R.I.P Otis

Otis Redding is one of my favorite vocalists of all-time.

On December 10th 1967, just a few months after his 26th birthday, Otis Redding died in a plane crash and ended the life of one of America's greatest soul singers. On this 46th anniversary of his passing I decided to post some video of Otis.

Just days prior to his passing Otis recorded what would become his biggest hit, Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay. The song was avocal departure for Otis. The song also reflected the gorwing struggle of Civil Rights movement. Here is a CBS news story chronicling the song turning 45 years old. Click here for the video.

One of my favorite Otis songs (and there are a lot) is the great love song "Chain and Bound". Here is a live recording.


And lastly here is him performing one of his biggest hits Try a Little Tenderness


And a couple of Otis pop-culture references:

Otis Redding being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Little Richard


Jay-Z and Kanye West - Otis


Ducky Sings Try A Little Tenderness (Pretty In Pink)


Sopranos Opening Sequence


And A Song Written By Otis but Immortalized By Someone Else

From Where To Eternity...

How my love for Otis Redding developed is a little embarrassing. Growing up I always really liked his biggest hit, Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay. But I really didn't know any other Otis Redding Songs. Flash forward to some time in mid 2000. It's late on a Saturday night and I am flipping through our cable channels. I come across a man sitting in a hospital bed. His nurse comes in to check on him and one of her breast starts rubbing against him and falls out of her nurses outfit. Teenage Frankie is immediately captivated by whatever the hell it is he is watching. A few moments later, in walks James Gandolfini. Little does Frankie know it but he has begun what will become a love affair with both The Sopranos and Otis Redding. I watch the rest of the episode and try to catch up with the reruns of the show and catch up with story lines from the first season. When season two premiers on HBO I start watching all the episodes during their original airtimes.

Music was always a big part of The Sopranos. David Chase has spoken about how the music that opened and closed the shows were always carefully chosen. Well, the song he chose to open episode nine of the second season was awesome. The episode (spoiler alert) starts with family and friends distraught in the hospital as they wait to see if Christopher will make it through after being shot. The soulfulness, the sadness, the beauty and pain in the opening scene are matched beautifully by the song. The song returns throughout the episode. Each time it's so beautiful and appropriate. I became obsessed with finding out who sung the song and what the title was.

We had just recently gotten the internet at my house. I searched some song lyrics and found the name of the song was My Lover's Prayer by Otis Redding. I started to look up and download other Otis Redding songs. I burned them onto a CD and would listen to them in my room and on the walkman I bought with my first few paychecks from working at Babies R Us. My mom very quietly noticed. One day something came in the mail for her. She handed it to me and said it was for me. I was so confused. I opened up the small cardboard box and inside of it was an Otis Redding greatest hits CD.

Anyone who really knows me how much I love Otis. I mean LOVE. While his vocal range is limited his soulfulness is unquestioned. He can tell an incredible story with his voice, especially when he is singing love songs. I cherish that CD so much. It has special meaning to because it came from my mom. I looked further and further into Otis' life. I learned that he died young. He died in a plane crash  just days after recording his last two songs, Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay  and I Got Dreams to Remember. I learned that he was the biggest star of the Stax Recording studio founded in Memphis, Tennessee. Shortly after I left San Diego for New jersey, my friend Kati went to go visit the St. Jude's headquarters in Memphis with one of our students. She posted this picture of the student holding up a Stax records frisbee. Right away I knew where they where, and I never told Kati this but, I was so jealous.

My Lover's Prayer is not my favorite Otis Redding song, though it is a great one. But had it not been for The Sopranos and that song I probably never would have been exposed to Otis and all of his great music. 

JohnTravolta was a big part of my teenage years...

I recently told a friend that when looking back on my life a lot of things pointed to me eventually living in New Jersey. My favorite Dodger growing up was Eric Karros (who was born and raised in New Jersey), I became big fans of comedian Jay Mohr, writer/director Kevin Smith, and The Sopranos. Bruce Springsteen is one of my favorite singer songwriters and even wrote a song that helped me decided whether or not I should move to San Diego to take a job ("I know a pretty little place in Southern California/Down San Diego way/where they play guitars all night and all day/you can hear them in the background strumming").

Anyway, I had no idea (until just prior to writing this) that another man who played an important role in my adolescent life is also from New Jersey. Mr. John Travolta. He is from Englewood, New Jersey. Why is John Travolta a big part of my life? I'll explain. Around the age of 10 my mom introduced me to a show called Welcome Back Kotter. 



I loved the theme song. The show, on second view, is not as good as I thought.

The show always ended with Mr. Kotter (Gabe Kaplan) telling his wife Julie a corny joke (this probably played a huge role in the development of my sense of humor). 



Travolta played a high school idot/Don Juan (Vinny Barbarino). This introduction to Welcome Back Kotter and Travolta all came around the same time of Travolta's career resurgence thanks to Pulp Fiction. My mom fell in love John Travolta. Loved. Her three favorite actors at the time were Morgan Freeman, John Travolta and Tom Hanks.

Anyway, flash forward to Christmas Day 1996. A day that will cement John Travolta's role in my life and the way I think about Christmas forever. Our family Christmases had always been hit and miss up until that point. But 1996 was a particularly bad one. There were not a lot of presents as I recall. Plus, on that day, and in the days leading up to it, my father had locked himself in his office and was battling his addictions. Unfortunately for him and for us he was losing this round pretty handily. 

(side: note last week my dad "plus oned" one of my blog posts on Google Plus. So Dad, if you're reading this I want you to know I am not mad at you, and you shouldn't feel bad. I love you. Promise.)

Back to the story. We had been invited to a relatives house but didn't want to go because... well... how do you explain your dad not being there? So my mom, brother and I went to the movies and watch a movie that was opening THAT day. The movie was Michael. Michael starred ... you guessed it... John Travolta. New Jersey's own. Michael even included a dance sequence. i can't hear Aretha Franklin singing Chain of Fools without thinking of that movie, my mom, my brother or John Travolta.


 Anyway, we watched Michael and followed it up with the traditional McDonald's Christmas dinner. Yes. McDonald's is open on Christmas. Why? Because families like mine exist that's why. Not a Christmas day goes by that I don't think of that movie or McDonalds.

But it wasn't until later that year, in July, that Travolta starred in a movie that included a song that will is part of the thirty most meaningful/best of my first thirty years. He starred in a film called Phenomenon alongside Kyra Sedgwick (who knew Kyra Sedgwick also played such a role in my life). My mom took my brother and I to see this movie in the theaters. Going to the movie with my mom was a big part of my teenage years. The soundtrack was headlined by a song that 13 year old Frankie became obsessed with: Change The World by Eric Clapton. I loved the very simple guitar, melody and Clapton's voice. It doesn't take much to impress a 13 year old version of myself. While i wouldn't even put this on the list of my favorite 100 songs, it's a song that means something to me. Just like listening to a Pink Floyd's The Wall, The Doors, Sade, Bob Marley or Madonna's This Used To Be My Playground reminds me of my dad. 



So for that reason Change The World makes my list. Thanks New Jersey. Thanks John Travolta.

I Get By With A Little Help

Relationships with other people are a difficult thing for me.

I don’t think I’m particularly good at them.  There are a lot of reasons for this.
 

One, is that I believe that I am the type of person that can very easily be taken advantage of or for granted. It’s just kind of my role in the eco-system. I tend to attract people who love to talk. Even when they are listening, they’re either waiting for their turn to talk, or hear me say something that reminds them of something else and they immediately jump in with their own story. I don’t necessarily mind it. In a lot of ways I enjoy it. It's nice to see people so excited to share their stories and lives with me. I like listening, but every once in a while it’s nice to be heard.

The second, was that the model for a relationship at home wasn’t particularly very good. It made me distrustful of others and it makes me very wary in terms of what I expect from friends and others. In fact, I often tell people that I try not expect things from them (or from situations).

Relationships shouldn’t be like vending machines. You shouldn’t put in with the hopes of getting something of equal or greater value back.  When you start to expect things you can only be disappointed. If someone does something nice for you and you expect it, a little bit of the shine comes off that gesture. If that which you expect never comes you can become angry and resentful. 

But I will say that this: I try not to expect things from people. It’s hard not to. It goes against the way we socialized. You work hard at something you’re supposed to be rewarded for you effort. It’s like the Beatles who finish their song The End by singing: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." We are told in almost all aspects of our life to expect back what we put in. But often I find myself saddened to know that that’s just not true.  

In some relationships people will take what you give for granted, often directing their attention and energy on less productive and satisfying relationships. It can hurt. But hey, that’s life I suppose. Most people I know tend to put their focus on things that aren’t good rather than those things that are. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that we do that with people in our lives either. Hell, I am doing it right now in this blog post.

 

In  my 30 years of life a lot of the song I loved the most have captured that sense of disappointment and frustration that comes from expecting things from people and things. Best of You by the Foo Fighters is one that does it very well.

Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
The life, the love you'd die to heal
The hope that starts the broken hearts
You trust, you must
Confess

 

 

And for my friends, those of you who are there to listen when I need you, those who share with me in good times and bad, those who don’t try to “fix me” when something is wrong, the people who I can not speak to for months (even years) but when we're in the same room it just all clicks. For the people who mean the most to me, this third song is for you. Love y'all.

Does it worry you to be alone?

How do I feel at the end of the day?

Are you sad because you're on your own?

No, I get by with a little help from my friends

 

Robert Downey Jr. and the Four Souls...

The first of my 30 songs is…

Walk Like A Man by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Due to Hurricane Sandy I was “stranded” in Las Vegas last year. A number of my co-workers and student staff were staying that the Paris Hotel which happened to hosting performances of Jersey Boys. The entire PA system belted the cast’s performances from the musical. Walk Like a Man played on the PA system relentlessly. I must have heard the song at least six times a day for about five days straight.  But this song didn’t make the list because of that trip, or because of it’s ties to my new home in New Jersey. 

It makes the list because of Robert Downey Jr. 

In 1993 the movie Hearts and Souls was released. I was 10. It starred RDJ, Charles Grodin (the dad from Beethoven), Kyra Sedgwick (Kevin Bacon’s wife and star of The Closer), Alfre Woodard (Desperate Housewives) and Tom Sizemore (who you may remember from Saving Private Ryan or Celebrity Rehab). 

Anyway, the plot follows four souls who come to realize that Downey is meant to finish the business they had no time to finish before their demise. It’s a sweet romantic comedy that was right in my mom’s wheel house. It was something we watched over and over again during summer vacations and on weekends. 

One of the recurring things in this movie was the use of the song Walk Like A Man. My brother, mom and I would sing it and it became a staple of our childhood, including when we had to go on long walks together. Not too mention it’s a pretty great doo woo song. So for those reasons, Walk Like A Man makes the list.

My 30 for 30

I was lying in bed two night ago. Tossing and turning. I was contemplating the fact that for about the dozenth time in about 15 months I was going to be missing out on being there during a good friends important life event. I had already missed Stephen performing, Indi and Amber’s 30th, mom’s birthday, grandparents anniversary, Etta, Henry and Jameson being born, and a slew of other events. I live all the way across the country and while technology has in many ways made them closer than they ever could have been 30 years ago, the fact that I cannot be there for the bigger moments makes it feel like they’re farther away than I could have possible imagined.

This got me to thinking about music.

I’ve lived 30 years on this planet and I decided to try to find the 30 songs that I like the best/mean the most to me. I think it’s hard to really know me if you don’t know about the music I like and care about. The music that’s the most important to me. 

There is no hard and fast rule to how certain songs made this list, or how cuts were made. It was all very arbitrary and spur of the moment. I went through my iTunes and Spotify and created a playlist of nearly 300 songs. I narrowed that down to a little over 50 and then finally the 30 that I’ll be writing about over the course of the next month. 

It was hard to leave a lot of these songs off the list. So before I start writing about the 30 that made it, I figured I would highlight a few songs that didn’t make the cut:

The Long and Winding Road - The Beatles a truly great love song. The idea of fate leading you back to person you love the most. But if you listen carefully the song is filled with angst as Paul McCartney begs not be abandoned. “Don’t keep me waiting here/Lead me to your door”

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel: Also known as the Ballad of Brenda and Eddie this is a song about youth, love, pain and adulthood. A 7+ minute song that I really love to sing a long to.

No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley: Love the live version of this song. Always reminds me of being 11 years old driving in a Ford Aerostar with my dad and brother.

Jungleland - Bruce Springsteen. Another opus about youth and hope running into the darkness and tragedy that is reality. Born to Run kicks off the album with a sense of hope that you can escape that small town and make it. But Jungleland ends the album with tragedy and sense of hopelessness. The song opens with this beautiful piano, has that incredible Clarence Clemons sax solo and then ends so poetically and sadly. 

Orgasm Addict - The Buzzcocks Just a great punk song and i have to thank Mike Priehs for introducing me to much good music.

Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder This is Stevie Wonder at the height of his powers. It’s a joyful ode to the power of music. p.s. is it possible Stevie Wonder is somehow underrated?

Death or Glory - The Clash I could have made up my list from nothing but songs from The Clash. This is by far one of my favorites. I love the opening lines (I am a sucker for a song with great opening lines). “Love and hate tattooed across his hands/hands that slaps his kids around cuz they don’t understand.” 

I particularly love the following lines by Joe Strummer:

“Every gimmick hungry yob

Digging Gold From Rock and Roll

Grabs the mic to tell us

He’ll die before he’s sold

But I believe in this

And it’s been tested by research

He fucks nuns

Will later join the church”

Beware the person who preaches or is to fervent. they aren’t to be trusted. 

Marching Bands of Manhattan - Death Cab for Cutie I could have a picked a number of DCFC songs but I love the opening and ending to the song because they contrast so beautifully.

“Sorrow drips into your heart like a pinhole

just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound

and while you debate half empty or half full

it slowly rises you love is gonna drown“

Radio, Radio - Elvis Costello I was first introduced to this song during the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. Just watch the video and know that this little stunt got Elvis Costello banned from the show for over 20 years.

Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World - The Ramones: This is a terrific example of a  Ramones song. It clocks in at 2 minutes and 15 seconds, fast and hard guitars, references to nazis and then at the end of it the song stops on a dime and has this beautiful refrain “Today your love, tomorrow the world.” 

Anna Sun - WALK THE MOON I love songs that provide great imagery. Lyrics that are literary or cinematic in their scope and that what I love about the chorus to this song.

“Your hands on my cheeks

Your shoulder in my mouth

I was up against the wall

on the west mezzanine.”

Down on the Street The Stooges - another song that brings me back to 2005 and 2006. Mike summed it up perfectly when he said it’s a song that makes you want to fuck AND fight.

Tomorrow I'll start with the first of the thirty that actually made the cut.

Can You Read My Mind, Dani California?

I was thinking about this over the weekend. Who writes weirder more non-sensical lyrics than lead signer and songwriter for the Red Hot Chili Peppers Anthony Kiedis? I think I came up with a decent challenger: Brandon Flowers (lead singer and songwriter for The Killers). I enjoy both bands but let’s look at some of their lesser lyrical work.

Round One

Kiedis/ Suck My Kiss:

K-i-s-s-i-n-g

Chicka chicka dee

Do me like a banshee

Low brow is how

Swimming in the sound

Of bow wow wow

Aw baby do me now

Do me here I do allow

He rhymes “g” with “chicka chicka dee” for God’s sake. And what does “swimming in the sound of bow wow wow” mean? ‘Bow wow’ is the song a dog makes (kinda). What is ‘bow wow wow’?

Flowers/Somebody Told Me:

Somebody told me

You had a boyfriend

Who looked like a girlfriend

That I had in February of last year

It's not confidential

I've got potential

I know this is a very popular song, and even a popular chorus but let’s be honest this is not a good chorus. He rhymes “friend” with “friend” and potential and confidential. And he does it back to back. Usually there is a line in between the rhyming lines. C’mon, Brandon.

Round 2

Flowers/Mr. Brightside:

This is The Killers first big hit. I love singing along to this course. Even though I have no idea what the hell it means!

And I just can’t look - it's killing me

And taking control

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea

Turning through sick lullabies 

Choking on your alibis

But it’s just the price I pay

Destiny is calling me

Open up my eager eyes

‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside

We know from the rest of the song that the song’s main character is dying watching the woman he loves with another man. But what is with this chorus? Imagine Brandon sitting down: Jealousy turning saints into cheats? nope. Thieves? … no. I got it! The sea! What the hell? Sick lullabies, choking on alibis. That doesn’t seem like someone with a sunny disposition.

Kiedis/ Californication:

First born unicorn

Hard core soft porn

Dream of Californication

Dream of Californication

What? Kiedis and the boys were sitting around, came up with this and said ‘yup. That’s the chorus.’ What?

Round 3

Flowers/Human:

Are we human or are we dancer?

My sign is vital, my hands are cold

And I'm on my knees looking for the answer

Are we human or are we dancer?

I’m on my knees looking for answer too, Mr. Flowers. What the hell does “are we human or are we dancer?” mean? Why is it dancer and not dancers? And trust me the context of the rest of the song doesn’t help. Am I human? am I dancer? I don't know. But I am definitely angry and confused.

Kiedis/Around The World (the whole thing):

I mean. I don’t even know where to begin with this song. The whole thing is mumbo jumbo, which is probably another RHCP lyric. Let’s just take a look at a few examples from Around the World:

Born in the north

And sworn to entertain ya

'Cause I'm down for

The state of Pennsylvania

First off Kedis wasn’t born in the north (unless he means North America - but that’s a stretch). And why does he have to entertain just because he is supporter of Pennsylvania?

Bonafide ride

Step aside my Johnson

Yes I could

In the woods of Wisconsin

Huh?

Wake up the cake

It's a lake she's kissin' me

As they do when

When they do in Sicily

I don’t understand. How do you wake up a cake? Is this a Sicilian secret? Is the cake a lake? How is this cake/lake kissing him. Are we sure this cake/lake is female? 

My brain hurts.

Conclusion.

I don't know that this is even close. The use of made up words and noises, nonsense phrases, rhyming porn and unicorn. You, Anthony Kiedis are a lyrical genius.

Crying Foul

The Celtics aren't playing tonight so I've been following the Lakers game on ESPN Gamecast. Less than two minutes into the second quarter I noticed that two Pacers (centers Roy Hibert and Ian Mahimni) had 3 personal fouls a piece. I understand using the Hack-A-Howard strategy if your Orlando but I can't imagine Indiana actually using it considering they have good inside players. My guess is there were some bad calls. Can't be a 100 percent sure though considering I am not actually watching the game. So I did some very small sample size research. I looked at the last four games of some teams and here is what came up. 

The stats read as follows where the first number represents the personal fouls called on the listed team and the second number represents the personal fouls called against their opponent.

LA Lakers

(16-23)

14-27

16-17

16-35

21-17 

67-96 (+29) or 67-84 (+17)

Boston Celtics

19-23

21-18 

23-22 

17-17

80-80 (0)

Miami Heat

10-22

14-25

29-23

9-20

62-88 (+26)

Oklahoma City Thunder

19-15

22-23

18-20

27-25

86-83 (-3)

Los Angeles Clippers

15-14

17-17

22-25

28-21

82-77 (-5)

Indiana Pacers

26-26

23-29

19-22

13-19

81-96 (+15)

San Antonio Spurs**

(9-15)

17-17

20-18

21-21

10-23

68-79 (+11) or 67-71 (+4)

*The Lakers had one outlier game with the Orlando Magic where Orlando committed 35 personal fouls. If you remove that game and replace it with the fifth to last game in the Lakers schedule (listed first in parentheses) you get second totals of 67-84 for a +14 personal foul margin in favor of the Lakers.

**San Antonio had one outlier game against the Dallas Mavericks where Dallas committed 13 more personal fouls than San Antonio. If you remove that game and replace it with the fifth to last game in the Spurs schedule (listed first in parentheses) you get second totals of 67-71 for a +4 personal foul margin in favor of the Spurs.

What the fuck is up with the Heat's numbers? How is that even possible?

I'm Surprisingly OK with the Harlem Shake.

This is a quick post but as I see and feel the backlash coming against the Harlem Shake I gotta say, 'I don't know where the haters are coming from?'

Where were these people when PSY was in our face for almost a whole year?

Plus, if we are going to have viral music artist who take over the internet I'm proud to say that this one is American!!! USA USA USA.

Also the great thing about the Harlem Shake movement is that it's only 30 seconds. In. Out. BOOM! Remember last year when everyone and their mother was doing a Call Me Maybe lip dub video? Those things were three minutes long. After 30 seconds you get the point, I don't need to watch anything longer.

Plus the Harlem Shake phenomenon leads us to explore other topics such as:
How the hell did this start?
Why isn't the Harlem Shake a limited time drink from McDonalds yet?
Why isn't Dave Chapelle getting more credit for keeping the Harlem Shake alive as a dance?

Baauer, Harlem, your shake, people with free time on your hands and the internet, you have my support.

Plus anything that gets Al Roker to do this is great in my book:

Super Bowl 47

So it's time again for the big game.

So I did some research yesterday on what I thought would be keys to the game.

Turnovers and Sacks:

Terrell Suggs is not a handsome man.

San Francisco has been great at protecting their quarterback and ball. SF only allowed two sacks and two turnovers this postseason. In contrast the Ravens have caused 6 sacks and 8 forced turnovers (3 and 6 respectively in the last two games). So the key would appear to be getting pressure on SF quarterback Colin Kaepernick and force some bad throws. Here's the problem, the Ravens have faced two older, less mobile quarterbacks in their last two games. If they force Colin Kaepernick to break the pocket, Kaepernick can extend the play and create some big plays.

Big Plays:

The Baltimore Ravens apparently love this pose.

San Francisco has had 6 plays of over 25 yards this postseason and this is something that an older Ravens team is going to have to avoid to win this game. 

It goes without saying that the Ravens have relied heavily on their big play making ability over the course of their three  playoff games. With the San Francisco defense focused on Ravens receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin I think there is a possibility for third wide receiver Jacoby Jones and running back Ray Rice to exploit the middle of the field and break some big yardage plays.

The Running Game

There's no way to do this and not look like a tool.

The Ravens run defense has gotten better over the course of their three playoff games giving up 151 yards, 125 yards and 108 yards in that order. However, they face a three headed running threat tonight: QB Colin Kaepernick and running backs Frank Gore and La'Michael James. 

James is a forgotten part of this combo but with backfield defenders forced to spy Kaepernick and Gore pounding the ball between the tackles James has the explosiveness to break a big play. 

How good is the San Francisco running game?

They had over 300 yards running against Green Bay and 150 against the Falcons in a game where they trailed for most of the first half and were forced to throw the ball more than they'd like. 

As for the Ravens running over 125 yards would be a big win against San Francisco's run defense and would force the secondary to not cheat on their coverage.

Special Teams and the new Red Zone

David Akers and 49er fans hope to look happier after SB47

Inspite of the two, count em': two, special teams touchdowns they allowed against Denver Baltimore's special teams have been amongst the best in the league. but they will be facing the afore mentioned La'Michael James. So this should be an interesting battle.

If I were a fan of either team I would be worried about my field goal unit. Even though Ravens rookie kicker Justin Tucker has made some big kicks this season (against New England early in the season and at Denver in the playoffs he is still a rookie). 

And if there were a prop bet for "player most likely to receive death threats via Twitter after then game" it would be San Francisco kicker David Akers. He's missed 13 field goals including 5 in the last five games. That's why the 30 yard line should be considered the red zone for this game. If either team gets inside the 30 they should feel a sense of urgency to not leave it to their kicker to put points on the board.

Final Prediction:
If you average the margin of victory from Super Bowl 18-33 that number would have been nearly 18 points. There was a time when the Super Bowl meant watching one team get killed by another. In recent years we've had great nail biters. But something leads me to believe that we are going to have a double digit victory tonight. 

As much as I am trying to convince myself that the Ravens will win the 49ers have the personnel on offense to exploit an aging defense. The Ravens lost each time they faced an elusive NFC quarterback this season Michael Vick and RGIII. And on defense the 49ers have enough athletes to shut down the big play making skills of the Ravens. The only way i can see the Ravens winning is if they force atleast two turnovers and Anquan Boldin and Ray Rice have 100 yards a piece of offense. 

Otherwise: 28-17 San Francisco

Manti and The Real Girl

I don't even know where to begin with this Manti Te'o story.

I figured i just collect some of the best jokes I've made and heard:

On December 26, 2012 Mantai Te'o informed Notre Dame officials that he and the rest of his team had been cruelly deceived by sports writers that they deserved a shot at the national championship.


Well duh he's going to say his "fake girlfriend died. " he's going pro, first round. Bitches be gathering!!!

@Beanpole_brian: If Manti becomes sponsored by Match.com after all this, I cry foul

I am 10% nervous that Lane Kiffin may somehow be involved in this.

@SethMyers: These Te'o jokes are all very funny but let's all try and remember that a person who never existed is dead. 

@CaseyNewton: NOT YER DAME RT @daveweigel: 

@juliweiner: NYPOST headline submission: LEPRECONNED

If you having girl problems I feel bad for you son Manti Teo has 99 problems but a girl ain't one. - Jadeveon Clowny*

*p.s. this is the biggest smack down Jadeveon has made on a fellow football player since this:



@jerkstoremike Karl Rove is reporting that Manti Te'o's girlfriend still might be real. 

Not only did Greg McElroy win the national championship but his girlfriend is real!

@MichelleDBeadle Let all of you who haven't made up a lover be the ones to cast stones. Have you met my boyfriend, Mike? He's an astronaut.