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Ladies and Gentlemen of the TSL Universe, on Saturday, June 18th in the Year of Our Lord 2022, at 9:00am Eastern Standard Time, at The Rose Garden, with the temperature projected to be at 66 degrees while it’s partly cloudy and the wind will be coming from the Northwest at about 16 miles per hour, The Race For Social Co-Ed Football Immortality will officially begin.

 

On this day, 45 of the TSL’s 52 teams will be taking the field with the same goal in mind: To be one of the TSL’s 7 champions left standing on Championship Saturday. But to even be able to have that opportunity next weekend, you have to win the biggest game of your season this weekend. This is it. This is the time to put up or shut up. Some teams (The Untouchaballs, Scared Hitless, Practice Squad, Travis Henry’s Kids) spent the entire season dominating the regular season (Those teams were a combined 31-5) but none of it will matter if they blow their first game and end up titleless. Some teams (Tight Ends In Motion, Bullet Club, Sleezin Szn) spent the last 9 weeks tripping over their own excuses (they combined for an “NFC East” like combined record of 4-22-1) and trying to get themselves to buy in that “its okay because everyone makes the playoffs so we’ll shock the world then!”. And if they pull off the upset this weekend? The demons of the last 9 weeks are immediately exorcized, and nothing else matters.

 

For those of you that are newer to the TSL, allow me to be the one that informs you that the first weekend of the playoffs routinely has upsets and buzzer beaters. The only thing in sports that compares to the excitement of Playoff Saturday in the TSL are the first two days of the March Madness NCAA tournament. There will be upsets (We’ve had seeds 5-8 move on to Championship Saturday in the same division before), there will be heavy championship favorites going home early. There will be Cinderella 6 seeds in the championship games. It’s incredibly bananas. It’s worth showing up to the fields early to watch the games all day. Also, it’s smart of you to brush up on the Overtime rules, just in case.

 

But before we dive into the playoff matchups, let’s take a second to remember those teams that are no longer with us, as bad luck, poor play, and various other factors caused them not to qualify for the Race for Social Co-Ed Football Immortality.

 

IN MEMORIAM:

 

XMD (3-6, 9th in D4) - PF: 35 (3rd), PA: 36 (11th), Topper Ranking: 38th, D4 SOS: 8th Future Projection: D4

XMD made their return to TSL after a few seasons off with mixed results. The scoring was on point, as they ended up 3rd in their division, but a very leaky defense led to their demise. They boasted the 8th toughest schedule in D4 this season, and they were very good against the teams below them in the standings, competed with those just above them, and things didn’t go too well with the better teams. A solid season, but I’d bet its a bit unsatisfying for them as well.

 

 

Today’s Feast (2-7, 10th in D4) - PF: 23.56 (9th), PA: 37.56 (12th), Topper Ranking: 43rd, D4 SOS: 10th, Future Projection: D5

Today’s Feast started off slow, got everyone to start watching them with a couple of midseason wins, and then fell off the Earth yet again. Even with 10th “hardest” schedule, they became the gold standard for “this team looks like they should really be pretty good but they always fall short” in D4 this season, Today’s Feast should strongly consider a drop back to D5 next season, just to figure out how defense works a bit better and get their confidence up.

 

Varsity Has Beens (2-7, 11th in D4) - PF: 24.89 (8th), PA: 34.67 (10th), Topper Ranking: 44th, D4 SOS: 7th, Future Projection: D4

VHB’s first season in the TSL had them in the playoff race right into Week 9, they fell short obviously, but I hope this doesn’t deter them from sticking around. There were some growing pains this year, but they got better each week, and just a little improvement on both sides of the ball will have this team in the playoffs next season. Having a star female in Maddie Norton goes a long way in the lower divisions, so they have the firepower to make some moves in the Fall.

 

 

TOX (2-7, 12th in D4) - PF: 17.33 (12th), PA: 34.56 (9th), Topper Ranking: 45th, D4 SOS: 5th, Future Projection: D5

TOX’s move to D4 proved to be a little premature, but they showed flashes of life at the end of the season. The future “Best at The Bar” finalists (I heard multiple reports of funnels with locals, for instance) struggled on both sides of the ball, but mostly on offense. Of course, the scheduling gods did them no favors by giving them the 5th toughest schedule in the division (the others that missed the playoffs in D4 were no higher than 7th), but a drop back to D5 to work on a few things while competing for a title there seems like the smart move.

 

 

Two Tuddies (0-9-1, 9th in D5) - PF: 12.70 (9th), PA: 39.50 (9th), Topper Ranking: 51st, Future Projection: D6

The Tuddies, according to multiple sources, just “get it” with the TSL. They show up, have fun, and from what I hear they want to be involved in the shenanigans. In fact the only thing they don’t really get is how to play football just yet. I’ve been informed they’re already back for the Fall and planning to “figure it out” a lot better in D6, which makes a lot of sense. There’s no shame in the “drop down”, and this team can only go up from here.

 

 

 

And that’s it for the teams that are no longer with us this season. They brought us fun, they brought us suspense, and hopefully they’ll be sticking around to prove to everyone (and themselves) that this was just a hiccup on their individual paths to stardom.

 

One quick note before we dive into the games: When I post the numbers for PF and PA for teams, that number in the parenthesis means its their overall DIVISION ranking, and not for all of the TSL. And as a special “D4” only thing, I’m giving their strength of schedule from this season because when you have 12 teams and only 9 games, not everyone plays everyone so it’s a fun indicator when picking those games.

 

And now it’s time to handicap the Race for Social Co-Ed Immortality! I know you’ve all been waiting for it, and it’s my favorite article to write each season. Let’s get to it. . .

 

 

D1:

 

Byes:  EVERYONE.

The bonus to playing in D1 with only 4 teams is that you get a guaranteed ticket to Championship Saturday, and an extra week to rest any aching joints. We’ll get into it a bit deeper next week with these ones.

 

D2:

Odds To Win The Championship:

Scared Hitless (3-1)

DILFs (4-1)

Grey Hair Don’t Care (6-1)

Passed Our Prime (10-1)

The Notorious BNB (12-1)

When Dove Cries (40-1)

Bullet Club (100-1)

 

 

Teams On Bye:  #1 Scared Hitless (8-2)

The Story: Scared Hitless looked dominant this season, even winning a D1/D2 crossover game. The rest of the division beat up on itself, with When Dove Cries and Bullet Club looking out of place all season.

 

#2 Grey Hair Don’t Care (5-4) vs #7 Bullet Club (0-9)

Points For: GHDC 31.11 (2nd), BC 20.44 (7th)

Points Against: GHDC 29.44 (3rd), BC 41.00 (7th)

TSL Rank: GHDC 17th, BC 52nd

Past Games: GHDC 55 - BC 24

Line: Grey Hair Don’t Care (-20)

 

Grey Hair Don’t Care started off the season a bit slowly, but constantly got better each week as Dave Eickoff and company produced some excellent late season games. His chemistry with Nick Voss and George Lombardo are off the charts, and having Mike Rawdog on the team doesn’t even hurt them as much as you’d think it would. Add in a star female in Amber Hay to a core of above average females and you have a D2 title contender. Bullet Club had a bit of a roster shakeup in order to fix the issues of seasons past. Despite adding Public Enemy players in Paul Johnson and Tommy Hughes along with getting Dylan Jaloza to bring stability to the QB position, just about nothing has clicked for Joe K’s crew. Perhaps Father Time has caught up to most of the players on this team. Unless they pull out some old playoff magic they have lying around, this might be the least fun game of the day. GREY HAIR DON’T CARE BY 17

 

#3 Passed Our Prime (5-4) vs #6 When Dove Cries (2-6)

Points For: POP 30.33 (4th), WDC 23.44 (6th)

Points Against: POP 30.89 (4th), WDC 31.11 (5th)

TSL Rank: POP 19th, WDC 48th

Past Games: POP 32 - WDC 25

Line: Passed Our Prime (-6)

 

Passed Our Prime had a pretty disappointing season when you consider the roster touts Sean Weisensal and Kyle Conniff. Hogan’s team is known more for their scoring but the offense has been down this time around while the defense is relatively average. Still, they ended up as the 3 seed in a very close division. When Dove Cries has had an up and down season due to Topper needing to take off the first half of the season, and added in getting a brand new female core on top of it. WDC got a big boost from the D2 emergence of Talia Calabro, and when Topper is on the same page as Drew and Aaron, they can put up some points. WDC can pull the upset if they capitalize on the guaranteed Hogan INT they’ll get. And if they get a second one? Look out. But you can’t bet on that happening. PASSED OUR PRIME BY 4

 

 

#4 DILFs (5-4) vs #5 The Notorious BNB (4-5)

Points For: Dilfs 32.78 (1st), BNB 29.78 (5th)

Points Against: Dilfs 25.11 (1st), BNB 32.44 (6th)

TSL Rank: Dilfs 22nd, BNB 36

Past Games: Dilfs 41 - BNB 14, Dilfs 45 - BNB 21

Line: DILFS (-9)

 

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. The Dilfs underachieve throughout the season, lose 2-3 more games than they probably should’ve, and end up in the 4v5 game before making the championship game. D2’s #1 ranked offense and defense (with apologies to Scared Hitless, who had to not only play a 10th game, but it was a D1 crossover game to boot) ended up as the 4 seed this season. They end up playing a Notorious BNB team that they’ve already played twice this season, and they blew them out both times. The Dilfs are primed to make a run at another title, even with Travis Cleavenger-Bernal injured in the final week of the season (and he’s going to probably play when he maybe shouldn’t). BNB hasn’t had the season they write movies about, and attendance has been part of the issue. Of course, it’s hard to blame your QB when he’s missing games because he had a child. You can’t count them out of any game because of the talented players on the roster, but this matchup is the worst case scenario for them. DILFS BY 13

 

 

D3:

Odds To Win The Championship:

The Untouchaballs (2-1)

Freeballers (4-1)

Frodo Swaggins (4-1)

Itches and Ohs (8-1)

4th & Something (10-1)

Buffalo Vice (15-1)

Sleezin Szn (25-1)

Show Me Dem TDs (40-1)

 

 

The Story: The Untouchaballs are the TSL’s #1 ranked team and for good reason. Jeremy Burr has been fantastic throwing to Mel Linsmair and Matt Helm, and they’ve been a machine since Week 1, despite a hiccup along the way. Frodo, Freeballers, 4th & Something, Itches and Ohs, and Buffalo Vice all are capable contenders in any other season, but each team has a weakness that more than likely will show up at some point in the playoffs. SMDTDs and Sleezin just could never get going this year, and look to right the ship in the playoffs. And in a weird quirk, every first round matchup in D3 features teams that already played each other twice in the regular season, giving a unique familiarity in every game.

 

 

#1 The Untouchaballs (8-1) vs #8 (Sleezin Szn 2-6-1)

Points For: UT 39.22 (1st), SS 30.00 (6th)

Points Against: UT 24.22 (2nd), SS 33.22 (5th)

TSL Rank: UT 1st, SS 41st

Past Games: UT 38 - SS 25, UT 42 - SS 25

Line: The Untouchaballs (-15)

 

There’s not much else to say about The Untouchaballs that hasn’t already been said. They’re primed to go to D2 regardless on if they blow it this season or not, and they’re just simply the best team in the D3 playoffs. Sleezin has the talent to win football games, they’re just not for some reason. Newman is a more than capable QB, and they have fantastic females running all over the place for them. Their problem just seems to be not having a standout male on the roster, just a handful of “very good” players. They’re a better team than the record shows, but I don’t think they’re “Pull the upset” better. THE UNTOUCHABALLS BY 15

 

#2 Frodo Swaggins (5-4) vs #7 Show Me Dem TDs (2-6-1)

Points For: Frodo 34.56 (2nd), SMDTDs 22.11 (8th)

Points Against: Frodo 33.56 (6th), SMDTDs 31.78 (3rd)

TSL Rank: Frodo 18th, SMDTDs 40th

Past Games: Frodo 31 - SMDTDs 27, Frodo 37 - SMDTDs 15

Line: Frodo Swaggins (-8)

Frodo Swaggins has done this season what they always do. Score some points, blow some games they probably shouldn’t, and look like a D3 title contender. Their offense is saving a defense that hasn’t been great all year, and if Garrett has a bad game in these playoffs, I don’t know if the defense can bail him out. SMDTDs has had a very good defense this season, but they’re still working out the many, many kinks on the offensive side of the ball. Even with a suspect defense to play against this week, I’m not sure they’ll be able to keep up. FRODO SWAGGINS BY 10

 

 

#3 Freeballers (5-4) vs #6 Buffalo Vice (4-5)

Points For: FB 30.78 (3rd), BV 28.44 (7th)

Points Against: FB 22.22 (1st), BV 32.33 (4th)

TSL Rank: FB 21st, BV 33rd

Past Games: FB 36 - BV 12, FB 34 - BV 21

Line: Freeballers (-10)

 

 

The Freeballers had a huge week in the middle of the season where I had to apologize to them, and they’ve responded by being terrible since. Just when it looks like this team is going to take off, they stay average. That’s not always a bad thing. They have good players on the team, and the team cares about each other, as I’ve stated before. There isn’t a “weakness” on the team, they just don’t have a super standout player on offense, and they’re fantastic on defense. They play their best with a chip on their shoulder, for sure. Buffalo Vice started out unsure if they should even be in D3, and then strung together some nice wins to prove they belong. The Seth-Caitlyn-Dan-Frank combo continues to be very good, but the problem for them tends to be getting everyone to show up. This game will come down to if Vice can figure out how to solve that FB defense, and in two games this season so far, they really haven’t. FREEBALLERS BY 6

 

#4 4th & Something (5-4) vs #5 Itches and Ohs (4-5)

Points For: 4&S 30.11 (5th), Ohs 30.33 (4th)

Points Against: 4&S 34.33 (8th), Ohs 33.78 (7th)

TSL Rank: 4&S 26th, Ohs 32nd

Past Games: 4&S 49 - Ohs 32, Ohs 45 - 4&S 41

Line: EVEN

This is going to be the most even game of all time it seems. Both teams have had up and down seasons, as tends to be customary for 4&S. Both teams score 30 points and both teams allow 34 points. This game is going to be a great QB duel between Scotty Dro and Steve Moser. It features top tier females in Katie Keller and Laura Streeter. It has terrible defenses. And that’s going to be the key honestly, which defense makes a play first. I have no idea what it’s going to be and this game feels destined for overtime. ITCHES AND OHS BY 2

 

D4:

Odds To Win The Championship:

Practice Squad (3-1)

Cunning Stunts (4-1)

Zack Attack (8-1)

Spinelli’s Plumbing (10-1)

Puckett All-Stars (12-1)

Can’t Touch This (14-1)

ILF (15-1)

Vaspian (25-1)

 

 

The Story: It’s anyone’s title in the TSL’s version of the wild, wild west. Practice Squad has been the top team all season, and they’re reminding everyone what they can do when they’re healthy. The Stunts might’ve lost a few more games than we’re used to but they’re still dangerous. Vaspian’s great start to the season fell apart and now I’m being told QB Brian is injured and won’t throw. Huge blow for the playoffs. Zack Attack mightve snuck into the playoffs, but they’re trending upward. Spinelli’s and Cant Touch This have had solid up and down seasons, ILF took advantage of having the easiest schedule in D4 to cover up their blemishes, and Puckett just keeps right on being Puckett.

 

#1 Practice Squad (8-1) vs #8 Spinelli’s Plumbing (4-5)

Points For: PS 32.50 (4th), SP 35.11 (2nd)

Points Against: PS 21.13 (3rd), SP 30.44 (7th)

TSL Rank: PS 2nd, SP 35th

D4 SOS: PS 4th, SP 3rd

Past Games: PS 35 - SP 18

Line: Practice Squad (-8)

 

Practice Squad has been awesome all season. They’re the 2nd ranked TSL team overall, B has been lights out at QB, and the defense has been otherworldly led by Kyle Geertman and Jaime McCabe. It’s amazing what being healthy can do for a team, and they did it all with the 4th hardest D4 schedule, which is even more crazy when you realize they didn’t get to play themselves which would’ve bumped up the difficulty. Spinelli’s started the season off on fire, dropping tons of points just like they have for the last few seasons. Then they started wearing the cursed jerseys, and the wheels really fell off. They should really just wear black again this week to get the mojo right. But, they also were a victim of the division’s 3rd most difficult schedule, which means this game could be a lot closer than you think it will be. Spinelli’s best defense is their offense, and if they’re clicking right out of the gate, an upset could be brewing. SPINELLI’S PLUMBING BY 6 IF THEY WEAR BLACK, PRACTICE SQUAD BY 12 IF SPINELLI’S WEARS THE CURSED JERSEYS.

 

#2 Vaspian (6-3) vs #7 Zack Attack (4-5)

Points For: Vaspian 21.22 (11th), ZA 23.11 (10th)

Points Against: Vaspian 17.78 (1st), ZA 19.89 (2nd)

TSL Rank: Vaspian 9th, ZA 29th

D4 SOS: Vaspian 9th, ZA 1st

Past Games: ZA 18 - Vaspian 12

Line: EVEN

It’s not too often you see a 2 seed be this close to a 7 seed, but this D4 was no ordinary season. Vaspian started hot out of the gate, winning their first 5 games before losing. The team that beat them? Zack Attack. That would start a 3 game losing streak for Kevin Hurley’s boys, that would also see QB Brian get injured. These teams are very similar in that they boast tremendous defenses, but their offenses just couldn’t get it going. Losing your QB isn’t going to help Vaspian. Meanwhile, Zack Attack was “blessed’ by the schedule gods with the hardest D4 schedule, which could very much explain the season they had (Hint: it was subpar by their standards). With ZA peaking (they beat the Stunts last week 27-26), and Vaspian with too many questions, this upset doesn’t even feel like an upset. ZACK ATTACK BY 13

 

#3 Cunning Stunts (6-3) vs #6 Can’t Touch This (5-4)

Points For: Stunts 39.56 (1st), CTT 26.11 (7th)

Points Against: Stunts 28.44 (6th), CTT 25.11 (5th)

TSL Rank: CS 11th, CTT 25th

D4 SOS: CS 2nd, CTT 6th

Past Games: CS 52 - CTT 14

Line: Cunning Stunts (-10)

 

The highest scoring team in D4, the Cunning Stunts, ran roughshod over the league for the most part, which is more impressive when you consider they had the second hardest schedule in D4 this season. Other than a surprising loss to Vaspian, a last second loss to Zack Attack, and a not so good game against Practice Squad, its been par for the course  for the Stunts yet again. Cant Touch This started off pretty awfully, before blaming Topper’s tyrannical scheduling and going on a 5-1 run to end the season. The only loss was a 4 point game against an overrated ILF team, and the wins were against the teams that finished 7th-11th in the standings. Basically, for a first season team, they beat the teams they should’ve beaten, and fell on their face against the cream of the crop. This is their first chance to really prove themselves against a top D4 team since the end of April, but I’m not sure they have the female talent to keep up with the Stunts. CUNNING STUNTS BY 17

 

#4 Interdimensional Lightning Falcons (6-3) vs #5 Puckett All-Stars (5-4)

Points For: ILF 32.00 (6th), PAS 32.22 (5th)

Points Against: ILF 31.22 (8th), PAS 24.67 (4th)

TSL Rank: ILF 14th, PAS 23rd

D4 SOS: ILF 12th, PAS 11th

Past Games: First Meeting

Line: Puckett All-Stars (-6)

 

ILF rode the weakest schedule in D4 to a 6-3 record, so they’re overachieving a bit here. Granted, Puckett only played the 11th hardest schedule (see: 2nd easiest), so they’re not exactly world beaters here themselves. ILF QB Joe Miano is playoff tested, and D4 All Star Brett Fiend is also playing well on defense. Not to mention Andrew Kicak himself might be the most talented player on either team. So there are positives, for sure. But we’ve seen this 400 times before. Puckett plays about .500 football during the season, and then TJ takes them on a ride in the playoffs. While we don’t have a regular season matchup between the two to go with, Puckett has a slightly better offense, and a much better defense, AND played a slightly harder schedule. Add in that PAS playoff magic, and, well, PUCKETT ALL-STARS BY 4

 

D5:

Odds To Win The Championship:

 

 

TMA (3-1)

Red Zone Mafia (5-1)

Cobblestone (6-1)

Tater Tots (10-1)

716 (20-1)

Come From Behind (20-1)

Passing While Intoxicated (25-1)

Not So Sticky (100-1)

 

 

The Story: There’s a pretty clear line between the top of the division, and the lower half. Darryl put together a very good team this season, and as a result Cobblestone finds themselves sitting on top of the standings at 7-2. The issue is that the teams they lost to are the #2 and #4 seed, TMA and Red Zone Mafia. RZM also beat TMA, but an uncharacteristic loss to 716 midway through the season dropped them in the standings. The Tater Tots also find themselves in the mix as well, although they’re a step behind the big contenders. 716 started hot and fizzled a bit, and Come From Behind started cold and have been heating up. PWI had a decent first season in D5, and Not So Sticky, well, they’re in the playoffs.

 

#1 Cobblestone (7-2) vs #8 Not So Sticky (1-7-1)

Points For: Cobblestone 28.33 (5th), NSS 21.22 (7th)

Points Against: Cobblestone 20.78 (3rd), NSS 29.11 (8th)

TSL Rank: Cobblestone 4th, NSS 49th

Past Games: Cobblestone 24, NSS 0

Line: Cobblestone (-13)

 

Darryl Carr QB Superstar got his team on the same page this season, building a talented roster that includes former Peachy Platoon member Leseaon Washington who is definitely too good for D5, and the same goes for Ade Dunn too. But even with that talent around him, they’ve let Darryl down before, as he can do wrong. Not So Sticky has the football minds to win the game, but as usual, they’re more focused on fun than anything. It’ll take quite the game for this one to be an upset. COBBLESTONE BY 17

 

#2 TMA (7-2) vs #7 Passing While Intoxicated (3-6)

Points For: TMA 28.44 (4th), PWI 18.89 (8th)

Points Against: TMA 17.67 (1st), PWI 25.56 (6th)

TSL Rank: TMA 7th, PWI 39th

Past Games: TMA 26 - PWI 21, TMA 26 - PWI 12

Line: TMA (-14)

 

TMA’s long awaited move to D5 has gone about as well as they could’ve expected. They’ve been arguably the best team all season, still hang out at the bar, and once again find themselves playing tremendous defense. Not to mention they’ve done it largely without the former “twin towers” back at safety. QB Ryan has adapted pretty nicely to the jump up in opponent, and the three headed monster of Diana Bernal, Val Testa, and Lauren O’Brien continue to improve on both sides of the ball. PWI’s first foray into the TSL has had its ups and downs. Colorado Mike put together a fun team and I’m excited to see them improve in future season. TMA BY 14

 

#3 Tater Tots (6-3) vs #6 Come From Behind (5-4)

Points For: TT 24.33 (6th), CFB 31.44 (T-1st)

Points Against: TT 18.22 (2nd), CFB 27.78 (7th)

TSL Rank: TT 10th, CFB 28th

Past Games: CFB 21 - TT 8

Line: Tater Tots (-3)

 

 

The Tater Tots had a season chock full of ups and downs, mostly due to losing QB Mark to injury early on. Even for having QB issues, the Tots stayed above water before Dave found Jeff Easton off the waiver wire. The Tots are 3-1 since the Easton signing, including big wins over Red Zone Mafia and 716. The loss? Last week, against Come From Behind. Paul LoVullo has got the offense going well (we’ll ignore that he didn’t play last week) in the second half of the season, and Harlan proved to be spectacular on defense, shutting the Tots down in the red zone. I can’t imagine a repeat of last week’s game, since I’m assuming that the Tots learned from their mistakes, and CFB will be even better on offense. It’ll be higher scoring on both ends for sure. But the result will stay the same. COME FROM BEHIND BY 3

 

 

#4 Red Zone Mafia (6-3) vs #5 716 (5-4)

Points For: RZM 31.44 (T-1st), 716 28.56 (3rd)

Points Against: RZM 21.89 (T-4th), 716 21.89 (T-4th)

TSL Rank: RZM 13th, 716 24th

Past Games: RZM 27 - 716 21, 716 19 - RZM 6

Line: Red Zone Mafia (-3)

 

The Red Zone Mafia proceeded to have quite the good season, beating D5 favorites TMA and Cobblestone along the way. They ended up with the best offense in the Division, which is a testament to the growth of QB Blake Fisher and everyone who’s ever played in the league knows the name Sam Lattuca. 716 has some real talent themselves, as QB Derek Pew continues to improve. Of course, its a lot easier to do that when Nick Voss is on your team. When you add in Jessie Kieta and Meriah Dishaw, they can make any QB look good. 716 is on the way up, but I’m going to lean in the other direction here. RED ZONE MAFIA BY 5

 

D6:

 

Odds To Win The Championship:

Travis Henry’s Kids (3-2)

Southside (5-1)

Blitzkrieg (12-1)

Lettuce Win (15-1)

Woodpeckers (17-1)

Lenny’s Ladies (20-1)

 

Teams on Bye: #1 Travis Henry’s Kids (7-1), #2 Southside (6-3)

 

The Story: Travis Henry’s Kids runs rampant over the division, Southside still looms as a potential championship upset. Everyone else kind of exists. There’s not much of a story here in D6 this time around, a far cry from the days of old.

 

 

#3 Blitzkrieg (4-5) vs #6 Lenny’s Ladies (2-6)

Points For: BK 22.88 (4th), LL 19.43 (6th)

Points Against: BK 28.25 (5th), LL 32.42 (6th)

TSL Rank: BK 31st, LL 46th

Past Games: BK 34 - LL 33, BK 30 - LL 0

Line: Blitzkrieg (-8)

 

Blitzkrieg stumbled into the 3 seed after a down year for them. 4-5 isn’t anything to write home about, but when you’re a division with THK and Southside, 3rd place is a nice consolation prize. They haven’t clicked the way they were hoping. Some of it was injuries, others were about who showed up. They’re missing some pieces of their past, but what they have is still really good. Alex looks more comfortable behind center each week, Light Red Hoodie Guy is still a beast, and more people should really know the name Cassie Schwach. Mackenzie Neary is an emerging star in the league as well. Lenny’s Ladies have been in a lot of games this season, they just couldn’t bring it home. They have an uber talented roster with Caitlyn Mason, Jaimie Warren, Misty Himes, and Katie Swanson (just to name a few). Joe K has improved a bit at QB, but we’ve seen a carousel of QBs for them once again this season. Blitzkreig beat LL twice this season, although one was on the last play of the game, but they more recently blew the Ladies out 30-0. This should be a fun one that’s going to based off which LL’s roster shows up to play. BLITZKRIEG BY 14

 

#4 Woodpeckers (4-5) vs #5 Lettuce Win (3-6)

Points For: WP 21.57 (5th), LW 30.38 (2nd)

Points Against: WP 27.14 (4th), LW 26.50 (2nd)

TSL Rank: WP 34th, LW 37th

Past Games: WP 28 - LW 16, WP 21 - LW 0 (Forfeit)

Line: Woodpeckers (-3)

 

 

Even though the stats say that Lettuce Win is a superior team, they’re very misleading. Lettuce Win bulked up their PF and PA with 3 games against LLs. Either way, Lettuce Win lives and dies by the play of the mountain of a man known as Iceberg. His legend grows while his name nobody knows. The Woodpeckers were stuck with some tough scenarios early on, and they were given two forfeit wins this season, so one has to wonder just how ready they are for the playoffs. I’m sure Joe and Mark have some trick up their sleeves for this one. WOODPECKERS BY 6

 

 

 

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR SATURDAY:

 

1.            What’s happening in Breakfast Club? The playoffs are underway, and Dominatrix, under the play of Topper and Katie Salisbury, got their first win of the season over the EsCourts when it mattered the most. Jennatalia took the win over Trish’s Tiny Disasters to move on as well. That sets up Liddle Deaks vs Dominatrix and Steph Infection vs Jennatalia. With the injuries to Deak and Travis for LDs, while Dominatrix is healthy finally, we’ll see Dominatrix take on Steph Infection next week.

 

2.            Which #1 seeds are most likely to win their championships? In fact, I’ll rank them in terms of most likely to least likely. The Untouchaballs, Travis Henry’s Kids, Scared Hitless, Legends, Practice Squad, Cobblestone.

 

3.            Which is our most likely upset? Upsets are common in the TSL playoffs. Other than Zack Attack over Vaspian (A 7 over a 2 seed), the most likely upset would be Come From Behind over the Tater Tots (a 6 over a 3)

 

4.            Which #1 seed would you bet on losing this week, if you had to? Since 3 of them have byes, that makes things tougher. I can’t imagine The Untouchaballs losing. So that pretty much means we have Practice Squad against Spinelli’s Plumbing, or Cobblestone over Not So Sticky. Both are possible, neither are probable. I’d have to put my money on Spinelli’s in this scenario, regardless of the curse. They can still score in bunches if they get it all together this week.

 

5.            Can you predict a champion from each division that ISN’T a #1 seed? Of course I can. #3 Eyes Downtown, #4 DILFS, #3 Freeballers, #7 Zack Attack, #4 Red Zone Mafia, #2 Southside.

 

TEN FINAL THOUGHTS FOR SATURDAY

 

 

1.            I can’t believe how fast the season flies by. It still feels like we just started. But here we are, about to embark on the Race For Social Co-Ed Immortality.

 

 

2.            The weather in Buffalo is supposed to ideal for football, but a little windy. Naturally this will have an effect on the games. We can’t control the weather people, I’m sorry.

 

 

3.            Rumor has it now that the Rose Garden is building TWO indoor fields instead of the planned one. Winter League at the Rose Garden keeps looking more and more probable.

 

 

4.            Best Games To Watch:

a.            10:00 - 4th & Something vs Itches and Ohs

b.            11:00 - DILFs vs The Notorious BNB

c.            12:00 - ILF vs Puckett All-Stars

d.            1:00 - Tater Tots vs Come From Behind

e.            2:00 - Woodpeckers vs Lettuce Win

 

 

5.            The questions about the wine tournament registration are flooding in. Remember, it's at the Black Willow Winery on August 13th. We have room for 16 teams. It’s going to be a ton of fun.

 

 

6.            I’m still really curious how Travis’ injury is going to affect some championships in the TSL if he can’t play through it. The Legends will be fine without him, but the DILFs could really use him and if he can’t go, its a one and done. And don’t forget that the Liddle Deaks looked like the best team in Breakfast Club before he went down. Having a hurt Travis at QB that can’t scramble isn’t going to help that.

 

 

7.            I’m being told the plan is to make sure the divisions are going to be more even next season. No more 12 team D4s and 4 team D1s. A lot will depend on which teams come back, which teams don’t, and whatever new teams will appear.

 

 

8.            There were rumors that D1 would play their semi-final games this week and just play the final on Championship Saturday. I’m glad Topper still kept it so that any team in any division will have to win two tough games to win a TSL championship. It’s one of the best parts of the league.

 

 

9.            Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Spofity to get all of the news about the league as soon as it happens.

 

 

10.         I keep hearing rumors about a potential TSL Golf Scramble Tournament. Perhaps that will become a reality if there’s enough interest.

 

 

And that’s it for this week. The Race for Social Co-Ed Football Immortality has begun! Stay safe out there, and don’t be a jerk to the refs. Good luck to our participants. Remember, nothing is guaranteed.

 

 

-GF OUT

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