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League Radio, Week 21: The Wrong Man Won
Audio coming soon
# League Radio, Week 21: The Wrong Man Won
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JACKWelcome back to League Radio, Season 2025, Week 21, the final week of the regular season. I am Jack Monroe. To my left, Marcus Vale. Across from me, Alex Mercer. Ben Harper is on the facts desk. Nico Hart has the chat open. Gentlemen, the regular season is over. Brodie finished 19 and 2. Gooch finished 18 and 3. And somewhere in the middle of all that dominance, Alec squeaked in at 14 and 7 as the third seed. Playoffs start next week. Where do we begin.
MARCUSWe begin with the fact that we just watched the two greatest regular seasons in this league's history happen simultaneously and somehow we are acting like the third-best team has a shot at anything. Brodie is 19 and 2. Nineteen. And two. That is not a fantasy record. That is a statement of psychological dominance.
BENTo put it in context, the previous best record in Da League history before this season was Brodie's own Season 1 run, which he won. He is now chasing himself. He set the record, came back, broke his own record, and is the overwhelming favorite heading into the postseason.
ALEXI want to slow down because I think we are about to do what this league always does which is crown someone before the bracket plays out. Brodie was supposed to be unbeatable in Season 1 and he won. Fine. But fourteen and seven is not a fluke. Alec earned that seed. That bracket is going to be uncomfortable for somebody.
NICOChat is already going. MajesticRuinz says Brodie wins in four days. SaltShaker99 says Gooch is the real threat and nobody is talking about it. TheRealCoopa says Nate barely made the playoffs and should be embarrassed. Big energy in here already.
JACKLet's talk about Brodie first because we have to. 19 and 2, 7585 points, defending champion from Season 1. Marcus, make the case.
MARCUSThe case makes itself, Jack. You do not go 19 and 2 by accident. You do not score 7585 points by accident. This man has been operating at a level that nobody in this field can match and the scoring gap proves it. Gooch is at 7089. That is nearly 500 points behind Brodie on the season. Alec is at 7251 which is actually higher than Gooch on total points but Alec has three more losses. You know what that tells me. Brodie is not just winning. He is winning and covering.
BENThe 496 point gap between Brodie and Gooch over 21 weeks averages to roughly 23.6 points per week of separation. That is a full starter advantage every single week sustained over an entire season. It is genuinely historic.
ALEXI will give Brodie everything he has earned in the regular season. Every win, every point, the trophy for best record, all of it. And I will still tell you it means nothing in a single-elimination bracket. The regular season is a résumé. The playoffs are a trial. And Alec is going to be in that courtroom.
NICOTrenchWarfare06 in the chat says Brodie losing would be the biggest upset in league history. ColdBloodedKing says Alec has no business being in the same bracket. Somebody named BrodieFan2025 just sent seventeen fire emojis in a row. That is a real person in this chat.
JACKOkay let me bring in Gooch because 18 and 3 is being completely disrespected in this conversation and I refuse to let that happen. Ben, what is the Gooch story this season.
BENShep and Co. at 18 and 3 would be the best record in this league's history in any other season. Gooch has been the second-most dominant team wire to wire, never falling out of the top two in the standings, and finished with 7089 points which is a legitimate championship-caliber total. In a normal year Gooch wins this league going away. The problem is Brodie exists.
MARCUSHere is my Gooch concern and I have been sitting on this. When you spend an entire season being second place to someone, it gets in your head. Gooch has been chasing Brodie's shadow for 21 weeks. That is a mental weight. You step into a playoff bracket and Brodie is on the other side of it, what does that do to you psychologically. I am not sure Gooch has ever had to deal with that pressure before.
ALEXThat is the most made-up psychological analysis I have heard on this show and I have been on this show for two seasons. Gooch won 18 games. Gooch does not need a therapy session. Gooch needs a favorable bracket.
NICOGoochArmy rising in the chat. ShepSupreme says Gooch is disrespected every week on this show. VaultHunter99 says Gooch beats Brodie head to head and that is the only stat that matters. I do not know if that is true. Ben, is that true.
BENI do not have the head-to-head in front of me but I will say the two losses on Brodie's record are notable. Somebody beat him twice. The question is whether it was Gooch or variance.
JACKLet's talk about the actual drama of this playoff field because I think we are underselling it. You have Brodie at one, Gooch at two, Alec at three, Colt at four, Nighthawk at five, and Nate at six. That is a six-team bracket. Walk me through the chaos potential, Marcus.
MARCUSThe chaos potential is in the three seed and I will die on this hill. Alec at 14 and 7 is the most dangerous out in this bracket. Not because Alec is better than Brodie or Gooch. He is not. But because in a short series, 14 and 7 is good enough to get hot. And when a team gets hot in the playoffs it does not matter what they did in October.
ALEXI actually agree with Marcus which is something I say approximately twice a season. Alec is the most disruptive force in this bracket. If Brodie sees Alec in the semifinals or the finals, that is a problem. Alec has nothing to lose and Brodie has everything to lose. That is a terrible matchup for the one seed.
BENStatistically, the third seed has underperformed in most fantasy playoff formats. But Alec's 7251 total points is actually higher than fourth through tenth place by a meaningful margin. He is not a fluky third seed. He is a legitimate team that had some rough weeks at the wrong time.
NICOTrenchWarfare06 is back. He says Alec is going to Cinderella this whole thing. BrodieFan2025 says Alec is a fraud with a padded record. ChampionBlood says if Alec beats Brodie it would be the greatest upset in league history. That is already the narrative and the bracket hasn't even started.
JACKLet me put a question on the table and I want everyone to answer it directly. If you had to bet your money right now, who wins the championship. Marcus.
MARCUSBrodie. It is not close. He is playing at a different level and he did it for twenty-one weeks. I am not picking against that.
ALEXBrodie is the right answer but I am leaving the door open for Gooch. If Gooch and Brodie do not meet until the final, Gooch has had time to build momentum and that is a real game.
BENBased purely on the numbers, Brodie is the heavy favorite. His point total, his win rate, his consistency all point to a championship. I would put Gooch second and Alec as the live dog.
NICOI want to say something spicy so I am going to say Alec. Chat is going to love that. I am going with Alec. I do not believe it but I am saying it for the people.
JACKI am going Brodie. I have to go Brodie. 19 and 2 defending champion. Until someone proves otherwise, that is the answer. Now let's talk about the other end of this league because we cannot close out the regular season without acknowledging what happened at the bottom.
MARCUSCtwhitaker1. Three and eighteen. Three. And. Eighteen.
ALEXThat is one of the worst records in league history and I want to be very clear that I am not laughing. I am studying it. How does a team go 3 and 18. What decisions lead you there. What assets are being mismanaged. This is a forensic question.
BENCJ's Squad finished 3-18 with 5270 points. The points total is actually not catastrophic which suggests the losses were close, which is somehow worse. You were competitive enough to score but not competitive enough to win. That is a brutal way to spend a season.
NICOChat is ruthless right now. SaltShaker99 says CJ was never real. VaultHunter99 says the 3 wins were probably against Blake who also had nothing. ChampionBlood says the 2026 draft lottery is going to save CJ and that is the only hope. There is zero mercy in this chat, zero.
JACKBlake at 4 and 17 is almost as grim. And the team name, Ayton on Brodie's Team, is a self-roast for the ages. Marcus, appreciate the honesty of that name.
MARCUSI respect the naming decision more than I respect the roster management. At least Blake knew what happened. The name is an admission of guilt. You gave assets to Brodie and Brodie went 19 and 2 and you went 4 and 17. That is the transaction that defined this season.
ALEXThat team name should be studied in fantasy sports programs. It is accountability in font. Most managers in that situation are making excuses. Blake put the receipts in the team name.
BENFor historical context, 4-17 and 3-18 are two of the four worst records in Da League history through two seasons. Both of those managers will be in the 2026 draft lottery along with BigSuge at 6-15 and michaelhebb at 7-14. That is a significant rebuild for all four.
NICODraftKingPin just joined the chat and said the lottery four need to form an alliance. PovertyLeague says BigSuge at 6-15 with 5727 points is the most tragic number in this league. You scored enough to make noise and still won six games. That is heartbreaking actually.
JACKBigSuge, 5727 points, 6-15. Ben, that point total relative to the record is wild.
BENBigSuge scored more points than Nighthawk who is in the playoffs at 5789. The difference between those two teams on the season was 62 points over 21 weeks and Nighthawk made the playoffs and BigSuge did not. Schedule is everything in fantasy. BigSuge may have the single worst luck story of Season 2025.
MARCUSThat is what I call a schedule crime. You are fifth in points among all ten teams. You miss the playoffs. That is not a skill problem. That is a calendar problem. And there is no appeal process. It is brutal and it is final.
ALEXI want to use BigSuge as a teaching moment for this league. If you are scoring points at that rate and losing, the problem is not your roster. The problem is variance in your matchup schedule. The fix going into 2026 is not necessarily trading players. It is understanding that your floor is high and the wins will come if you stay the course.
NICOBigSuge_Official just showed up in the chat. He says and I quote, the schedule was a crime and I want a congressional hearing. That is a tremendous response. Chat is applauding. RealLeagueHours says BigSuge deserved better than this season. I am inclined to agree.
JACKmichaelhebb at 7 and 14, The 3rd Options. That team name has always felt prophetic to me and not in a good way.
MARCUSThe 3rd Options is a team name that sounds like something you settle for. And I say that with respect because seven and fourteen in this league is not nothing, but you are watching four other teams get ready for a playoff run you are not part of. That has to sting.
ALEXHebb is in the lottery with the other three and that is actually not a terrible position strategically. You get a crack at a top pick in 2026. If you use it correctly you can reload. The question is whether this manager learned anything from the losses because the draft only helps you if you know what to do with it.
BENTo be fair to michaelhebb, seven and fourteen puts him ahead of three other teams. He is not at the absolute bottom. He has a foundation. The lottery gives him an opportunity to add a piece that changes the ceiling of that roster next year.
NICOCoach3rdOption in the chat says Hebb had injury problems all season and deserves a pass. ChampionBlood says no passes in fantasy sports, show up or go home. That debate is raging right now and I refuse to pick a side.
JACKBefore we close, let me zoom out on the big picture of Season 2 of Da League. Ben, set the stage historically.
BENSeason 1 was won by brodiedean8, establishing him as the first champion of this league. Season 2 saw him return with arguably the greatest regular season in the league's two-year history at 19 and 2. The league has featured ten managers across both seasons with varying levels of success and the competitive landscape is now clearly defined. You have an elite tier in Brodie and Gooch, a strong middle class in Alec and Colt, and a rebuilding tier at the bottom with all four lottery teams looking to reload.
MARCUSThe story of Season 2 is going to be written in the playoffs. If Brodie wins, he is the undisputed best manager in this league's history, two championships, historic regular season, untouchable. If anybody else wins, the narrative completely changes and this league enters a new era.
ALEXI want to go on record before the playoffs start. The moment I am watching for is Brodie's first playoff game. How he responds to pressure at 19 and 2 with a target on his back from every manager in that bracket is going to tell us everything about whether the regular season dominance was real or whether it was schedule variance at an elite level.
NICOThe chat has a poll going right now. Who wins the championship. Brodie is at 61 percent. Gooch is at 24 percent. Alec is at 11 percent. Colt, Nighthawk, and Nate are splitting the remaining four percent. The people have spoken and the people believe in the machine.
JACKI love this league. I genuinely love this league. 19 and 2. 18 and 3. A six-team bracket with legitimate drama at every seed. A team named Ayton on Brodie's Team sitting at home watching the playoffs on television. This is exactly what Season 2 deserved to be. Gentlemen, final words before we go dark until playoffs. Marcus.
MARCUSBrodie better not lose. I am not emotionally prepared for that conversation.
ALEXSomebody is going to lose and I cannot wait to hold them accountable for every decision that led to it.
BENThe numbers say Brodie. The bracket says anything can happen. Both things are true.
NICOThe chat says let it ride. I say let it ride. Playoffs next week. This is going to be insane.
JACKThat is League Radio, Week 21. Regular season is in the books. The bracket is set. Brodie at one, Gooch at two, Alec at three, Colt at four, Nighthawk at five, Nate at six. We will see you on the other side. Good luck to the field. And to the four teams sitting in the lottery, 2026 is coming and the draft will give you a chance. Use it wisely. League Radio out.