"Time"'s Sean Gregory wrote earlier this week that "Roger Goodell ascended to the position of NFL commissioner because, from the day he started at the league as an intern, no one was more zealous about 'protecting the shield' -- marketing jargon for making the NFL logo a symbol of integrity, gripping entertainment, and success." And that's what made his failure to reach a deal with locked-out officials until yesterday so "mystifying." By allowing replacements to "embarrass the game," Goodell was not protecting the shield, according to Gregory. "He's smashing it with a battle-ax.'

Reeling from questionable direction, flat sales and its widest quarterly loss in more than 15 years - not to mention suffering a 73% decline in its share price in 2012 -- RadioShack unplugged Jim Gooch with "immediate effect" yesterday after only 16 months on the job as president, CEO and member of the board.

The auto press, according to the "Los Angeles Times," has dished up "rave" reviews for the Tesla S. Savvy early adapters who talk to the "New York Times" offer gushing comments on their experiences. Wannabe owners have forked over $5,000 each -- to a grand total of $133.4 million -- to be on the waiting list for the all-electric vehicles down the line. Why, then, is Tesla Motors in the headlines this morning with observers in some quarters raising questions about its viability?

The folks at Discover Card not only have to fork over $200 million in refunds to consumers who were purportedly fast-talked or downright deceived by telemarketers pitching such add-ons as payment protection and credit score tracking for monthly fees, it also has to pay a $14 million fine to regulators at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Apple seems to have lost its way with a mapping app that has replaced Google Maps on iOS 6, leading to a flurry of negative, plaintive and downright snarky reviews. But the brouhaha has apparently had no impact on sales as "USA Today"'s Jefferson Graham reports that "Apple once again dominated shopping malls this weekend with what appears to be record-breaking sales of the new iPhone5." Just how many sales, however, remains a mystery that should be revealed sometime today.

Essentially saying "we'll show(room) them who's boss around here," Wal-Mart announced yesterday that it would no longer carry Amazon's Kindle tablets alongside the Apple iPad, Barnes & Noble Nook, Samsung Galaxy, Google Nexus and similar devices on its shelves and Web pages.

Wannabe home baristas have a new toy to play with. Following through on an announcement made in March, Starbuck's CEO Howard Schultz tells the New York Times' Stephanie Strom that the company's R&D department has "cracked the code on being able to create a latte using real milk" and the result is two single-serve machines dubbed the Verismo.

Honda has a lot riding on its ninth-generation Accord as it goes on sale in showrooms across the country today just hours after Ford executives touted the forthcoming 2013 Fusion "blitzed major media markets," as USA Today puts it.

Although the Federal Trade Commission's "Do Not Call" list contains 209 million phone numbers, including 89 million mobile devices, more folks than ever are complaining about "unwanted phone solicitations," reports the AP's Jennifer C. Kerr in a widely published piece Monday, "raising questions about how well the ... federal registry is working."

"The prescription-drug wars are under way," Timothy W. Martin informs us in the Wall Street Journal, although what we're really talking about is the heavy artillery of gift cards and TV advertisements entering the fray now that, as of Saturday, members of Express Scripts can return to their local Walgreens to get their scripts filled.