A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

– Unfortunately, we missed this one during our September slowdown, but ESPN and NBA.com are presenting a co-branded fantasy basketball game for the quickly approaching season.

– This Nando Di Fino column ran in late September on The Wall Street Journal’s site, but the content remainst relevant. Di Fino, an avowed baseball guy who told FSB.com that he operated 14 fantasy teams in 2008, offers a few general suggestions for how to close the popularity gap between fantasy baseball and fantasy football.

– This middle-school teacher from Illinois who uses fantasy sports to teach math says it best: “If I can get them to play math with me, that’s like three-fourths of the battle.”

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

With the third full slate of NFL exhibition games upon us, it’s serious fantasy football draft time everywhere. As Nando Di Fino points out in his Wall Street Journal column this week, the explosion of fantasy means you have to do a little more to be prepared these days.

Di Fino gives us five quick ways to make sure that we’re ready …

1. Lobby for an auction draft – Many fantasy veterans will agree with this one for the same reason Di Fino states: It puts every player in play for every participant. You’re not limited by your draft spot. Of course, navigating this style likely takes experience and/or some serious preparatory studying.

2. Decide between analog and digital — OK, so this serves to point out the options available now whether you have a tech-savvy group or folks who prefer the simple things. Pretty cool to see what’s out there, though.

3. Read ESPN.com’s Stephania Bell — There’s no arguing that this injury guru provides some valuable analysis for fantasy players.

4. Learn how to make “queso fundido” — I tried to type out the full recipe for this cheesy, spicy dip from chef Tim Spinner of Distrito in Philadelphia, but my drool shorted out the keyboard. Check it out for yourself (even if you’re a vegetarian and would like to leave out the sausage).

5. Practice against the RapidDraft pros — Di Fino sees value in drafting against 11 experts (a group that includes Yours Truly) before squaring off with your friends. Who are we to argue?

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

– This article from The Wall Street Journal asks the question: Have we gotten to the point where Internet startups don’t need the help of venture capital? Ours is an industry built on Web startups, so the question is clearly pertinent. Although the article doesn’t necessarily answer it — it would be foolish to think there is a single right answer — it does raise some interesting points for consideration.

– Minonline.com opened a series to look at pay content online last month, pointing to fantasy sports as one area in which such models work.

– The NCAA clarified Thursday its policy of not allowing championship events to take place in states that support single-game betting. Montana, which made news last year by launching a fantasy-style lottery game, is not subject to that ban.

– AthleteXchange.com has launched another stock-market type of game.

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

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

– There are an ever-growing number of fantasy-related iPhone apps, but what about the BlackBerry? You can download a free RotoWire application that delivers player news right to your device. (BlackBerry users can follow this link.)

– Brand Interaction Group and Bookem Danno Productions want you to take your league draft to Las Vegas as part of the SUPERDRAFT package.

– Nando Di Fino either blew the Wall Street Journal legal budget this week or proved that lawyers have far too much time on their hands to claim an hour is worth $500. He pulls together the opinions of seven actual lawyers on how to handle trades and related controversies in your fantasy league.

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