Playing with the stars: In other words, make Kim Kardashian work for you

DETROIT — In fantasy football circles, the debate is whether to use a first-round draft pick on a running back or quarterback, a LaDainian Tomlinson or a Peyton Manning.

There's no calculating yardage or touchdowns, no worries about what locker room wide receiver Terrell Owens is torpedoing. But if Owens' reality series, "The T.O. Show," suddenly was a ratings bonanza, MacNeil would notice.

MacNeil, a 37-year-old mother of three, is part of a budding trend. She's the commissioner of an Us Magazine Fantasy Celebrity League, which takes the sports fantasy format and gives entertainment followers a competitive outlet of their own.

"I'm super-competitive," MacNeil jokes. "It gives me meaning."

She's not alone. The celebrity fantasy game movement started a few years ago when Bill Simmons, the popular ESPN.com columnist known as the Sports Guy, wrote a story about his wife's attempt to start a league.

Since then, the idea has spread. A spokesperson for Us Magazine said the magazine can't estimate how many people across the country play, but they're working to add a feature to their Web site that allows readers to set up the free leagues.

Fafarazzi runs fantasy games that track reality TV shows like "Project Runway" and "Dancing With the Stars," as well as straight celebrity leagues, where users draft a team and earn points whenever their players are mentioned in a long list of celebrity blogs and magazines.

In MacNeil's league, 12 teams play head-to-head each week for about 10 weeks. Points are calculated for photos that run in the gossip magazine. Like fantasy football, each team has a hand-selected name; MacNeil's is "The Real Housewife of OT."

Five male and five female celebs make up each team, and the owners — mostly MacNeil's neighborhood friends — held a draft to pick them. The entry fee is $25, and the winner gets $200. Like fantasy football, some pre-draft research was necessary to ensure a strong squad.

"I started looking at old Us Weeklys to see who was usually in there," says MacNeil, who works as a pharmaceutical sales rep. "I saw they focused on certain groups — the kids from 'The Hills,' 'The Gossip Girls.' I really didn't even know who they were because they're just out of my demographic. But I know who they are now."

Todd Galloway, 29, says he got the idea for Fafarazzi when he noticed all his friends e-mailed about their fantasy football teams, and his sister couldn't stop reading celebrity blogs.

"The competition is second to the social activity of it," Galloway says. "Whether it's fantasy football, fantasy celebrity league or fantasy 'Project Runway,' it's basically a good excuse to stay in touch with friends during the season."

Professor Jerry Herron, who teaches contemporary American culture at Wayne State University, says he views the games as harmless fun and a way for people to interact in a world in which they are otherwise passive consumers.

In other words, "You make Kim Kardashian work for you," he says.

"We're always being bombarded with celebrity images. We're told how to look, how to smile, whose body is the ideal, whose lips are ideal, how to fill in the blank," Herron says.

"This makes it possible for people to interact in a personal way and goof around in the celebrity world. It's upsetting the apple cart.

"It lets people into the publicity apparatus that makes it playful and purposeful."

Kristin Durand, 34, a mom of three and a part-time occupational therapist, owns a team called "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" in MacNeil's league. "At first, I didn't want to do it because I don't read these trashy magazines," says Durand. "But it was more an excuse to hang out with girlfriends and talk about something fun instead of the same serious life things all the time."

In MacNeil's league, players get 10 points for landing a celeb on the cover, three points for cover-inset photos and one point for any inside photo.

Landing a celeb in the Fashion Police, a column that rips fashion mistakes, is akin to having a running back fumble or a quarterback throw an interception; teams are docked three points.

On Saturdays, team owners can drop celebrities and add new ones, with the first person to e-mail holding dibs on sought-after additions.

That requires owners to stay on top of all entertainment news. And that means more than just knowing what continent Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are vacationing on.

Take balloon boy.

"At first I thought, 'that's just a news story,'" says MacNeil, speaking of Falcon Heene, who caught the nation's attention when he was thought to be riding in a runaway, homemade balloon. "Then the kid is throwing up on 'The Today Show.' I had to get him."

The next week, he scored her 23 points.

HOT 10

When drafting a fantasy celebrity team, these are the best celebs to get onboard.

— Kim Kardashian: Loves to be photographed, always willing to put her best assets on display.

— Suri Cruise: She's undersized and has yet to snag a starring role. But she's a solid first-round (and nap-time) sleeper.

— Jon Gosselin: He's got the whiney attitude and revolving girl friend syndrome editors love.

— Audrina Patridge: Famous for being someone's sidekick, the attention comes and goes. Did she peak last year?

— Robert Pattinson: He's got a bite that can be scary but attracts plenty of editorial attention.

— Taylor Swift: Became a major player after the Kanye West incident. Dating Taylor Lautner makes her a major contributor.

— Jennifer Aniston: Perfect physique, talent and showmanship never go out of fashion.

—Brangelina: Get yourself a Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, and you've got a cornerstone to a powerhouse franchise.

SOURCE: Detroit Free Press with input from Mandy MacNeil