Though you may not have felt it - Perhaps you have better things to do Sunday morning? - the news rumbled across the fantasy football landscape like a last-minute bombshell.

Eagles' wide receiver DeSean Jackson had been benched by coach Andy Reid, according to reports, a penalty assessed because Jackson missed a special teams meeting Saturday morning. Fantasy football owners the world over were left scrambling to fill Jackson's spot in their starting lineups - despite the fact the speedy receiver and punt returner has yet to match the production of his previous three seasons in this, his fourth year, and has mostly been a disappointment in both the worlds of fantasy and actual football. Jackson is a marquee name, and though he's struggled this season, he's still a starter on almost any fantasy football team.

While the thought of the often-petulant Jackson missing a meeting isn't exactly shocking - or even very surprising, really, at least judging by his public persona - the circumstances surrounding the situation are intriguing ... perhaps especially intriguing given the shit-tacular economic climate almost everywhere except for pro sports and Wall Street.

In other words, the folks in the bread lines are going to love this. ...

According to reports, which I first saw surface on Mike Florio's excellent profootballtalk.com, Jackson - in the fourth year of a rookie contract worth a reported $3.469 million signed after the 2008 draft, and who has been actively campaigning for a new deal since last year - is flat broke, and distractions stemming from money problems may have contributed to Jackson missing the meeting, not to mention his overall poor play this year. Though Jackson's contract details (available on rotoworld.com) indicate the receiver is scheduled to earn $600,000 from the Eagles in 2011, Florio's Pro Football Talk Live spoke with Howard Eskin of 94WIP who had this to say of the situation:

"From what I'm told, [Jackson] owes Drew Rosenhaus a lot of money. ... We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. Is he broke? I don't know how you define broke, but I know when he signs his new deal he will owe Drew Rosenhaus a lot of money."

Eskin also tells profootballtalk.com that Jackson is using a credit card from Rosenhaus to get by.

On Monday, following his benching, Jackson told throngs of reporters that he's been going through a "tough situation," this year, remarks most considered a reference to his current financial plight and desire for a new contract. Though he stopped short of delving into specifics, Jackson said simply that he has, "just got to be a man about it and just learn from everything that happens," according to a story by Jonathan Tamari of The Inquirer in Philadelphia.

Now, surely, most of us can sympathize with a person facing financial difficulties. These days, who's not facing financial difficulties? There's no doubt worrying about money can be a distraction.

That said, unlike Jackson, most of us weren't sending out pictures via Twitter of the bill we racked up at the Los Angles club The Colony with our "Jaccpot" crew over a two-hour period last June ... a bill totaling $25,000.

Or, as Jackson described the situation on Twitter:

We pulled up 2 the club at 12AM! 17 minutes later #JaCCpOt 10 rax in ... Ended the night at 25 rax goin in!!

Impressive. And certainly worth bragging about.

For comparison purposes, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration and U.S. Census Bureau report that the real median household income in the United States was $49,445 in 2010.

Otherwise known as two nights at the club with Jackson.

You really have to feel for the guy, don't you? Real "tough situation" he's in.

Box Scores

The NBA lockout entered its 140th day this week, with no good news in sight. On Tuesday the NBA formally notified teams that games through Dec. 15 have now been cancelled, in essence erasing - at the very least - a quarter of the regular season. Also on Tuesday, locked-out players, led by Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, filed class-action antitrust lawsuits against the league in at least two states, contending the lockout violates antitrust laws by refusing to allow players to work. Also, also on Tuesday, players missed what would have been their first paycheck of the season, which ESPN and CNBC report cost the average NBA player $220,000. Also, also, also on Tuesday, the average sports fan continued to care very little about any of this because the NBA is and continues to be a joke. ... After dominating the league in strikeouts, ERA, innings pitched and overall record, Tigers' pitcher Justin Verlander won the American League Cy Young Award Tuesday by a unanimous vote, easily beating out the likes of Jared Weaver, CC Sabathia and James Shields. In other baseball news, Karl Ravech's hair seems to have already gotten bigger and more absurd during the still-young offseason. ... Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski notched his 903 career victory Tuesday night when his Blue Devils took down the Michigan State Spartans 74-69, officially becoming the winningest coach in Division I history. With the victory Krzyzewski surpassed his mentor and former coach, Bob Knight, in all-time wins.  Unlike his mentor, however, Krzyzewski did not celebrate the impressive accomplishment by choking a freshman or throwing a chair. ... Finally, Denver Broncos' quarterback Tim Tebow continues to be the subject of much debate after the Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs last week in an effort that only saw Tebow attempt eight passes, completing two. The Broncos ran the ball 55 times in the contest, letting Tebow run an option-centered offense at a level never before seen in the NFL - most likely because it will never work against teams not named the Chiefs or Raiders. In non-football related Tebow news, on Tuesday the dreamy, hardcore Christian QB discussed his plans to construct a children's hospital in the Philippines through his foundation and CURE International. Construction is scheduled to begin on the hospital in January. God I hate that guy.