Does my imaginary girlfriend get in free?

We take a break from all the talk about Manti Te'o to ... nah, just kidding.

It didn't take long, of course, for someone to try to cash in on the Te'o girlfriend hoax.

An independent baseball team - isn't it always an independent baseball team or the Wranglers? - is planning a "Manti Te'o Girlfriend Bobblehead Day" on May 23.

The Florence (Ky.) Freedom will give the first 1,000 fans an empty bobblehead box, and a Kiss Cam will spotlight those who want to kiss their imaginary girlfriends.

As hot as the Te'o story is now, it figures to cool considerably by the time of this promotion.

Maybe that's why Spirit Airlines is on it now, posting on its website: "No hoax. These fares are really low." The words are in blue and yellow, making it appear much like Notre Dame's well-known "Play Like A Champion Today" sign.

What would you expect from an airline that charges passengers for carry-on bags?

We're stunned that the Wranglers haven't issued a news release saying they want in on the action. That should be out any second now.

■ SKATING BY - Dean Pees knows all about trying to stop Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, having gone against him in practice daily as New England's defensive coordinator from 2006 to 2009.

Pees, now defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, hopes to stop Brady for real Sunday when the teams meet for the AFC title.

But Pees said, jokingly, he might not wait until game time.

"Hire Tonya Harding," he said. "If they were getting off the bus, I'd spray water outside the bus and hope it freezes."

Those who think the Te'o episode is the biggest controversy to hit the sports world must be forgetting the Harding-Nancy Kerrigan saga in 1994.

Harding pleaded guilty for her role in a baton attack on Kerrigan's knee, an assault designed to help clear Harding's path to make that year's Winter Olympics.

Yes, kids, people couldn't get enough of figure skating because of the rivalry between Harding and Kerrigan.

Kerrigan, by the way, is from near Boston. So even though Brady is home this weekend, he better keep an eye out for any of Harding's old goons.

But, no doubt, the NFL will come up with yet another rule to benefit the Golden Boy.

■ POLE DANCING AT HALFTIME - The Bikini Basketball Association - yes such a thing actually exists - has signed a name player.

Well, the daughter of a name player.

Deiondra Sanders, whose father, Deion, knows a little something about being in the spotlight, is a member of the Atlanta Peaches.

Eight teams make up the league, and predictably the names are sexual in nature: Miami Spice, Chicago Crave, New York Knockouts.

Please say people won't pay money to watch this.

Bad basketball, no matter what the players are (not) wearing, is still bad basketball.

It's why we don't watch the WNBA.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL