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

- NFL.com’s Michael Fabiano sat down this week with fantasy football MVP Arian Foster. Spoiler alert: He didn’t pass along the hug that so many of us would like to give.

- John Haskell described in a recent interview with DraftSharks.com’s Jared Smola the agony created by having to wait for the delayed Vikings-Eagles tilt to deliver him $100,000.

- A couple of interesting things going on over at Fantazzle.com this weekend: For starters, as fantasy NASCAR options dwindle, Fantazzle opens its racing season with Sunday’s Daytona 500. And for fantasy basketball fans — or anyone looking for a reason to be interested in the all-star game — there’s an NBA fantasy game that combines the Sunday showcase with elements of the skills competition.

- Razzball.com is on the lookout for football writers.

- LestersLegends.com will take a look at you whether your game is football, baseball, basketball or the NFL draft. (Take that hockey and soccer BS elsewhere, though.)

Send all of your news, job postings, stories and profile ideas to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter (FSBcom).

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

- The FSWA is looking for a new secretary, a job whose title might belie its impact. Bob Harris of FootballDiehards.com stepped down from his job as treasurer, which led Perry Missner to slide over from secretary and open up a slot that president Mike Beacom expects to play an integral role to the FSWA’s future. The volunteer should expect as much as 10 hours of work a week, though a range of 3-5 should be more typical. “Yes, it’s a tall order,” Beacom said, “but we feel like we’re looking for a special individual: someone determined to become a leader in our industry. And it’s important that we find someone with the same passion we have for advancing the careers of young fantasy writers.” Details can be found in the posting on our Jobs page.

- Hoops outlet Dime magazine explores the world of “digital basketball,” including Big Lead Sports’ investment in a couple of content sites two years ago. A couple of key questions, though, are what kind of room there is for growth in the fantasy basketball space and at what rate we should expect it.

- Check this out: Apparently the Martin Library in York, Pa., has been hosting season-preview fantasy baseball sessions for the past 20 years. This year’s edition will feature USA Today Sports Weekly editor Paul White and Baseball HQ founder Ron Shandler.

- Canadian Joe LaCova is hoping the horse that he once bought with fantasy football winnings can take home a prestigious harness-racing prize.

Send all of your news, job postings, stories and profile ideas to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter (FSBcom).

Name: Michael Fabiano
Nickname: Gridiron Guru
Job title(s): NFL.com Fantasy Editor
Full-time in fantasy? October 2000-present
Age: 37
Education: Bachelor’s degree
Family status: Single
Favorite fantasy sport to play: Football
Favorite sport to watch: Football
Favorite team (any sport): Dallas Cowboys
All-time favorite athlete: Troy Aikman
Years playing fantasy: 15

I got my start in the fantasy industry when: I was hired by COMMISSIONER.com/CBS SportsLine.com in October 2000 as a Fantasy writer covering the NFL, MLB and NBA.

Since then, my fantasy résumé includes: I worked for CBS SportsLine.com as a Senior Fantasy Writer from 2000-2006 before taking the position of Fantasy Editor at NFL.com. While at CBS, I also worked with The NFL Today and was the first fantasy writer to ever appear on one of the four major networks on CBS’ Fantasy Football preview show. Now with the NFL, I also appear regularly on the NFL Network as a fantasy football analyst. I have also created two celebrity fantasy football leagues including such participants as Jim Nantz, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Warren Sapp, Rod Woodson and Marshall Faulk.

Three questions

1. You’ve been a fantasy writer for a long time and active in the Fantasy Sports Writers Association for the past few years. Other than the explosion in volume, what has changed about fantasy content over your time in the industry — good and/or bad?

I think the thing that has changed the most IS the explosion in volume. There are tons of websites and talented writers out there covering every fantasy sport from every angle. It is amazing how many fantasy magazines you see on newsstands these days, especially when it’s time for football season. It’s also been very cool to see fantasy sports go from a hobby played by the hardcore fans only to becoming much more mainstream across the board.

2. Can you describe for us how your current setup with the NFL came about?

A lot of hard work and networking! It has always been a dream of mine to be involved with the NFL, especially since I’ve been a fan of pro football since I was eight years old. When I felt like it was time to move on from CBS SportsLine.com, I talked to the NFL about how the league wanted to move forward with fantasy football. Luckily, it was around that time that the owners decided to bring NFL.com in house. I started off with the league in 2006 as a contracted writer and analyst and was hired full time in 2007. The rest is history …

3. Do you gain any edge by working for the media arm of the league we all follow (first-hand news, players stopping by, analysts on hand — particularly the Playbook crew)?

Honestly, I don’t think I have any more of an edge than anyone who works at ESPN, CBS, FOX, etc. Regardless of who breaks news, everyone else in the industry has their version of it soon thereafter. There are some instances where I’ll be talking to one of our analysts and get information that I can use for my own fantasy prognostications, but for the most part I’m all about analyzing the stats. The NFL and fantasy football has become unpredictable in recent seasons, so even if I do get a nice nugget it doesn’t always translate into an “edge.”

Bonus: What, no fantasy baseball?

I actually started out primarily as a fantasy basketball writer at CBSSportsLine.com. I also wrote fantasy baseball columns, but neither of those sports compares to football. It’s always been my favorite sport, and it’s clearly the best fantasy sport. The season doesn’t last forever like baseball, for example, so every single game counts. People do often ask me what I do during the NFL offseason, to which I reply, “what offseason?”

The NFL has now become a 365-day-a-year sport, especially with all of the media coverage of such events as the Scouting Combine and NFL Draft. The NFL has truly become America’s passion, so it only makes sense that fantasy football would become similarly as popular.

The Fantasy Sports Writers Association has announced the finalists for its seventh annual writer awards, and, as usual, RotoWire is all over the list.

The fantasy content hub drew 19 total nominations, including one for its baseball print magazine and seven categories in which at least two staffers will be competing against each other. Among those, RotoWire placed at least two entrants into writer of the year categories for baseball, basketball, hockey, auto racing and college sports.

RotoExperts.com and Yahoo! Sports tied for second most nominations, with each garnering six. Yahoo’s list included one for its baseball magazine.

ESPN nabbed four finalist spots, Sporting News grabbed three and KFFL.com showed up twice. Football Diehards rounded out the multiple-nomination field with two entries in the category for best football magazine.

Individuals up for multiple awards include …

- Yahoo!’s Andy Behrens (best football Web article, football print article and humor article)
- RotoWire’s David Regan (baseball writer of the year, baseball series and baseball Web article)
- ESPN’s Tristan Cockcroft (baseball writer of the year and baseball Web article)
- RotoWire’s Derek VanRiper (baseball writer of the year and baseball Web article)
- RotoExperts’ Chris Ryan (baseball series and humor article)

It’s worth noting that the FSWA changed its judging procedure this time around. For the past couple of years, the board of directors was in charge of whittling the entire class of entries down to finalists in each category, passing those along to a trio of journalism professors to decide on the winners.

In 2010, however, the professors took on the whole judgment process, grading all entries on a 100-point scale. Thus, the finalists in each category represent the top three finishers in the grading.

The full rundown of finalists appears below. Winners will be announced the night of Jan. 25 as part of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association winter conference.

Football Writer of the Year
Ladd Biro, The Sporting News
Dave Richard, CBS Sports
Matt Schauf, RapidDraft.com

Best Football Series
Ryan Bonini, KFFL
Michael Fabiano, NFL.com
Mike Gilbert, RotoExperts

Best Football Article on the Web
Andy Behrens, Yahoo! Sports
Christopher Harris, ESPN
Tim McCullough, RotoExperts

Best Football Article in Print
Andy Behrens, Yahoo! Sports
Cory Bonini, KFFL
Matt Waldman, Football Guys

Best Football Print Publication
Football CheatSheets
Football Diehards
Sports Illustrated

Baseball Writer of the Year
Tristan Cockcroft, ESPN
David Regan, RotoWire
Derek VanRiper, RotoWire

Best Baseball Series
Matt Lutovsky, The Sporting News
David Regan, RotoWire
Chris Ryan, RotoExperts

Best Baseball Article on the Web
Tristan Cockcroft, ESPN
David Regan, RotoWire
Derek VanRiper, RotoWire

Best Baseball Article in Print
Brent Hershey, Baseball HQ
Chris Liss, RotoWire
Jeff Stotts, RotoWire

Best Baseball Print Publication
RotoWire
The Sporting News
Yahoo! Sports

Basketball Writer of the Year
Carson Cistulli, RotoWire
Shannon McKeown, RotoWire
Brian McKitish, ESPN

Hockey Writer of the Year
Evan Berofsky, RotoWire
Jan Levine, RotoWire
Janet Eagleson, RotoWire

Racing Writer of the Year
Adam Ansell, RotoExperts
C.J. Radune, RotoWire
Mark Taylor, RotoWire

College Sports Writer of the Year
Brad Evans, Yahoo! Sports
Chris Morgan, RotoWire
Jesse Siegel, RotoWire

Golf Writer of the Year
John McNamara, RotoWorld
Scott Pianowski, Yahoo! Sports
Greg Vara, RotoWire

Newcomer of the Year
Jake Ciely, RotoExperts
Mario Puig, RotoWire
Lane Rizzardini, Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Best Humor Article
Andy Behrens, Yahoo! Sports
John Paulsen, Bulls-Eye
Chris Ryan, RotoExperts