Following the Te'o trail to Palmdale

It wasn’t until I received a Facebook message from a friend of a friend asking if I could help cover a story for USA Today that I started giving Lennay Kekua any more than a passing thought.

Of course Lennay doesn’t exist. She is the fake girlfriend of Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te’o. She made for a great story though, becoming the tragic love interest of one of the most popular college football players in the country.

But instead of living happily ever after, like in all good fairy tales, she wound up in a car accident, then contracted leukemia and died. Te’o told Sports Illustrated and ESPN, among other reputable media outlets, about his girlfriend’s tragic demise. They all bought it, never once stopping to ask if she had any family members, friends or classmates who were grieving as passionately as Te’o.

Te’o claimed he was duped. Writers and editors at Sports Illustrated claimed they were duped. Reporters and producers at ESPN claimed they were duped. As the hoax unraveled, a trail led to Palmdale, where the suspected creator of the fake girlfriend lived.

Top 10 athletes turned actors

With the passing of Alex Karras, I started thinking about some of my favorite athletes turned actors.

Karras was one of them. He might best be remembered as the dad on “Webster.” But I remember him best as Mongo from “Blazing Saddles.”

Mongo just pawn in game of life. He was more than a pawn in that movie. He arguably had the best character in “Blazing Saddles.”

Here are my top 10 athletes turned actors.

10. Bob Uecker – He was a teammate of Hank Aaron, a World Series champion with the Milwaukee Braves and he was great as Harry Doyle from “Major League.” But he was probably playing himself, which isn’t much of a stretch for an actor. His day job is as a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers. That makes his inclusion in the top five just a bit outside.

9. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Loved him in “Airplane” as Capt. Roger Murdoch. Or was he playing himself too? “Listen kid! I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I’m out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.”