Kobe Bryant has suffered his first loss of an endorsement contract--Nutella Chocolate Spread said it would not renew its contract with him in January, 2004. Truth be told, however, it hadn't planned to renew the contract before the sex assault charge:

Ferrero, an Italian company with U.S. headquarters in Somerset, N.J., said it has discontinued all promotions involving the Los Angeles Lakers guard.

"Ferrero U.S.A.'s contract with Kobe Bryant expires in January 2004," the company said in a statement. "Marketing plans established earlier this year did not contemplate a contract renewal. In keeping with this decision, and considering the recent developments, Kobe's image on Nutella labels and promotional material is being phased out."

Since we try to consolidate our Kobe coverage as much as possible for those readers not interested in the case, here's some other news:

The LA Times has an in-depth article about of Kobe's "low-profile" defense team today.

The cable news networks will continue heavy Kobe coverage this week due to the hearing Wednesday and an anticipated ruling, perhaps Thursday, on media access issues related to the sealed warrants and 9/11 calls. We'll be doing Fox News' Hannity and Colmes tonight around the half hour, and MSNBC's Abrams Report Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Our Kobe-only news page is here.
Our full TalkLeft coverage is here.