Every offseason has a story it wants to tell itself, and the 2025 season of The League told a good one: you do not need to lead the league in scoring to end it holding the hardware.

Consider the receipts. Hurts So Good finished first in the standings at 10-4 and led everyone with 1830.1 points for. On paper, that is a coronation waiting to happen. In reality, the crown went to Pufftrees, who finished fourth at 9-5 with a comparatively modest 1626.3 points for and did the one thing a season actually rewards: won when the lights were brightest.

That is the beautiful cruelty of this game. Hurts So Good scored more than 200 points more than the champion across the year and has nothing but a very nice regular-season ribbon to show for it. Framing that on the wall would be a bold interior design choice.

The middle of the table was a traffic jam. Flyin' Ha-Lions (9-5, 1721.6), Gregs Team (9-5, 1717.9), and Pufftrees all shared that 9-5 record, separated only by tiebreakers and vibes. Greg LougAnus lurked at 8-6, close enough to smell the playoffs but not quite close enough to make them dangerous.

The most tragic figures of 2025 live a little further down. 3rd Street Litter Kitties scored 1615.7 points, more than the actual champion, and finished 5-9. Read that again. Litter Kitties outscored Pufftrees on the season and watched the whole thing from home. Somewhere a schedule maker is laughing.

And then there is Polk High Panthers, who bottomed out at 3-11 and 1511.9 points for, the proud owners of last place and whatever ceremony The League cooked up for the honor. A full rebuild season, generously described.

So we close the book on 2025. Pufftrees are champions, the standings lied to almost everyone, and twelve managers are already convinced this is their year. It never is. But it is fun to watch them find out.