A week after the United States Anti-Doping Agency let loose a thousand pages of painful details about how Lance Armstrong and pretty much every other top American bicycle pro of the last decade doped, Nike has finally released its own news on the matter.

Following a protest at its Beaverton, Ore., HQ yesterday, Nike this morning confirmed it's dropping the athlete with two terse paragraphs, serving up a serious financial blow to Armstrong even though still continuing to support the Livestrong philanthropic brand he founded. The sports giant just released a limited-edition collection to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Livestrong, which promotes cancer awareness and healthy living, as part of a licensing deal that will continue.

Just as Joe Paterno's name was scrubbed from the Nike campus, Armstrong will also see his name removed from the fitness center on the Nike campus in Oregon, as CNN is reporting that Nike will remove his name from the building. In tandem with Nike's news, the disgraced cyclist also announced this morning that he was stepping down from his role as chairman of Livestrong.

The news prompted a mass exodus from Team Armstrong. On the heels of Nike's announcement, sponsor Anheuser-Busch announced it's dropping the cyclist when his deal as a Michelob Ultra brand ambassador ends on Dec. 31st. The Giro brand, which produced a custom $15,000 bike helmet for Armstong's 2010 Tour de France race and a branded line of helmets, also quit Team Armstrong, along with the Honey Stinger brand and, as the Wall Street Journal reports, RadioShack .

In all, Bloomberg estimates that Armstrong stands to lose $30 million as his sponsors flee.Continue reading...

Penn State players, alumni and other supports are in shock today following the NCAA's unprecedented actions in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal: a $60 million fine, a four-year college bowl ban and 40 scholarships axed, in addition to erasing all 14 seasons of victories under late coach Joe Paterno. The move follows a damning report by former FBI director Louis Freeh that accused the university of enabling former Penn State football coach Sandusky's crimes.

The NCAA's executive committee chair Ed Ray stated at a press conference, "The historically unprecedented actions by the NCAA today are warranted by the conspiracy of silence that was maintained at the highest levels of the university in reckless and callous disregard for the children. There is incredible interest in what will happen to Penn State football. But, the fundamental story of this horrific chapter should focus on the innocent children and the powerful people who let them down." Are the NCAA sanctions excessive in your opinion? Post a comment below. (Update: Click here for Penn State president Rodney Erickson's response.)

The horrific actions of former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky have gripped a nation since he was arrested last fall and found guilty of 45 counts of child abuse a month ago. Now it is Penn State’s turn.

The release of former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s independent report Thursday morning is a major blow to the PSU brand, with one immediate fallout: Nike immediately reversed its November decision to stand by Sandusky's former boss, the late Joe Paterno, whose name graces a childcare center at its global HQ.

Before the report's release, even with the Sandusky talk swirling before his trial and conviction, the University managed to raise millions of dollars. In fact, the 2011-12 fiscal year had the school bringing in the second-highest annual fundraising tally in its history: a whopping $208.7 million.

It remains to be seen how much money comes PSU’s way now that its former leaders are more in the public eye than Sandusky, who has now been entered into American criminal lore as one of the most clued-out offenders of all time — and protected. As the Freeh report on Penn State's role states in one damning sentence, "In short, nothing was done and Sandusky was allowed to continue with impunity."Continue reading...

ABC handles product placement delicately for Modern Family.

American Ethanol sponsors NASCAR drivers.

Apache makes $3-billion acquisition in U.S. oil business.

Apple raises "made-in-America" questions about iPhone manufacturing.

BlackBerry future questioned as RIM's new CEO takes the reins.

Carnival CEO lies low during crisis as his company mishandles communications with survivors of shipwreck.

Cisco tests LinkedIn marketing campaign.

Facebook wants to become a bigger news player.

Fisker battles problems across the EV company.Continue reading...

American Airlines cuts flights, says not related to bankrupcy filing.

Avon looks to a new CEO to reinvigorate culture.

Chevron and Transocean encounter government suit over oil spill in Brazil.

Clint Eastwood signs on for E! reality show with his family.

Facebook tests coupon ads; embraces clean power following Greenpeace pressure.

First Solar scales back as demand for solar panels slumps.

Ford promises its new hybrids will leap ahead of Prius in fuel efficiency.

Groupon gets faint IPO support from its underwriters.Continue reading...

Still reeling from the Jerry Sandusky child abuse case, Penn State officials and fans groaned last night as the university's disgraced former football coach was arrested on fresh charges (which his lawyer says he's denying) ... while clearly wearing a Penn State jacket with the Nittany Lions logo as police hauled him off to jail, where he remains this morning. Above, a few of the responses on Twitter as the news broke.

When two of the three news stories on your university's own homepage involve steps the university is taking to address sexual abuse, you know you have a PR problem on your hands. When your university's highlight video, allotted each school during football games, features your president talking candidly about the steps the university if taking to address sexual assault, you definitely have a PR problem. And what a problem Penn State has.

The ongoing Penn State scandal, in which the school is accused of covering up the long term sexual abuse of minors by then-assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, is working its way to being a guaranteed case study in every PR, marketing, education and MBA program in the nation. But is the light at the end of the tunnel already appearing?Continue reading...

With the winter holidays coming fast, Penn State fans can usually expect to get a random new piece of gear with a Nittany Lions logo on it (a 32-quarter inflatable beach cooler, maybe?) or at least a new PSU sweatshirt or T-shirt.

However, thanks to the heinous child-molestation charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, people are keeping their PSU merchandise in their bureaus these days and sales of PSU-related sports gear is down 40%, according to CNN.com. It's a sad Penn State of affairs, indeed, for the once-proud Lions and Penn supporters.Continue reading...