Te'o Improves '40' Time At Notre Dame Pro Day

Manti Te'o eases up after running the 40-yard dash on Tuesday. Associated Press

Manti Te'o did what pundits said he had to do in Tuesday's Notre Dame pro-day workout for NFL scouts: improve his 40-yard dash.

Te'o did so with an official time of 4.69, more than a tenth of a second faster than he ran at the scouting combine last month. Twenty-six of the 32 NFL teams were on hand to witness the linebacker's improved time, but in the big picture, how important is it really?

"It's one part of it, but it's just one," Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said after the workout. "You'd rather see how he moves around in the other drills, really."

The only time Te'o might be asked to run 40 yards in a straight line in the NFL might be if he covers kickoffs on special teams, so more important are the quickness and positional drills. Scouts have questioned Te'o's lateral agility, tight hips and explosiveness, but Te'o was happy with how he did.

"I was very pleased with the way I performed," Te'o said, but suggested that the running portion of the workout likely won't affect where he's drafted in April. "It's what you do on tape that matters most."

—Eric Edholm

Where in the World Is Landon Donovan ?

President Barack Obama jokes with LA Galaxy player Landon Donovan European Pressphoto Agency

While the U.S. men's national soccer team toiled in Mexico City Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier, Landon Donovan, the team's all-time leading goal scorer, visited the White House in a ceremony honoring the L.A. Galaxy's 2012 Major League Soccer championship. The event was a coming-out party of sorts for Donovan, who has been on an extended leave from the game and the public eye since November. He is supposed to begin training with the Galaxy in the coming days and assuming he can return to form, could make it back to the national team for crucial matches in June, September and October.

—Matthew Futterman