A roundup of items recently posted on the FSB News page.

– ESPN Digital Media reportedly enjoyed a big year in 2009, including increased numbers in fantasy traffic. The fantasy football user base reportedly grew by 36 percent and brought a 38-percent rise in time spent there. Those numbers were dwarfed, however, by growth from the partnership with NBA.com that generated 63 percent more fantasy basketball users and a 162-percent increase in time spent on those pages over the same period the year before.

– Fantasy Football Trader is looking for a couple of football writers to contribute through the off-season.

– Some fantasy baseball diehards track the progress of minor-league prospects to get a jump on the expected value once those guys hit the majors. Those who are really committed, though, can put their minor-league knowledge to the test in Box Baseball’s new fantasy game.

– All set for the Orange Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament but wondering where you can get your fantasy hookup? Wonder no more.

Send all of your news, job postings, stories and profile ideas to FantasySportsBusiness@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter (FSBcom).

Yesterday we spotlighted the companies that claimed multiple plaques at the Fantasy Sports Writers Association awards ceremony, but there were seven other honors handed out Tuesday.

Here are the victors in those remaining categories, as well as the other finalists with whom they competed:

Football Writer
Andy Behrens, Yahoo Sports
Jay Clemons, Sports Illustrated
Jeff Pasquino, Footballguys

Football Print Article
Dan Grogan, Athlon
Ginny Loveless, Football Diehards
Matt Waldman, Football Diehards

Football Print Publication
CBS Sports/Pro Football Weekly
RotoWire
Rotoworld

Baseball Print Article
Andy Behrens, Yahoo Sports
Jason Grey, ESPN
Tim Heaney, KFFL

Baseball Web Article
Jeff Erickson, RotoWire
David Gonos, Open Sports
Eno Sarris, Baseballguys

Hockey Writer
Sean Allen, ESPN
Janet Eagleson, RotoWire
Scott Pianowski, Yahoo Sports

Humor Article
Jeremy Fisher, Fantasy Football Trader
Lenny Pappano, Draft Sharks
Geoffrey Stein, Mock Draft Central

All fantasy writers try to impart knowledge to their readers (or else they need to find something else to write about). Nearly as many, though, also try to make people laugh.

This is probably harder to do most of the time than fantasy analysis is. After all, the numbers are out there for anyone to look at and manipulate.

How important is it to be funny? Well, of the six humor trophies awarded in the four previous years of the FSWA honors (seperate awards were given in football and baseball in 2006 and 2006), Matthew Berry is the only repeat winner. Last I checked, he’s doing pretty well.

This year will provide a first-time champ of joviality, as Jeremy Fischer of Fantasy Football Trader, Lenny Pappano of Draft Sharks and Geoff Stein of Mock Draft Central vie for the award.

The FSWA prizes will be handed out next Tuesday, on the first day of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s winter business conference.