Not Quite Main Street's Fantasy Football

Team has sued 125 fans, made $2 million

(NEWSER) - Over the last 5 years, the Washington Redskins have won $2 million in judgments after suing 125 season ticket holders who wanted out of their multiyear contracts, the Washington Post reports. Many say they’re loyal fans who simply fell on hard times, but the Redskins insist that lawsuits are a last resort. "We are supposed to pay our bills,” says one distraught fan forced into bankruptcy by the team's actions. “I ain't trying to get out of anything." More»

Top 25 took home total of $11.6 billion in pay last year

(NEWSER) - Hedge funds lost an average of 18% last year, but as markets fell to earth, the top 25 hedge fund managers each earned more than $75 million in pay, reports the New York Times. The most successful, James Simons of Renaissance Technologies, pulled in $2.5 billion, while George Soros took home $1.1 billion. Though the earnings equal only half of 2007's pool, the figures are stunning for a year in which so many investors pulled out. More»

Esquire finds brown-bagging it has its rewards

(NEWSER) - With Super Bowl looming, cheap booze is probably on your radar. It's not too late to check out these bargains recommended by Esquire:

• Paul Masson Grande Amber VSOP brandy: This $13 bottle “goes down far more smoothly than anything from France in this price range could even aspire to.”
• Brugal Añejo rum: A $14 bottle that's perfect “if you want something cheap, brown, and sugarcaney to go with your cigar.”

Amid layoffs, some worry pricey publicity could backfire

(NEWSER) - The recession has loyal Super Bowl advertisers hesitating to buy spots, worried the $6 million-a-minute publicity could backfire. FedEx is concerned it looks “wrong” to drop the dollars while “asking employees to do more with less,” the Wall Street Journal reports. NBC sold most ad spots by early September, but hasn't filled the remaining eight since the economy really tanked. More»

Candidate steps up to sportswriter's challenge

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's too busy be a great fantasy football partner, but the man knows his stuff, writes Rick Reilly at ESPN. The candidate accepted Reilly's challenge to help him draft a team for a week in a fantasy football league and the sportswriter found him on the campaign bus poring through stats. "Man, this is more important than politics!" Obama said "This is football!" More»