"Some journalists have been surprised to see Olympic workers taping over the logos on their Dell and Apple computers, since neither company is bankrolling the games, and the U.S. women's soccer team has been told not to hand out its media guide because it has 12 small logos of its sponsors — which are not official Olympics 2012 backers."

The absurd levels to which Olympic organizers are going to erase any and every possible non-sponsor brand name from peaking out came to its absurd apex on Saturday during the archery competition. On his way to the bronze medal, Chinese archer Xiaoxiang Dai was forced to put neon-yellow tape on his hat to cover its nearly invisible, black on black logo for… the Chicago Bears. Continue reading...

While the NBA experiments with sponsorship of jerseys in its D-League playoffs and NASCAR drivers walk around with so many advertisements on their jumpsuits that it’s hard to remember exactly who is aligned with what, it is much harder for athletes for lower-profile sports to drum up those kinds of sponsorship dollars.

However, two U.S. national-team runners are finding ways to earn a few extra dollars in innovative ways. Steeplechase runner Anthony Famiglietti has started to sell off real estate on his racing jersey so that he can have extra cash for travel and training, NPR reports. His endorsement deal with a shoe company got pulled when the arthritis in his foot kept him from wearing their shoes anymore.

“If the shoes don't fit, there's really nothing you can do,” Famiglietti told NPR. “There's only one shoe that I can wear, of the thousands of shoes on the market. And trust me, I've tried everything. Zappos probably hates me.”Continue reading...