You've read about the Cold War-level skulduggery that went into keeping that Letterman/Leno/Oprah Late Show promo secret in the days before the Super Bowl. Tonight, Jay Leno gave his side of the story on his show.

Most of Conan O'Brien's staff turned in their badges and Blackberries this weekend, and employee Aaron Bleyart documented the scorched earth affair. No, seriously, the place has been razed. NBC's preferred renovation appears to be explosives. [BAM]

How badly does NBC just want to put this Whole Conan Thing behind them? Via Peter Kafka at All Things Digital, so badly, they're trying to eradicate all history of it ever having existed from The Internet. What history? Exactly.

Conan O'Brien isn't just leaving the Tonight Show, he's also being excised from NBC's corporate propaganda. The embittered late-night ginger's already dead to corporate headquarters, judging by the mural in the lobby. Click through for before and after shots.

Taiwanese newspaper Apple Daily has struck again, this time digitally re-creating the feud between Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and Jeff Zucker as an animated superhero caper. NBC needs to option this immediately.

[Thirty-two-millionaire Conan O'Brien stops by a rally yesterday in Los Angeles; image via Bauer-Griffin]

A funny thing happened on the way back to 11:35: Leno's Vegas comedy show has slashed ticket prices to buy-one-get-one rates. He's the only member of the Mirage Hotel's "Headliners" series to be forced to do so.

Reuters says Conan O'Brien will tape his last Tonight Show on Friday. TMZ says he is working out a deal to keep his characters. Terrible old Lorne "Lose Some Weight and Write Me More Game Show Sketches" Michaels is now somehow involved. Staff severance packages remain a sticking point.

NBC's Leno-Conan scheduling war: Fertile comedic material, and a window into late-night hosts' souls. A guide to Letterman's, Conan's, and Jimmy Kimmel's subconscious feelings for Jay.

Last night Conan O'Brien put his Tonight Show set on Craigslist: "guaranteed to last for up to seven months!!" and "Designed for 11:35 but can be easily moved." Shortly after the gag aired, the post was "flagged for removal."

NBC will not, as has been speculated, keep Conan O'Brien off the air until 2013, says The Daily Beast's Kim Masters, who reports "Conan's Exit Confirmed." (Albeit by an anonymous source.) O'Brien will take a payout, Masters says, and the network will strike his non-compete clause, which means he'll be able to rant about them indefinitely on other networks. However, "should Fox go forward with a late-night show with O'Brien now, it will take months before he would be ready to go on the air." [TDB]