The High-Stakes Lowdown: A RotoViz Podcast: Eric Balkman chats with high-stakes fantasy football players.

GUEST

Bill Van Ormer - @Wavo20

This month, Bill Van Ormer, who will be representing the Joes in the 2025 FFPC Pros Vs. Joe's Challenge as 42 FFPC Joe's will battle 42 industry pros for seven free 2026 FFPC Main Event entries to compete for the $1,000,000 Grand Prize, joins the program. He’s a former five-time FFPC league champ as well.

In this episode, the guys hash out how to handle George Pickens in FFPC Big Gorilla drafts, whether Derrick Henry is going to come through again for FFPC Main Event owners, how the Cam Ward/Calvin Ridley connection is going to perform, and so much more.

If you’re a listener of the show who isn’t subscribing yet to RotoViz, you can get a special 10% discount through the podcast homepage.

HOST

Eric Balkman (@EricBalkman) – Host of the High-Stakes Fantasy Football Hour podcast, Insider Access on the Bettor Sports Network, talent and content producer for the Fantasy Football Players Championship, and host of The Show With Balky on 95.3 and 99.1 The Score in Appleton, Wisconsin.

SPONSOR

Fantasy Football Players Championship – The home of season-long high-stakes fantasy football. Check out the FFPC today!

SHOW NOTES

Thanks to Eric and the FFPC for coordinating this show. Thanks to Grapes for providing the theme music.​

Email: RotoVizRadio@gmail.com

Twitter: @RotoVizRadio

Liam Kerr (The Welcome Party) joins host Thomas Emerick for some early-aughts Boston angst — and rebirth. It’s October 2004. The Red Sox are down 0-2 in the ALCS. Game 3 at Fenway turns into a historic beating—and somehow, the start of everything. We talk baseball, politics, and comebacks from the edge.

2004 ALCS Game 3 Final Score: New York Yankees 19, Boston Red Sox 8

• NYY takes 3-0 series lead in American League Championship Series
• BOS now needs to win four straight to reach the World Series
• Game stats via Pro Baseball Reference

Episode threads:

• How the weight of Red Sox history—from Ruth to Buckner to Boone—hung over every fan in 2004.
• The 2004 ALCS offseason shakeups: Nomar out, A-Rod almost in, and what that meant.
• The Varitek vs. A-Rod brawl and how it defined the season’s edge and rivalry tone.
• Boston’s midseason slump and rebound: 55% playoff odds at one point, 64% the rest of the way.
• Game 3 unravels fast—Yankees drop 19 runs behind A-Rod, Sheffield, Matsui, and Bernie Williams.
• Coping mechanisms as Sox fans watched one of the worst home losses in franchise history.
• Where Liam watched Game 3, and how that night felt personally and politically.
• Parallels between Red Sox down 3-0 and Democrats down three branches of government.
• What Boston’s "Idiots" mentality says about staying loose under pressure—"Don’t let us win tonight."
• Kevin Millar’s walk, Dave Roberts’ steal, Bill Mueller’s hit—the spark of the comeback.
• How Theo Epstein and Billy Beane saw value in overlooked talent like Millar.
• The Red Sox win two Ortiz walk-offs in one calendar day—belief starts to return.

RotoViz contributor Thomas Emerick

The Welcome Party co-founder Liam Kerr (@LiamKerr)

BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ and get on your way to being your best self.

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Justin Herzig joins Colm Kelly to reveal 4 players he can't stop selecting in fantasy football drafts! They discuss why you should join them and add them to your best ball and redraft rosters in 2025!

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

1:00 What is fantasy football upside?

5:00 Rashid Shaheed

14:00 Jaylen Warren

18:00 JJ McCarthy

24:00 The Late TEs - Terrance Ferguson, Ja'Tavion Sanders

30:00 Outro

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RotoViz Radio Executive Producer Colm Kelly (@OvertimeIreland)

Justin Herzig (@JustinHerzig) - Best Ball Guru at EstablishtheRun

BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ, and get on your way to being your best self.

Gametime - Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code ROTOVIZ for $20 off your first purchase.

Listeners of RotoViz Radio can save 10% on a one-year RotoViz subscription by visiting RotoViz.com/podcast or by using the promotional code "rvradio2025" at the time of purchase.

RotoViz Radio provides the power for RotoViz Overtime.

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Ben Gretch and Shawn Siegele break down the hardest decision in all of fantasy football and explain why 2025 is the best year ever to draft. Listen in and implement these tactics in your best ball and redraft leagues in 2025!

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Stealing Signals creator Ben Gretch (@Yardspergretch) - Subscribe to Stealing Signals and Stealing Lines today.

RotoViz co-owner Shawn Siegele (@FF_Contrarian)

BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ, and get on your way to being your best self.

Underdog Fantasy – Get a 100% deposit match on your first deposit up to $100 when you sign up at Underdogfantasy.com using this link or the promo code ROTOVIZ.

Listeners of RotoViz Radio can save 10% on a one-year RotoViz subscription by visiting RotoViz.com/podcast or by using the promotional code "rvradio2025" at the time of purchase.

Email: RotoVizRadio@gmail.com

Shawn Siegele and Colm Kelly share their favorite late-round TE targets. Find out what makes these player profiles potential sleeper stars as they guys try to draft them onto their roster in the FFPC Superflex Best Ball Tournament against the RotoViz Overtime community.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:00 Draft Overview so far + Late TE Plan

4:00 Brenton Strange

8:00 Keon Coleman

14:00 Kyle Pitts

24:00 Chig Okonkwo

31:00 Terance Ferguson

33:00 Ja'tavion Sanders

36:00 Jalen Milroe + Kenneth Walker

47:00 Outro

Subscribe to the RotoViz YouTube Channel here!

RotoViz Radio Executive Producer Colm Kelly (@OvertimeIreland)

RotoViz co-owner Shawn Siegele (@FF_Contrarian)

BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ and get on your way to being your best self.

Underdog Fantasy – Get a 100% deposit match on your first deposit up to $100 when you sign up at Underdogfantasy.com using this link or the promo code ROTOVIZ.

Listeners of RotoViz Radio can save 10% on a one-year RotoViz subscription by visiting RotoViz.com/podcast or by using the promotional code "rvradio2054" at the time of purchase.

RotoViz Radio provides the power for RotoViz Overtime.

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Are you destroying your chances of success with these fantasy football draft mistakes? Justin Herzig joins Colm Kelly to dive into mistakes fantasy football managers make when building their teams and provide you with strategies to avoid these costly errors. Don't let simple mistakes hold you back from winning this season!

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

1:00 Rolling Stone - How to Become a Fantasy Sports Millionaire

3:00 Zero RB historical trends

9:00 Know the Rules - Site, Scoring, Contest

13:00 Should you take strong stands on players and be overweight on your favorite targets?

18:00 People are still not stacking enough

26:00 Draft players that the market isn't excited to draft

30:00 Outro

Subscribe to the RotoViz YouTube Channel here!

RotoViz Radio Executive Producer Colm Kelly (@OvertimeIreland)

Justin Herzig (@JustinHerzig) - Best Ball Guru at EstablishtheRun

BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ, and get on your way to being your best self.

Gametime - Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code ROTOVIZ for $20 off your first purchase.

Listeners of RotoViz Radio can save 10% on a one-year RotoViz subscription by visiting RotoViz.com/podcast or by using the promotional code "rvradio2025" at the time of purchase.

RotoViz Radio provides the power for RotoViz Overtime.

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Anthony Dabbundo (The Ringer) and host Thomas Emerick revisit The 4th-and-2 Game — another great chapter in the annual midseason measuring stick for two perennial contenders and the GOAT QB convo. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady continue wrestling over that GOAT belt here. It’s November 2009, Patriots at Colts.

Links:

• Check out Anthony Dabbundo's work at The Ringer

Some of the episode threads:

• Colts vs. Patriots, Week 10, 2009: the last time Indy would beat New England for a decade
• Peyton vs. Brady, midseason tradition — the annual measuring stick for two perennial powers
• Anthony Dabbundo of The Ringer joins as a lifelong Colts fan to relive the madness
• NBC brands it “Rivalry of the Decade” — and it lives up to the billing
• Colts enter 8-0, Patriots 6-2, Manning on an MVP run with comeback magic to spare
• Hall of Fame QBs favor Peyton over Brady, 13-2 — Montana splits the halves
• First drive: Belichick mixes coverage, forces Manning three-and-out — old-school dominance returns early
• Patriots build 24-7 lead behind Brady bombs and Randy Moss speed that defies physics
• Colts offense sputters early — Pat McAfee punts five times in the first half
• Reggie Wayne roasts green Pats corner late in half, cuts it to 24-14
• Patriots defense doesn’t wow on paper, but overperforms early and holds Indy scoreless in 3rd
• Antoine Bethea and Leigh Bodden trade picks to start the second half — defenses make plays
• Wes Welker 69-yard punt return flips field, Moss scores again to push Pats ahead
• Colts trail by 17 in the 4th — but this is peak clutch Peyton
• Manning to Garçon, Addai touchdown — Colts storm back to 34-28 with 2 mins left
• Belichick goes for it on 4th-and-2 from his own 28 — Kevin Faulk catches it just short
• Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth stunned — instant classic and great rewatch
• Reggie Wayne slant near the goal line caps Colts comeback win, 35-34
• One of the most controversial coaching decisions in NFL history, and ahead of its time

RotoViz contributor Thomas Emerick

The Ringer's Anthony Dabbundo

BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ and get on your way to being your best self.

Underdog Fantasy – Get a 100% deposit match on your first deposit up to $100 when you sign up at Underdogfantasy.com using this link or the promo code ROTOVIZ.

Listeners of RotoViz Radio can save 10% on a one-year RotoViz subscription by visiting RotoViz.com/podcast or by using the promotional code "rvradio2025" at the time of purchase.

RotoViz Radio provides the power for Remember That Game: Subscribe to the RotoViz Radio on YouTube

Direct message: Bluesky @ThomasEmerick | Twitter @ThomasEmerick

Email: emericktc@gmail.com

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Shawn Siegele and Colm Kelly explore how to increase your chances of fantasy football glory from a late draft slot. They dive into the strategies and mindset needed to overcome the odds and come out on top as they draft from the 1.12 in the FFPC Superflex Best Ball Tournament against the RotoViz Overtime community.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:00 How to have success from late draft slots + FFPC Superflex Best Ball Tournament strategy

13:00 Rounds 2 + 3 of the draft

19:00 How to think about Superflex QB Strategy + Ladd McConkey

29:00 Trevor Lawrence

33:00 How to plan ahead in drafts

43:00 Tyler Warren

47:00 Outro

Subscribe to the RotoViz YouTube Channel here!

RotoViz Radio Executive Producer Colm Kelly (@OvertimeIreland)

RotoViz co-owner Shawn Siegele (@FF_Contrarian)

BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ and get on your way to being your best self.

Underdog Fantasy – Get a 100% deposit match on your first deposit up to $100 when you sign up at Underdogfantasy.com using this link or the promo code ROTOVIZ.

Listeners of RotoViz Radio can save 10% on a one-year RotoViz subscription by visiting RotoViz.com/podcast or by using the promotional code "rvradio2054" at the time of purchase.

RotoViz Radio provides the power for RotoViz Overtime.

Email: RotoVizRadio@gmail.com

@RotoVizOvertime on Twitter