaches
-A long history of being a liar/untrustworty
-Severe drug and alcohol problems and/or affiliation with a group of people who live that type of lifestyle


Here are some stupid things I would not move a guy down for, at all:

-known to smoke pot once or twice, but all other history suggests it was isolated incidences (especially if said player has a strong family background and good relationships with his teammates and coaches
-caught in some form of scheme where said player stole something from someones dorm or damaged property in a funny or obviously prank-like manor (again, especially if said player has strong family background and good personal relationships with teammates. Add this to every single one of the forgivable incidences)
-player had history as a freshman of being immature, partying too much, but grew up and became a strong leader by example. Guys who break rules can often be leader types who are testing out boundaries and learning what they can and can't do. You need guys who will go against the grain a little. Football requires a certain attitude and belief in yourself that goes beyond the typical "follow all rules because you are not above anything." I think the best players believe they cannot best stopped. (see Adrian Peterson and his 100MPH speeding incidence or Brett Favre and his Mississippi invincible attitude. Great ones test limits and often times believe nothing can stop them. As a matter of fact, if a player displaying this trait is also a known leader among his team, ultra competitive and has a decent support system and is talented beyond belief, this might be the first guy I want to draft. He might even be a guy I move up on my board because of the potential to be a dynamic superstar and a dynamic leader of men. You know what they say, follow our fearless leader. . . Well, that's because people love a guy who will lead the charge, a guy who will put his body on the line without hesitation, a guy you know has your back and will fight even when the odds are against him.

There are several other things I forgive. In fact, I forgive more than I damn guys. Lack of will to be the best, showings of ruthless violence, drug problems, extremely unstable backgrounds, etc. . . Those things scare me. Outside of that, I'm a believer in people and I don't think leaders are your conventional rule followers. I don't even think you want pussies on the field as anything more than role players. OL are guys who I'd like to be the conventional rule follower types. They need to follow technique to a T. Most other positions, I want guys who believe in their coaches, but have some creativity and outside the box traits to their personality. Nick Collins and Des Bishop are guys I think of like this. They play true to form and to their technique, but in the moment, when it's time to do something awkward or outside of the norm, they just find a way. At the end of the day, they believe in themselves and ultimately fall back on their instincts not a series of hoop jumping and rule following.

I like guys with little chips on their shoulder too, guys who get a little satisfaction in revenge, guys maybe a little insecure, who feel they always have something to prove, guys who aren't very patient, maybe shoot for perfection, maybe ultra competitive, don't play well with others during competition. Maybe they're a little violent in the moment, maybe they're the type who won't let a kid win, maybe they never admit failure and never stop trying, maybe they'll cheat a little, sneak a little to get an edge (see hoodie in NE, Jordy sneakily picking up the flag, Barroid, and many others.) Just guys who are so competitive and driven, they'd typically drive you nuts and the casual sporting enthusiast woudln't want to play a friendly game of basketball with this guy unless he was on your team in a tournament or something like that. You want a guy who doesn't know how to lose and has a fighter personality in the field of play. You want the guy who's so driven, he'd take a little HGH to be the best. Sadly, the best of the best are on performance enhancers. They're the best for a reason, because they eat sleep and breath competition, because they never feel comfortable and safe, because every moment, they train and prepare like their back is against the wall. The greatest of the great cheat a little. I guarantee you Peterson is on illegal performance enhancers. I guarantee you Clay is. These guys need the admiration, they need perfection, they can't stop themselves.

[Deputy Nutz]

Two names will always jump off at me and that is Warren Sapp, and Randy Moss. Passed on character concerns, for Sapp is weed which is ridiculous because he was dominant from day one. Moss had some drug issues and some violence in his past, but he don't get 6-4 with 4.3 speed very often. Both Hall of Fame players.

Vonta Burfict is another guy that gave every indication that he was was going to be a complete mess ended up being a quality starting linebacker for the Bengals.

This whole thing with Teo is completely ridiculous but he can either play football or he can't.

[pbmax]

Its also possibly more common than we imagine.

Jeff Darlington, I believe, today posted a story about the Redskins having to warn players away from a "fan" who they had investigated and discovered did not exist. There were apparently four players talking to "her".

Makes me wonder who is really posting in this forum.

[Guiness]

This is in the media up here as well. Latest development: the voice on the phone was a guy!

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/NCAA/2013/01/24/20521781.html

His lawyer's (not Manti, the other guy) rebutal?
"Come on, Hollywood does it all the time," Grimes said Wednesday. "People can do that."

[3irty1]

This is in the media up here as well. Latest development: the voice on the phone was a guy!

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/NCAA/2013/01/24/20521781.html

His lawyer's (not Manti, the other guy) rebutal?

Wow. Can we finally put away all the "he's not gay" theories?

[Guiness]

Wow. Can we finally put away all the "he's not gay" theories?

In related news


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxtaTn8zSwg

[swede]

Its also possibly more common than we imagine.

Jeff Darlington, I believe, today posted a story about the Redskins having to warn players away from a "fan" who they had investigated and discovered did not exist. There were apparently four players talking to "her".

Makes me wonder who is really posting in this forum.

Dear Mr. PBMax,

I write to you out of desperation since I am a wealthy Swedish prince, the great, great, not-so-great grandson of King Olaf the Flatulent. My family fortune is considerable, but due to political conditions, muddy roads, and a lack of good help I am unable to move this fortune out of Sweden without assistance. If you could provide me with your bank account number and four rolls of Charmin bathroom tissue I will wire my fortune directly to your account so that I may continue my life of prosperity in the United States somewhere new. Like Cleveland maybe. For this I will give you one hundred kronor and a nice wheel of Havarti cheese.

So that you know that this deal is true I will now tell you that this is deal is really true. Really.

Okay, not really. But if I could get the Charmin by next Tuesday that would be great.

[mraynrand]

Makes me wonder who is really posting in this forum.

85% of us are simply different manifestations of Tank's schizophrenia

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Sybil_DVD.jpg

[pbmax]

In the latest news, the caller WAS a girl and Ronnie is getting some quality time on Dr. Phil.

It has inexorably moved past the point where I can care. Katie was pushing it, but Dr. Phil is a step too far. I am not posting here again until someone gets arrested or a movie development deal.

[KYPack]

In the latest news, the caller WAS a girl and Ronnie is getting some quality time on Dr. Phil.

It has inexorably moved past the point where I can care. Katie was pushing it, but Dr. Phil is a step too far. I am not posting here again until someone gets arrested or a movie development deal.

You think they can bust the kid for wanting to fuck his fake girlfriend after she was dead?

Some kind of phantom necrophelia?

[pbmax]

You think they can bust the kid for wanting to fuck his fake girlfriend after she was dead?

Some kind of phantom necrophelia?

I'm kinda hoping they get Ronnie for tax evasion by claiming the fake girl as a dependent.

[MJZiggy]

Dear Mr. PBMax,

I write to you out of desperation since I am a wealthy Swedish prince, the great, great, not-so-great grandson of King Olaf the Flatulent. My family fortune is considerable, but due to political conditions, muddy roads, and a lack of good help I am unable to move this fortune out of Sweden without assistance. If you could provide me with your bank account number and four rolls of Charmin bathroom tissue I will wire my fortune directly to your account so that I may continue my life of prosperity in the United States somewhere new. Like Cleveland maybe. For this I will give you one hundred kronor and a nice wheel of Havarti cheese.

So that you know that this deal is true I will now tell you that this is deal is really true. Really.

Okay, not really. But if I could get the Charmin by next Tuesday that would be great.

Makes me want to open an account, keep $6 in it and make friends with some rich Nigerians.

[MadtownPacker]

Confine the political stuff to FYI, please
Thanks for helping do the right thing.

[MadtownPacker]

I'd appreciate it if you'd keep the political commentary in FYI. Thanks.
You are likely going to be our next mod but this was not a politically comment.

[SkinBasket]

Dr. Phil McGraw says Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who masterminded the dead girlfriend hoax involving Manti Te'o, told him the Notre Dame linebacker was not involved in the scheme and that he ended up falling "deeply, romantically" in love with the football player.

Told you all these island guys are gay as sunflowers. Falafflers.

[rbaloha1]

Told you all these island guys are gay as sunflowers. Falafflers.


Just like your nascar drivers.

[KYPack]

He isn't gay, but his boyfriend is?

T'eo's representation needs to let this thing die down before the draft,

[rbaloha1]

He isn't gay, but his boyfriend is?

T'eo's representation needs to let this thing die down before the draft,

Yup. RT has mental health issues that need to be resolved in private therapy not on national tv. Tremendous embarrassment to the famalies.

[mraynrand]

Yup. RT has normal range of behaviour issues that need to be resolved in private consultation not on national tv. Tremendous embarrassment to the famalies.

FIFY, courtesy of the American Psychiatric Association

[Joemailman]

He isn't gay, but his boyfriend is?

T'eo's representation needs to let this thing die down before the draft,

Yep. People who want to think he's gay will think that no matter what he says at this point. Being thought gay won't hurt his draft status. But if teams think he's going to be the subject of an ongoing soap opera, well that might.

[rbaloha1]

FIFY, courtesy of the American Psychiatric Association

An elaborate hoax with this amount of manipulation, attention seeking behaviors, etc. is not the normal range of behaviors.

Needs to be diagnosed and treated with maybe a combination of therapy and medicine.

Your normal range of behaviors is scary.

[denverYooper]

Yep. People who want to think he's gay will think that no matter what he says at this point. Being thought gay won't hurt his draft status. But if teams think he's going to be the subject of an ongoing soap opera, well that might.

Maybe the 49ers will draft him.

[Bossman641]

Maybe the 49ers will draft him.

Not if Chris Culliver has anything to say about it.

[Freak Out]

So....is this guy a great LB? A good LB?

[Guiness]

So....is this guy a great LB? A good LB?

He's a linebacker? Oh, right...I heard something about that.

[Joemailman]

So....is this guy a great LB? A good LB?

Don't know if he's great. Better than good though. I'd take him in an instant if he were available when the Packers pick.

Two thoughts on his poor performance against Alabama:

As we now know, there were some things going on in his life that may have affected his mental preparation for the game.
In the Sec Title Game, Alabama ran for 300 yards against a Georgia defense that will probably have 3 guys drafted in the 1st round. So it's not like Te'o is the only guy who has been victimized the that great Alabama offensive line.

[HowardRoark]

I am content to have very little idea what this story is about. It reeks of stupid young people, social networking and modern media, though.

The only spark of curiosity I have, given the very little I know, is to know how a guy is in trouble for having an imaginary girlfriend who dies if she was imaginary. Does it show bad judgment that she was imaginary or that he did nothing to prevent her death?

On second thought, I don't want to know.

I think it shows bad judgment that he never wanted to play with his fake girlfriend's fake breasts.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I can rest easy now knowing that Dr. Phil has gotten to the bottom of this.

[mraynrand]

An elaborate hoax with this amount of manipulation, attention seeking behaviors, etc. is not the normal range of behaviors.

Needs to be diagnosed and treated with maybe a combination of therapy and medicine.

Your normal range of behaviors is scary.

:lol:

[Kiwon]

I think it shows bad judgment that he never wanted to play with his fake girlfriend's fake breasts.

LOL!

[Kiwon]

I can rest easy now knowing that Dr. Phil has gotten to the bottom of this.

Agreed. Equilibrium isn't achieved until after Dr. Phil tells us to "Let's get real!"

[Guiness]

LOL!

As opposed to his girlfriend's fake breasts. The order of those two words matters SO much! :-D

[KYPack]

So....is this guy a great LB? A good LB?

He's good, but he could bust too.

He's one of the best cover ILB's to come out in years. Scary quick with great instincts in cover. His straight ahead speed isn't that good. Has trouble on the run. Makes poor guesses in his run fits and also has poor mechanics in his shed.

His size, quickness, and coverage ability makes him a high pick.

We keep getting told that the NFL is a passing league. Here is a way to cover those receivers. Somebody will bite at that apple.

[Cheesehead Craig]

He's good, but he could bust too.

He's one of the best cover ILB's to come out in years. Scary quick with great instincts in cover. His straight ahead speed isn't that good. Has trouble on the run. Makes poor guesses in his run fits and also has poor mechanics in his shed.

His size, quickness, and coverage ability makes him a high pick.

We keep getting told that the NFL is a passing league. Here is a way to cover those receivers. Somebody will bite at that apple.

No, it's a read-option league now, haven't you been paying attention? Passing league, pffft that is so 2 years ago.

[KYPack]

No, it's a read-option league now, haven't you been paying attention? Passing league, pffft that is so 2 years ago.

That will be a real problem with this kid. He makes poor reads on conventional run plays, let alone the fancy stuff like the read option.

A great fit for this boy would be the Vikings. Singletary would get this youngblood going in the right direction and teach him how they shed blockers in the NFL.

[rbaloha1]

That will be a real problem with this kid. He makes poor reads on conventional run plays, let alone the fancy stuff like the read option.

A great fit for this boy would be the Vikings. Singletary would get this youngblood going in the right direction and teach him how they shed blockers in the NFL.


Yea some of this is true. Sometimes too aggressive and more concerned about laying a big hit.

Coachable with an excellent work ethic. Does need better coaching since MT freelances too much.

[mraynrand]

A great fit for this boy would be the Vikings. Singletary would get this youngblood going in the right direction and teach him how they shed blockers in the NFL.

I miss the good old days when Singletary was screwing up the Niners organization.

[Guiness]

That will be a real problem with this kid. He makes poor reads on conventional run plays, let alone the fancy stuff like the read option.

A great fit for this boy would be the Vikings. Singletary would get this youngblood going in the right direction and teach him how they shed blockers in the NFL.

Talking actual football in this thread? And ignoring the poor, dead, fake girlfriend? A pox on you! :no:

I wonder if he can learn to diagnose plays properly? If we're to believe his story that he was duped, it doesn't bode well for his instincts! Naivety off the field does not directly mean he can't be quick thinking on the field, but there has to be some a correlation.

[Fritz]

Talking actual football in this thread? And ignoring the poor, dead, fake girlfriend? A pox on you! :no:

I wonder if he can learn to diagnose plays properly? If we're to believe his story that he was duped, it doesn't bode well for his instincts! Naivety off the field does not directly mean he can't be quick thinking on the field, but there has to be some a correlation.


If he can't spot a fake girlfriend, how can he spot a fake handoff?

[Guiness]

If he can't spot a fake girlfriend, how can he spot a fake handoff?

My point exactly!

In related news...

Ronaiah killed off Lennay because of a falling out with Te'o
http://abcnews.go.com/US/manti-teo-hoaxer-tells-dr-phil-killed-fake/story?id=18367198

He also said he was molested as a child. You knew that card was going to be played!
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/02/01/man-who-masterminded-teo-fake-girlfriend-says-hoax-came-from-being-molested-as/

[Cheesehead Craig]

I like how the good Dr. brought in voice experts to say it wasn't him and Ron just dismissed it. Plus he wouldn't do the voice so you know that he didn't do the voice and he's protecting someone else.