By now, most folks have heard the saga of Notre Dame All American linebacker Manti Te’o and his imaginary girl friend.

The story of beloved Lennay Kekua, whom Te’o wooed for three years, right up until the day she was involved in a horrible car accident, diagnosed with leukemia, and died three days before her devoted Manti recorded 12 tackles in an upset win over Michigan State, was well known to every fan of the Fighting Irish.

It was love fable that not even Lance Armstrong could have concocted. It was sweet, it was noble, it was brave, and, as we learned two weeks ago, it was baloney.

Since that beacon of investigative journalism, Deadspin.com, spilled the beans on Manti and his university and his imaginary girl friend, the scandal-seeking public has been fixated on one question, “What did Manti know and when did he know it?” (Maybe that’s two questions.)

In any event, Te’o’s and his advisors’ fumbling of his ultimate choreographed Katie Couric “apology” is a text book example of what not do when your image takes a hit.

Even if you believe that Manti Te’o was telling the truth that he was “duped” by and not a willing participant in the girlfriend hoax, here’s how Team Te’o still fumbled the public relations ball...

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