BlackSheep Division

Alex Kisla is one of the nicest and quietest managers in the TCT. He rarely talks trash, doesn’t create drama, and generally allows his fantasy teams to speak for him. Lately, they have had quite a bit to say.

Alex became the first three-time champion in Black Sheep history and the division’s first back-to-back champion, winning titles in 2016, 2024, and 2025. That résumé becomes even more impressive when you consider the journey between championships. After capturing his first belt in Year Two, Alex went eight seasons without another title before finally returning to the top in 2024. He then immediately did it again.

Alex’s fantasy strategy is considerably less mysterious. He drafts well and has a particular appreciation for running backs. While other managers debate receiver-heavy builds, positional value, and whatever roster-construction trend is popular that season, Alex appears perfectly comfortable assembling a stable full of running backs and riding them as far as they will take him. Over the past two seasons, they have taken him directly to consecutive championships.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Quiet, kind, and now historically dominant. Alex doesn’t need to talk trash because three championship belts make a fairly convincing argument on their own. He rides horses for a living, drafts running backs by the herd, and turned Dark Horse into the first back-to-back champion in Black Sheep history. After becoming the division’s first three-time champion, Alex Kisla no longer qualifies as a dark horse. He’s the favorite.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 99–73 | 🏆 2016, 2024 & 2025 Champion
• Champion’s Division: 10–6
• Championships: 3

Michael “Bouv” Bouvier is a fantasy-football veteran who had been playing for years before the Black Sheep Division even existed. That experience should have produced a calm, calculated manager who trusts his preparation and avoids unnecessary risks. Instead, it produced chaos.

Bouv is always willing to shake things up. He trades aggressively, constantly looks for ways to change his roster, and rarely seems interested in allowing a team to remain undisturbed for very long. Some managers patiently wait to see whether their draft works. Bouv would rather tear open the engine while the car is still moving and find out whether he can make it faster.

The approach has produced plenty of success. Bouv won the 2017 Black Sheep Championship and has reached the championship game four additional times. Unfortunately, all four of those appearances ended with him finishing second. Few managers have spent more time near the top of the division, but nobody has accumulated more firsthand experience watching somebody else leave with the belt.

Bouv is also one of the more active personalities in the group chat. He stays involved, talks fantasy football, makes trades, and is never afraid to offer an opinion. Of course, experience does not make every opinion correct. Before the inaugural 2015 season, Bouv confidently predicted that Nelson Agholor would win NFL Rookie of the Year. Agholor responded with 23 receptions, 283 yards, and one touchdown.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Bouv is a proven fantasy veteran, a Black Sheep champion, and an agent of absolute roster chaos. He’ll trade anybody, shake up anything, and confidently explain why the latest move will work. Sometimes it carries him to the championship game. Sometimes it produces Nelson Agholor for Rookie of the Year. Either way, the middle finger remains raised and Bouv keeps moving.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 93–82 | 🏆 2017 Champion
• Championship appearances: 5
• Championships: 1

Ryan Benoit was already a fan of the TCT and The Commissioner’s Desk Podcast before joining the Black Sheep Division in 2022. Like his brother Dan, Ryan follows the league closely, stays involved, and appears to genuinely enjoy being part of the chaos. Unlike his brother, Ryan does not respond to that chaos by trying to trade half his roster every week.

The Benoit brothers operate on opposite ends of the transaction spectrum. Dan treats his roster like an open-air marketplace where everything is available at the right price. Ryan is far more conservative. He drafts the players he believes in, trusts his evaluation, and generally gives his team an opportunity to prove him right before making major changes. He isn’t completely opposed to trading, but he requires more than an active pulse and a questionable sales pitch to move one of his guys.

That confidence produced immediate results. Ryan made the playoffs during his 2022 rookie season and established that he belonged in the division. His second year was considerably rougher, ending with a last-place regular-season finish, but he recovered and has pushed his career record back above .500. Through four seasons, Ryan owns a winning 34–31 record despite still searching for his first championship.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Ryan is a league fan, podcast supporter, good drafter, and the considerably more conservative half of the Benoit fantasy operation. He believes in his players, doesn’t panic, and rarely makes a move simply for the sake of making one. The approach has produced a winning record but not yet a championship. Ryan can pilot a drone with confidence. Now he needs to guide Benoiting all the way to a belt.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 34–31
• Championships: 0

Josue “Sway” Ostolaza joined Black Sheep in 2023 after taking over MattSobral Is A Cuck from the Commissioner. A Marine, devoted Chargers fan, and genuinely respectful guy, Sway immediately proved that he knows football by finishing first in the regular season and winning the championship as a rookie.

The title came against Matt Sobral himself, giving Sway one of the most perfectly scripted championship victories in league history. He followed it with a third-place finish in 2024 and has compiled an outstanding 33–17 record through his first three seasons.

Sway doesn’t talk much trash, but he loves stirring the pot. He knows exactly when to introduce a controversial comment and then step back while everyone else argues. His biggest fantasy weakness may be his Chargers loyalty, which occasionally causes him to trust players from a franchise that has spent decades punishing anyone who believes in it.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Respectful, knowledgeable, and immediately successful. Sway won a championship as a rookie, defeated the namesake of his own team in the final, and rarely needs to talk trash because his record does it for him. If he can prevent his Chargers loyalty from interfering with his judgment, another championship may not be far away.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 33–17 | 🏆 2023 Champion
• Championships: 1

Bob Dumas joined Black Sheep in 2016 after being brought into the league by his brother-in-law, Michael Bouvier. Despite that connection, the two could not approach fantasy football more differently. Bouv thrives on chaos, trades, and constant roster movement. Bob is quiet, respectful, organized, and perfectly content to avoid the commotion.

Bob had already been playing fantasy football for years before joining the division, and that experience shows on draft day. He arrives prepared, builds the team he wants, and then trusts his players to perform. Trades are extremely rare, trash talk is nonexistent, and unnecessary roster upheaval simply isn’t part of the plan.

That steady approach produced third-place finishes in his first two seasons and a trip to the 2018 championship game. Bob is still searching for his first title, but after ten seasons he owns a perfectly balanced 80–80 career record—which feels strangely appropriate for one of the league’s most measured personalities.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Bob is the calm, organized opposite of the brother-in-law who brought him into the league. He drafts with experience, trusts his roster, never talks trash, and almost never trades. The Outsider may avoid the chaos, but an 80–80 record and a championship appearance prove he has always belonged.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 79–80
• Championship appearances: 1
• Championships: 0

Steve Gwozdz is one of a kind. He’s brash, in your face, completely confident, and never particularly concerned with whether anybody agrees with him. Steve loves him some Steve, and after eleven seasons there is no evidence that opinion will ever change.

His draft strategy is equally fearless. Steve makes off-the-wall selections, trusts evaluations nobody else understands, and builds rosters that can leave the room wondering what the hell he is doing. Most years, the results have justified everyone’s confusion. In 2021, however, it worked. Polish-Hammer entered the playoffs at 6–8, won three straight games, and captured the Black Sheep Championship.

Behind the volume and confidence, Steve is a genuinely good guy who takes no shit from anybody. His 75–101 career record reflects plenty of difficult seasons, but he has never changed his personality, abandoned his approach, or lost belief in himself. And unlike many managers with better records, Steve has a championship belt.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Loud, fearless, unpredictable, and completely convinced that Steve Gwozdz is the smartest man in the room. His drafts usually leave everyone confused and often leave Polish-Hammer near the bottom. But one time the madness worked, and that 2021 championship guarantees Steve can remind everyone about it forever.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 75–100 | 🏆 2021 Champion
• Championships: 1

Alex Silva joined Black Sheep in 2023 and immediately made the playoffs during his rookie season. He hasn’t dominated the division, but he also hasn’t given anyone much reason to think he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Alex seems like a genuinely nice guy who quietly manages his team without creating much drama. He doesn’t provide the group chat with endless material, develop unnecessary rivalries, or make himself the center of attention. He simply shows up and competes.

After three seasons, Alex owns a perfectly even 25–25 record. There may be no better statistical description of his career so far: capable, competitive, and exactly balanced between winning and losing.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Alex appears to know what he’s doing, seems like a good guy, and has produced the most neutral résumé mathematically possible. Catalina Wine Mixon is neither sinking nor sailing—it is floating peacefully at .500 while the Commissioner waits for Alex to reveal which direction this career is heading.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 25–25
• Championships: 0

Jerome Penha joined Black Sheep in 2016 and immediately reached back-to-back championship games. A pee wee football coach, Jerome knows the game, drafts well, and brings a coach’s confidence to managing his roster.

He is also always looking for a trade. Jerome enjoys working the market, discussing players, and finding somebody willing to make a deal. That activity has helped him build an 83–75 career record with four championship-game appearances, including his 2020 title.

That championship remains the center of Jerome’s long-running rivalry with Matt Sobral. Because it came during the disputed eight-team COVID season, Matt insists it shouldn’t count. Jerome possesses the belt, the official record, and absolutely no intention of accepting Matt’s interpretation.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Jerome is a great guy, experienced football coach, strong drafter, and relentless trade partner. He owns a winning record and a championship, regardless of how many appeals Matt Sobral files. The Equalizer’s title counts—and reminding Matt of that may be Jerome’s favorite part of winning it.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 83–75 | 🏆 2020 Champion
• Championship appearances: 4
• Championships: 1

Zack Viera loves to gamble, which may explain his relationship with fantasy football. He shows up, drafts a team, and plays through most of the season. If the roster performs, Zack remains engaged. If things go badly, the team occasionally begins drifting through the schedule like an abandoned ghost ship.

His career started with promise when he earned Black Sheep Rookie of the Year honors in 2021. The results have declined considerably since then, including a 4–12 season in the Dead-Bottom and a return to Black Sheep that ended 6–11.

The biggest mystery is whether Zack actually enjoys fantasy football. He clearly enjoys the draft, the gambling, and the possibility of winning. It’s the part where he has to continue managing a losing team in November that appears considerably less appealing.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Zack is a gambler first and a fantasy manager for as long as the bet remains interesting. He can compete when he stays engaged, but once the season turns against him, everyone should begin checking the deck for signs that the captain has disappeared. Whether Zack loves fantasy football remains unclear. He definitely loves the action.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 30–51
• Dead-Bottom Division: 4–12
• Championships: 0

Andrew “AD” Dillon joined Black Sheep in 2023 and immediately finished third during his rookie season. A huge Dallas Cowboys fan, AD drafts Cowboys whenever possible and has built his fantasy identity around trusting America’s Team considerably more than most rational people would recommend.

This has created one of the division’s favorite draft-night games: selecting Cowboys immediately before Dillon can get them. AD knows everyone is trying to do it, which often forces him to reach early rather than risk losing one of his guys. The strategy may not maximize draft value, but Jerry Jones would undoubtedly respect the loyalty.

Like Zack Viera, AD loves to gamble. Unlike Zack, he remains involved even when the season begins going badly. Dillon continues managing, making moves, and competing through the end, which has helped him maintain a perfectly even 24–24 career record.

Commissioner’s Verdict: AD is a committed manager, dedicated gambler, and hopeless Cowboys loyalist. Everyone knows what he wants on draft night, and everyone enjoys making him pay extra to get it. The commitment occasionally hurts his roster, but at least Dillon stays aboard for the entire ride—even when the Cowboys and Jerry’s Kid are both heading in the wrong direction.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 24–24
• Championships: 0

Ian Furtado took over HandslikeWayneMello in 2024 after Danny Dorgan moved into the five-tier system. Through two seasons, Ian has finished 11th twice and compiled an 11–21 career record.

There isn’t much evidence yet that Ian is particularly good at fantasy football. The drafts haven’t produced competitive teams, the wins have been difficult to find, and the standings have remained remarkably consistent near the bottom.

To his credit, Ian continues showing up and managing through the entire season. He doesn’t abandon his roster, disappear when things go badly, or force the Commissioner to check whether someone is still setting the lineup. The results may be terrible, but the effort remains.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Ian has spent two seasons providing very little evidence that he understands fantasy football. What he has demonstrated is reliability. He shows up, tries, and continues competing even when the standings suggest there is no good reason to do so. That effort deserves respect. The 11–21 record does not.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 11–21
• Championships: 0

Matt Sobral is a kindhearted goofball and genuinely good guy who has spent ten seasons proving that success and self-sabotage can coexist. He owns a winning 85–74 record, captured the 2018 championship, and has consistently shown that he knows how to build a competitive team.

Unfortunately, Matt also possesses a remarkable ability to step on his own dick. His long-running rivalry with Jerome Penha includes years of arguments over whether Jerome’s disputed 2020 championship should count. While Matt continues fighting that battle, Jerome continues possessing the belt.

Then came 2023. Matt returned to the championship game only to lose to Sway, the manager of MattSobral Is A Cuck. He finished behind Sway again in 2024 before collapsing into last place in 2025. At some point, the evidence became difficult to dispute: Matt is, in fact, a cuck.

Commissioner’s Verdict: Matt is a good manager, former champion, kindhearted goofball, and his own greatest obstacle. Squirtle Squad has produced plenty of winning seasons, but Matt always seems capable of finding the rake in an otherwise empty yard. He may continue disputing Jerome’s championship, but the verdict on his own team name has already been delivered.

TCT Career

• Black Sheep Division: 85–73 | 🏆 2018 Champion
• Championship appearances: 2
• Championships: 1