The tale of Manti Te'o playing through a heavy heart over the passing of his girlfriend during the season has been turned upside down by a baffling, bombshell story from Deadspin.

The story of Lennay Kekua's death in September after a battle with leukemia, just after Te'o's grandmother died, and how the Notre Dame linebacker played through the heartbreak just a few days later against Michigan State became one of the biggest college football stories of the season. It's one of the reasons Te'o, a Heisman Trophy finalist who led Notre Dame to an undefeated season, became a huge star during the fall of 2012.

[Related: Where does the Manti Te'o girlfriend story rank among sports hoaxes?]

Deadspin says it's all a hoax. The story says that Lennay Kekua is entirely made up. The pictures of her are another woman's Facebook pictures, a woman who has never met Te'o. Deadspin said it could not find any online evidence Kekua existed, outside of a few Twitter and Instagram accounts. Even though Kekua was said to be a student at Stanford, the university has no record of her, Deadspin discovered. The Deadspin story tells us the entire thing with Te'o and his deceased girlfriend -- which was played up during the season to mythical proportions, including on a cover story in Sports Illustrated -- never happened.

Te'o, through a statement by Notre Dame, said he was the victim of this hoax.

(USA Today Sports Images)We've heard of locker room fights in football before, but have never heard of an all-out brawl among a team.

So there you go. USC did place first in something last season.

USC's season went from massive disappointment to outright debacle after its 21-7 loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that 10-15 Trojans players got into a fight in the locker room. ESPN.com confirmed the story and said sources called it a "flat-out brawl."

"It was one of the worst things I've seen in a locker room," an unnamed USC player told the Daily News.

The USC story, coming off a season led by coach Lane Kiffin in which it was picked No. 1 in the preseason but finished 7-6, is now officially ridiculous.

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Well, as of at least a couple days ago Chip Kelly was apparently serious about coming back to coach Oregon.

We know this because in a Tweet on Wednesday morning, offensive tackle recruit Nico Falah seemed pretty surprised by the news that Kelly had taken a job to coach the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles:

Chip Kelly left?!?! He was at my house 2 days ago Disappointed but relieved face

— Nics (@NicoFalah) January 16, 2013

The shocking news that Kelly had left Oregon 10 days after calling athletic director Rob Mullens to tell him he would stay spread quickly, and Oregon players voiced their opinions on Twitter.

Mostly, the feedback was positive for Kelly from current and former Ducks:

Coach Kelly!!! Thank you for everything you've done! I only have the best of wishes and hopes for you in the future! #goducks

— Karrington Armstrong (@KarringtonA) January 16, 2013

Coach Kelly gonna be LIVE in the league tho !!#GoodLuckCoach — Byron Marshall (@ByronMarshall_9) January 16, 2013

Sorry to see you

It was 10 days ago that Chip Kelly called Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens and told him he was staying at Oregon.

"Obviously, we're ecstatic that Coach Kelly decided to remain at the University of Oregon," Mullens said, according to the Oregonian.

[Related: Oregon's Chip Kelly named head coach of the Eagles]

Had Kelly just left right after the Fiesta Bowl, before he told Oregon he would return, it would have been hard to argue with him, even for the fans and players at the Fiesta Bowl who chanted for him to stay. He was the hottest name in the NFL coaching search circles and Oregon seemed prepared for his departure. Now, after Kelly left anyway for the Philadelphia Eagles less than two weeks after telling Oregon he wasn't going to leave, Ducks fans will surely have more venom towards him.

Kelly's hiring by the Eagles was reported first by ESPN, confirmed by other outlets and later confirmed by the university:

It's a shocking turn of events, to say the least.

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Next Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Joe Paterno's death. A group is planning a large candlelight vigil to honor the former Penn State coach.

The group, which is called Inspiration Way and is a tribute to Paterno, plans to light 409 candles according to the Associated Press - one for every win Paterno had, before the NCAA stripped 111 wins.

Well, we know the Brent Musburger-Katherine Webb story is officially beyond the scope of sports. TMZ is involved.

TMZ found Musburger at the airport and got him to stop just long enough to give his thoughts on Webb - Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron's girlfriend who he helped turn into an instant celebrity by commenting on her beauty during the BCS Championship Game - and the ESPN apology that followed.

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Katherine Webb came off as pretty sharp after her fame blew up during the BCS Championship Game, and she's smartly taking advantage of her instant celebrity.

Webb, Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron's girlfriend and Miss Alabama, announced on Twitter that she will be covering the Super Bowl for "Inside Edition." Maybe she wants a television career (she came off well during her "Today" show interview, for what it's worth), or maybe she wants to have some fun and get a free trip to New Orleans. Either way, good for her.

(USA Today Sports Images)

The return of a quarterback who had a chance to be a first-round NFL Draft pick should be cause for celebration on a campus.

When Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas said he was returning for another season, well, let's just say Hokies fans had a mixed reaction.