During the Super Bowl halftime show today in Indianapolis, which featured Madonna and other secondary acts, rapper M.I.A. flipped American audiences "the bird".

M.I.A. joined Madonna and Nicki Minaj on stage during the song "Give Me All Your Luvin", and clad in Cleopatra gear and black stiletto boots, she gave the middle-finger directly to a camera for a full second.

It's the first big Super Bowl broadcast snafu since the highly controversial 2004 incident involving Janet Jackson and her infamous "wardrobe malfunction", which saw her breast and nipple exposed during the halftime show with Justin Timberlake. That incident resulted in a $550,000 fine levied by the FCC against CBS for airing the uncensored moment.

One can't help but wonder what the FCC's, and America's, reaction will be to M.I.A.'s rude gesture.

Flags will be lowed to half-staff at all Pennsylvania state facilities in honor of Joe Paterno, the legendary former Penn State University football coach who died Sunday after a battle with lung cancer.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett made the order to lower the flags, which will remain lowered until Paterno is laid to rest. The Paterno family has not yet made any announcements about funeral arrangements.

Paterno was the winningest coach in Division I college football, with 409 wins in 26 seasons as the Nittany Lions head coach. Paterno was fired from his position in November after former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with more than 50 counts of sexual abuse of children and the scandal that engulfed the school. PSU's board of regents said that Paterno had a moral obligation to do more after learning of a recent allegation in 2002 against Sandusky, and they thus decided to remove him.

Former long-time Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno passed away this weekendat the age of 85, succumbing to lung cancer. His family released a statement Sunday morning confirming his death.

He is said to have passed away due to complications that arose from chemotherapy treatment earlier this week. His family and close friends were rushed to his bedside to say their final goodbyes on Saturday as his condition was quickly deteriorating.

There were rumors that Paterno had passed away around 8pm Saturday evening, but the Paterno family swiftly denied the rumors, but did say that he was in "serious condition." Unfortunately, news of his supposed death had already begun being reported. Hundreds of students gathered in State College by the Paterno statue, saying prayers, singing the school's anthem, and lighting candles. Candles and memorabilia were also placed around the base of the statue.

Paterno's cancer diagnosis was revealed in November, just days after he was fired from his position as coach for the Nittany Lions in the aftermath of the arrest of ex-Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky on more than 50 charges of sexual abuse against children.

Update: 11pm ET - A rep for the Paterno family denies reports that he has died, and Onward State, the originator of the news has retracted the story. Onward State's managing editor has also resigned. A rep says that Paterno is still in "serious condition."

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Former Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Dead at Age 85 from Lung Cancer

According to Onward State and CBS Sports, former long-time Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno passed away Saturday evening at the age of 85, succumbing to lung cancer.

He is said to have passed away due to complications that arose from chemotherapy treatment earlier today. His family and close friends were rushed to his bedside to say their final goodbyes as his condition was quickly deteriorating. Paterno passed away at 8pm ET.

Hundreds of students have gathered in State College by the Paterno statue, saying prayers, singing the school's anthem, and lighting candles. Candles and memorabilia have been placed around the base of the statue.

Ohio Governor John Kasich and Florida Governor Rick Scott have made a friendly wager on the upcoming Gator Bowl game featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators. The lightweight gamblers didn't go for any high stakes bets, with Kasich owing Scott cookies if he loses and Scott owing Kasich key lime pie if he loses.

Kasich posted a status update on Facebook which read:

"In anticipation of Monday’s Gator Bowl matchup between the OSU Buckeyes and the Florida Gators, Governor Rick Scott and I have placed a friendly wager on the game. If OSU wins, Gov. Scott owes me a Florida Key Lime pie, and if UF wins, I’ve staked those famous and delicious cookies from Ohio’s own Cheryl&Co. Hope our team brings back a trophy and a pie. Go Bucks!"

Quarterback Robert Griffin III was named the 2011 winner of the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first player from Baylor University to be bestowed the honor.

Griffin received 1,687 to beat out runner-up Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck by 280 points. Luck was also the 2010 runner-up to Cam Newton. In third was University of Alabama running back Trent Richardson with 978 points. University of Wisconsin running back Montee Ball was fourth in the voting, followed by Louisiana State cornerback Tyrann Mathieu.

Griffin, a 21-year-old junior at Baylor, finished up the 2011 season as the country's top-rated quarterback. He completed 72.3 percent of his passes for 3,998 yards and 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. Griffin also rushed for 832 yards and nine scores. Baylor finished the season 9-3, which was the school's best season in 25 years.

Griffin is the third Heisman winner in the past 14 years to play for a team that lost more than two regular season games. The other two were Ricky Williams of Texas in 1998 and Tim Tebow of Florida in 2007.

The University of Akron recently fired Rob Ianello, the school's head football coach. Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel's name has recently been floated around as a replacement for the Zips, but the native Ohioan has come out to dispel the rumors and set the record straight.

Currently working as a gameday consultant for the Indianapolis Colts, Tressel discussed the rumors during an interview on Tuesday, saying:

"There's no validity to that. It's a wonderful place and I had four wonderful years there and they've done an extrodinary job with their campus and their athletic facilities, but there's no validity to that."

The primary purpose of the interview wasn't to talk about the Akron rumor, but rather, to get Tressel's thoughts on Urban Meyer being named the Buckeyes new head coach. He said:

"When you go through some suffering like (Ohio State) went through this year and you have the right kind of players in the program, you're probably going to have some good things happen. So (Meyer) will come in and do a good job. He knows how to coach the game."

During the interview, Tressel also said that he was not sure if he'd return to the Colts next season.

Ohio State University held a press conference on Monday, November 28, to officially announce that they'd hired Urban Meyer to take over the head coaching duties for the Buckeyes' football team. Both athletic director Gene Smith and Meyer spoke with the press. Watch the video for their comments:

Urban Meyer has been denying the rumors of a deal with Ohio State University that would see him takeover as the football team's head coach ever since the word got out ten days ago that he had flown to Columbus to meet with school officials. His agent, Trace Armstrong, confirmed Monday morning that Meyer would be the Buckeyes' new head coach.

This season, the former Florida Gators coach, who led the team to two national championships before stepping down to spend more time with his family amid health concerns, worked as a game analyst for ESPN this season. Meyer asked to be taken off his assignments over this past weekend, while rumors of a move to OSU continued to swirl.

Sources said last week that Meyer would be officially unveiled as the Buckeyes' new coach sometime this week. He reportedly agreed to a 7-year, $40 million deal.

Meyer's 10 year record stands at 104-23. Prior to his stint with the Gators, he also coached at Bowling Green and Utah.

November 2011 hasn't been a good month for former Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno. First, he was fired in the wake of the child sex abuse reportedly perpetrated by a former long-time assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. Now his son says that Joe Paterno was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.

Scott Paterno said in a statement provided to press on Friday that his 84-year-old father is undergoing treatment and that "his doctors are optimistic that he will make a full recovery."

Scott Paterno said that the cancer diagnosis was made during a follow-up visit last weekend for a bronchial illness, and added:

"As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment."

Paterno was fired last week by Penn State after former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was charged with abusing 8 boys over 15 years. He had initially said he'd retire at the end of the season, but the university trustees fired him just hours later. The scandal has tarnished the reputation of the school's football program and Paterno's long career at Penn State.