Now we know the real reason for the recession: fantasy football. The dudes who run everything are all in a super-competitive high-stakes league together and thus have been spending the bulk of their time watching SportsCenter. The Journal identifies some members — hedge-fund inventor Paul Tudor Jones, Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, Blue Ridge Capital's John Griffin, Fortress prez Michael Novogratz, and Goldman Sachs' Michael Daffey, who took home the $1 million kitty this year (a spokesman for Goldman Sachs said he donated it to "children's causes"). Apparently they all yell at each other on a secret message board!

There's plenty of trash-talking, especially on Sundays, when the most active owners post comments, and occasional insults, on the league's private message board on ESPN.com.

But lately things haven't been so spirited. You know, with the problems. "The last thing you want to do is talk about is the financial crisis," says one owner. "But I would all bet we're all spending a lot less time on football these days."

Oh, so now they're spending less time on football. Who else has been handicapping as Wall Street burns? We're looking at you, Paulson.

Wall Street's $1 Million Fantasy League [WSJ]