Donald Trump’s War with the NFL Goes back 40 years

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Donald Trump’s attack on the National Football League Friday might have seem to come out of nowhere to some fans, but in reality, his disgruntlement with the NFL has a long history.

Trump, in a three-minute tirade, encouraged owners to fire players who kneel during the U.S. national anthem. The comments resulted in dozens of additional players taking a knee during the anthem, a closing of the ranks among NFL owners to stand against Trump’s remarks, and some teams not coming out onto the field for the anthem at all.

Read more at Fortune.com: Donald Trump’s War with the NFL Goes back 40 years

Hugh Hefner Death: An End For The Playboy Mansion Too

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The passing of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner marks not only the end of an era in the world of publishing, it’s also the end for one of the most famous pieces of real estate in the country.

The Playboy Mansion is now completely out of the hands of the Hefner family. Neighbor Daren Metropoulos bought the estate last August for $100 million—with the stipulation that Hefner would be allowed to live there for the rest of his life.

Read more at Fortune.com: Hugh Hefner Death: An End For The Playboy Mansion Too

Hurricane watch: 40% of small businesses don’t reopen after a disaster

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One of the hard lessons many small businesses are learning after the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma is that a disaster plan is essential — even if you think you’ll never need to use it.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost 40 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors after a disaster. Recent data from a CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey also shows that most small business owners don’t spend too much time thinking about the environment as a critical factor.

Read more at CNBC.com: Hurricane watch: 40% of small businesses don’t reopen after a disaster

Child Writes Adorable Letter to Toys ‘R’ Us Bankruptcy Judge

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As he oversees the bankruptcy case of Toys ‘R’ Us, judge Keith Phillips in the Eastern District of Virginia is getting a lot of paperwork, but none of the filings are likely to be as memorable as a recent note he received from a 9-year-old.

The letter, which was entered into the bankruptcy docket on Monday, is from a boy named Andrew (his last name was redacted). In it, he argues to the court that the closure of Toys ‘R’ Us would be “bad for kids,” backing up his claim with three pretty solid reasons.

Read more at Fortune.com: Toys R Us Bankruptcy: Child Asks Judge to Not Close Stores

Ubisoft’s CEO Isn’t Playing Games

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With hits like Assassin’s Creed, Raving Rabbids, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Ubisoft has become one of the world’s biggest video game makers with nearly $1.7 billion in annual revenue. But sometimes, success comes with a price.

For the better part of the past two years, the company has had to deal with a looming takeover threat from French media conglomerate Vivendi, which has slowly been buying shares of the game publisher. As of mid-August, it held a 27% stake.

Read more at Fortune: Ubisoft’s CEO Isn’t Playing Games

Fonta Flora craft brewery surges to national fame

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Small businesses usually have, at best, a minor impact on their hometown. They employ a few people, they pay taxes, and they certainly add a convenience factor, but as individual entities, they’re rarely big revenue drivers.

Fonta Flora Brewery in Morganton, North Carolina, is one of the exceptions. Founded four years ago, the beer maker has just three full-time employees but has built such a strong reputation in the beer world that Morganton (located about an hour east of Asheville) has become a destination for beer tourists, bringing thousands of visitors to the town of 17,000 people each year.

Read more at CNBC: Fonta Flora craft brewery surges to national fame

Traditional Media Grabs for the ESports Control

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Eleven years ago, Ted Owen had a dream: to persuade the Olympic planning committee in Beijing that video games belonged in the 2008 Games. The skepticism was overwhelming. And despite the best efforts of the founder of the Global Gaming League, the Olympics came and went without a game controller in sight.

Today, that dream doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Several major networks, including ESPN, NBC and TBS, regularly air eSports programming. And the organizers of the Asian Games, a pan-continental multi-sport event held every four years, have confirmed eSports as a demonstration event in 2018. At the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, China, it will have full medal status.

Read more at Variety: Traditional Media Grabs for the ESports Control

Despite Amazon effect, not all mom and pops in trouble on Main St.

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2017 has been a rough year for retail.

More than 1,000 stores closed in a single week in June, and Macy’s has cut thousands of jobs as part of the retail apocalypse. Earnings announcements by department-store chains Kohl’s, Macy’s and Dillard’s on Thursday revealed a mixed bag of results as these big-box retailers try to turn around their fortunes.

Read more at CNBC.com: Despite Amazon effect, not all mom and pops in trouble on Main St.