Week 6 Review

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Tuesday, 22 September 2020 12:33

Published: Tuesday, 22 September 2020 12:33

Written by Patrick McGovern

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Well ladies and gentlemen, Week 6 is in the books. There are now only 4 teams who remain undefeated. Conversely there are also now 4 teams that have yet to win a game. I’ll let the experts over at Power Rankings get into the details about all that because I know some streaks ended because of crossover games but that’s still not many. In one month’s time we will be praying to the football gods to give us the strength we need to reign victorious in the semis and finals. How quickly the time has gone.

While we all shape up for the big dance, glimpses of greatness can be observed on any field, in any division. Take for instance Nick Angelo of Tater Tots. Drunk Meg and Boyfriend Dave get most of the press with the Tots but Nick was the shining star against Lenny’s Ladies and PC Plumbing. He’s quick, has hops and hands. Neither team had an answer for him on defense. Granted, PC Plumbing didn’t seem to have an answer at all. Every time I looked they had a new QB and in their second game of the day they played with 3 females. But I digress. The point is Nick was phenomenal. I’m not sure how this guy hasn’t been talked about before but he should be. Not to be overshadowed, Caitlin from TT was also silently showing her stuff all day. Every target was a catch and most were contested. Way to go Caitlin!

Over in D2, Peachy Platoon may be without Dean but they still have plenty of stars making plays. Now you may be expecting me to call out Leseaon or Josh and they had their moments in the win against Hofbrauhaus Buffalo but Moriah Williamson made touchdown catches in traffic look easy. Also props to their new QB Sam for trusting his females to make the difficult catches.

Speaking of HB, what’s up with Topper? He pulls himself for Jeff May to throw for HB. I saw this and thought, oh that’s nice of Topper to let Jeff play a game now that he’s back in town and reffing all day for us. But then he pulls himself again for TOX and has Non-award winning Tommy Hughes? Was there an injury I didn’t hear about? Did he get drunk early?  I was going to wait for later to call this out but this was a much better segue.

Back to the highlights though, Dave Baker had 2 picks for Lenny’s Ladies that I saw. Unfortunately the Ladies couldn’t capitalize and fell to the TT 20-9. Baker was reading the QB like a book though. Granted it was his first of 3 games for the day. I didn’t see any shining moments of greatness in his Tight Ends or Sticky game later and wonder if it could be attributed to fatigue? It’s possible but is it likely for this father of 8?

Not a team that gets much press but Pteratacos is comfortably sitting in the middle spot of D5 this session. Joe and Mark Buscaglia have rebuilt this team and their patience has been rewarded. In Saturday’s game I saw Ryan get up to make a pick on Intentional Pounding’s new QB. Scott Keller Sr was in attendance so I’m not sure who the new guy throwing was but I also saw SKS make a touchdown catch and point upward in recognition of his late father. Beautiful moment.

Buffalo Solar Solutions now stands on top of the D4 division after their win against the Angels. They proved this was not their first rodeo and did what others are, for some reason, scared to do. Continuously throw it up to the tall guy. I don’t mean to take anything away from Andy or said tall guy (I apologize for not catching your name but there was a lot going on at 1:00). Andy has always been a top tier QB and gets the ball where it needs to be. This is a division that could go in so many directions and I can’t wait to see how playoffs shape up.

Eyes Downtown was without QB Bobby in their morning game against Jabronies. Bobby apparently thought the cross over game would be a walk in the park and his attendance was not required. Mike Radon stepped in and everyone who knows Radon knows that ball is going over them mountains on the first play. Sure enough, it did. Adam made an appearance for ED and caught Radon’s deep bomb before Jabronies knew what hit ‘em. Not a great start but the Jabronies battled and what Bobby (and probably some others) thought would be an easy win, ended up being a close contest won by 1 point.  Now it may be a different outcome with Bobby there, but the Jabronies proved to everyone they are strong contenders for any competition.

In another crossover game between Slytherin That End Zone and Public Enemy, Gary Schmelzer had a nice pick against Cole that he almost ran back.  Greg Oiska however, had 2 picks against Newman and, as predicted, STEZ just couldn’t match up. For the spectators though, it was an exciting game to watch.

Not so much a highlight as an observation but it appears Kyle Conniff is still among us. He made his return to the fields this week in Tight End’s crossover game against Bullet Club. From what I saw, both teams struggled on defense though and there were few noteworthy plays meriting recognition.

Family Feud and Some Dudes suffered a loss to Uncle Ricos Time Travelers. I’m going to take this as an opportunity to drop some knowledge on FFASD. When you have a female as good as Riley, use her. Boom. You’re welcome. Seriously, she was wide open on the sideline almost every play and not even a glance in her direction. Just look at how UR uses Jackee. When you have game changing females, let them change the game!

Lastly I saw a portion of the Freeballers/ Scared Hitless game until it was too much to watch anymore. The final score was 52-0, ay dios mio! It was pick city for SH and FB could not even get a semblance of offense or defense. Now in QB George’s defense, I did hear him say that most of his team was drunk. Understandable as my minions have informed me it was 40 year plan guy’s birthday. Never a good combination but doesn’t take away from the fact that FB is one of the 4 winless teams in the league.

That’s all for today. I hope everyone enjoyed their day and the nice weather we have been having thus far this season. I must say everyone’s been doing a great job filling up those 9am slots for make ups. I commend all your determination to play and it gives me more to watch so great work. We are into the tail end of the season and things are heating up quickly. I can’t wait to see how things play out. Remember to stretch and warm up before your games. We don’t need a weekend like the NFL had on Sunday. If you’re going to do something amazing, make sure your body is ready for it and remember, I’ll be watching…

Week 4 Review

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Tuesday, 08 September 2020 11:39

Published: Tuesday, 08 September 2020 11:39

Written by Patrick McGovern

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Welcome back! As we all know, these past couple weeks have been a huge headache for everyone involved in the TSL. I want to start with a huge thank you to all those who have volunteered to help out with getting us back on the fields. So many people stepped up to help us get in touch with government officials leading to our confirmation that we are good to play. A special thank you goes out to Topper who worked tirelessly; losing sleep and hair…ok maybe just sleep, in the process of getting us back on the fields. All of your efforts are greatly appreciated as it was an awesome day for football.

In watching some of this week’s games from the social distant viewing area, I had a thought (well I had many thoughts but this one is relevant now). When I first began this article, the Topper Sports Official Podcast was on hiatus. I saw an area of need in reviewing the previous week’s games so I took it upon myself to fill that need. Well now, Joe K, Emily and Co have returned and I do not kid myself in believing I can match the wit and insight those fine individuals provide. That said, the Sentinel will look a little different moving forward. Henceforth, I will be providing all you fine folks with a Roll the Highlight Reel type segment. That’s right. Starting this week I will discuss all the big plays I saw you uber-athletes make. Offense, defense, maybe even at the bar later, anything is open for spotlighting. I might even throw in some low lights, just for the fun of it. If I do see some newsworthy performances from a team or individual in general, I will continue to spot those games. So consider this your invitation to shine. You want recognition and co-ed touch football immortality? Time to do something amazing.

This week was basically like a second week 1. Everyone got the rust out opening day but it may have started to settle back for some people during the 2 week pause. There were also some for whom it was opening day if they had a bye Week 1. Take for instance, Tight Ends in Motion. They did not play Week 1 so they were among the teams with an extended off season. But Derek Bongiovanni did not look like he missed a beat. I will say TEIM’s game against Eyes Downtown had its fair share of highlight-worthy plays. Mike Radon appears to have come out of retirement for Bobby McConnell’s revamped ED team. Jeremy Burr also joined his ranks and had some nice defensive stops. The catch of the game goes to Derek though for a deep touchdown late in the second half. He used all 6 foot whatever he is to make a back of the end zone catch thrown outside and get his feet in. TEIM could not pull off the win but they have the skill at receiver to make a statement in the coming weeks.

I will admit I did see a good amount of the Public Enemy/Gryffindor game. Gryffindor looks a little different this season. I saw some new, youthful faces that added much needed speed to their ranks. Unfortunately for these rookies, the offensive prowess of Chris Cole, Mike Boccio and Greg Osika is a tough act to open up with and Cole took advantage of their inexperience.  The game did remain close with Gryffindor needing a TD to tie it up but Joey Batts took a sack to end it, 27-21.

Pete N from Why So Serious tried his hand at QB to begin the game against Marketing Mayors but that’s not where he gets his mention here. Eventually, he handed the reins off to a teammate and assumed the WR1 position. This is where he merited mention. Pete was a force to be reckoned with. He always had my respect for not shying away from putting his team right to D1. His performance kept this game close. While the final score may not reflect how close of a game was, Why So Serious has proven they can hang in D1 in their opening 2 games this season.

Let’s jump over to D5 where Mountain Dew Me took on the Interdimensional Lightning Falcons. Now unfortunately I don’t know which McGregor is which but the one wearing the blue bandana was making some big plays. They certainly seem to have found their home in D5 and should definitely be on their opponent’s radar. These guys are quick with solid hands. Holding opponents to 12 points in 2 games is no small defensive feat either. I would love to highlight players more specifically so if you guys want to send a description of who’s who, we can make that happen.

Dave Eickhoff and Grey Hair Don’t Care had an impressive game against the Untouchaballs. He was slinging downfield and his receivers came up big. This game got heated at times but GHDC ultimately came up with the win thanks to Dave’s solid play calling and spot on passing.

I’m going to go ahead and call it a highlight, though some may disagree, but I witnessed the most hilarious play of the day over on Field 4 when Scott Keller Jr “flashed” Topper just as he went to throw then proceeded to pick off the pass. It was magical. Was it a game changing play? Maybe, maybe not, but Intentional Pounding came away with a 39-35 win over TOX so you can make of that what you will.

Speaking of Kellers, Katie Keller was over on field 1 with the Dilfs later in day and graced us all with another highlight worthy catch. I’m not sure who was throwing for the Dilfs but he slightly overthrew her in the end zone. Katie got one hand on it and managed to knock it down to herself and secure it for the TD. The Dilfs went on to defeat Morning Wood 28-15. While I’m on this game though I do need to spot light the QB for Morning Wood; I believe I heard someone say his name is Ertel. I was impressed by his scrambling and deep yard confidence. He was able to buy his team a ton of time by running around the backfield for easily 10-15 seconds. His passing was also pretty outstanding. I did not see him throw to his females at all while I was watching so if I could be so bold as to give my humble opinion here I would say if he starts getting them involved, MW could be a contender in D2.

The Bambs had a couple big plays against Lenny’s Ladies. Most notable was the guy with poofy blonde hair. He was not shy going deep and their QB was not afraid to send him. LL had trouble finding an answer to this play on defense and the Bambs embraced the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” They came away with the win 44-28.

That’s all for this week. It was so great being out there playing again with all you fine people. I didn’t say it before but I want to thank all of you for following the covid protocols so well both at the fields and at the bar. Please remember to wear a mask in the playing area when you are not playing and use the designated entrance and exit accordingly. Everyone did an amazing job this week so this is just a friendly reminder.

Feel free to let me know what you think about the new format by emailing the league website (I don’t have a fancy personal email). We writers do what we do for you guys so if you liked today’s article, if you liked the old way, or if would rather me just stop talking all together, let your voice be heard. Until next week, I’ll be watching…

Week 5 Wrap Up

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Wednesday, 16 September 2020 11:25

Published: Wednesday, 16 September 2020 11:25

Written by Patrick McGovern

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To be perfectly honest, I don’t even know what week it is. I was going to say “Welcome to Week 3” but in actuality it’s Week 5. But whatever, the point is, despite an extended off season I saw some top notch performances out on the fields this past week. All those practices and pick-up games I kept hearing about have really paid off. Some of you look to be well into mid-season form and I commend your dedication. What really stood out to me this week were the baller plays from our female teammates. Sure you guys had your moments too but it seemed like everywhere I looked one of the ladies was making a huge catch down field or a big defensive stop. Color me impressed.

First of all, it should come as no surprise to you that one of the females making plays offense and defensively was Taylor Pagano. I don’t know for sure how many TDs she had for SITE but it was numerous. And I’m not talking they got down to the 2 yard line and flipped it to her. If any teams in D2  don’t know by now, Taylor is a huge deep threat and is always good from some highlight-reel plays. Now add to that a huge pick for the Angels in their game later on and you can definitely say this girl had herself a day.  

Another female making noise was Robin Makula for Lenny’s Ladies. She put the defense on her back with 3 picks, the last of which got her team the ball with enough time for the game-winning drive. Not only did she get the Ladies the much needed turnover, she also ran it back to the 5 yard, making Jeff Easton’s job that much easier.

Also during the Lenny’s Ladies game, I saw Marla Calabro make an amazing catch in which she leapt through the air over a defender then reaching behind her pulled in the rock for a touchdown. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make your QB look good.

Don’t worry guys, I didn’t forget about you completely. I need to give a shout out to the QB of Graves Bros in their game against BiPolar Express. He finally took the advice of me, the Godfather, the Rant and anyone else who ever played a gender team for multiple seasons and utilized his female players. I even heard some disgruntled male receivers calling for the ball in the huddle (a big no-no in my book, but I digress) but QB put them in his place and came away with the win. BX had some uncharacteristic drops throughout the game and they were missing their fearless leader Gordon. Travis stepped in and in another inspired move, Graves Bros put in Baby Gronk to rush, taking away his scrambling-for-five-minutes advantage.  

Nick Wendt made his debut of the season this past week for Tight Ends in Motion and didn’t seem as if he missed a beat. I witnessed him high point a ball in the end zone during a tight match up against Public Enemy. Anyone who has played PE knows their defense is nothing to shake a stick at and Nick straight up levitated to get that ball.

Unfortunately for Nick and TEIM they did not string together enough big plays to come away with the win. Mike Boccio had himself a game in both this game and their earlier match up against Marketing Mayors. PE was missing about half their roster for their later game against TE but Boccio answered the call, catching the game tying TD with no time on the clock. Now step in Joe Z, retired/free agent (I’m not sure which) came off the sub list straight up to D1 and brought in the game winning conversion to send TE home with a heartbreaking loss. You both love and hate to see it.

GRYFFINDOR WINS, GRYFFINDOR WINS!!! (All you Harry Potter fans out there for sure just said that with a British accent). This game wasn’t exactly riddled with big plays but the fact that Joey Batts and co finally popped their D1 win cherry was worth noting. And don’t get me wrong, there were absolutely some highlights. The two new young guns the Gryffs brought on really stood out in this game against (Pete-less) Why So Serious?. They showcased some impressive speed and solid hands. Is this the hurdle the team needed to get over to really hit their stride? Their game next week against D2 Sticky Bandits will be a nice test.

Another team with a notable mention is Family Feud and Some Dudes. A new team to the league, these guys had a double header against both D4 gender teams, nightmare fuel for anyone who has had to play against either of these female juggernauts. Added to that was their earlier game against Uncle Rico’s. To those familiar with the division, that just plain sucks. But FF managed to come away 1-2 on the day, pulling out a 53-44 win against the Cunning Stunts. Additionally, they were able to put up more points than any other opponent so far this season against UR. Maybe not this season, but I will have eyes on these guys with a couple years’ experience.

To wrap up this week’s highlights, I bring you Nick Buczek. If you ever want to see some top notch game play on both sides of the ball, look no further than Nick. If you can’t find him, just listen (I jest, but seriously, he is yelling pretty often). He can; however, back it up. Nick uses every inch of his 6’4 plus arm span range to Moss defenders and receivers alike. Sure, Garret Beesing gets most of the press but Nick has always been the unsung hero of any team he’s been on. I did see one rare dropped pick but we will pretend that didn’t happen…Between Nick and Scotty Drosendahl, Frodo Swaggins has proven you’re going to need to score at least 40 points to beat them.

That’s all for this week. I’m really looking for new teams and new faces to watch and make plays. Sure big plays happen in D1 almost at least once a drive, that’s why their QBs get ranked the highest. But I know every division has superstars and I can’t wait to see them do something amazing. Until next time, I’ll be watching…

Week 1 Review

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Category: The Sentinel

Created: Monday, 17 August 2020 16:26

Published: Monday, 17 August 2020 16:26

Written by Patrick McGovern

Hits: 2829

It’s finally here! WNY’s best co-ed football league is back in action and I know we all could not be more excited. Sure some things look a little different and there are new rules and regulations to follow but personally, as long as we are out on the fields enjoying some friendly competition, all is good. By this point you all know the new regulations so I won’t rehash them again here, just make sure you are following them so we can continue to play! That said, due to the viewing area restrictions preventing me from closely watching all your fine games, I will mainly try to focus on the big plays. SO, if you want to be mentioned, now is the time to make those highlight reel catches, 45 yard passes, and ankle-breaking double moves.

It was a beautiful (if not swelteringly hot) opening day for the TSL. We saw some new faces and teams; I’m looking forward to watching to see how they fit in with the league. We also saw who spent quarantine watching Tiger King and baking bread versus those who have a home gym and will power. That said, let’s see what went down week 1.

Peachy Platoon took on Bullet Club in a down to the wire match up. BC played 2 alternating QB’s with the return of Jeff Easton. We saw some new additions with Glenn and Chelsie Bird, which helped spruce up their team defense. PP seemed to have a familiar cast of characters. They were given a lot of props by the Godfather, making them the favorite for the D2 title. In my personal opinion I wouldn’t put too much stock on this games outcome. PP was undoubtedly the most “in shape” D2 team prior to Covid and based on their athletic prowess and youth I’m guessing they still are. I did mention earlier that highlight reel catches are going to get you noticed though and with that said I need to point out Todd Halas from BC. Probably one of the most underrated players in the league, he made his presence known when he made a 1 handed touchdown catch with 10 seconds left to put BC ahead and take the win.

The Jabronies/Slytherin that Endzone game was pick central. SITE added some new talent which seemed to help them pull out the victory. Both of these QBs are going to need to reevaluate their game plan though if they want to compete in D2 and more importantly, secure their tops on the Power Rankings.

I can’t see all the highlights but I heard from multiple sources that Number 0 on Buffalo Solar Solutions had a beast of a game. He pretty much carried his team in the first cross over game of the season against D3 All We Do is Quinn.  I don’t know his name but you can bet I will make it a point to look for him in the coming weeks.

Hobstrauhaus Buffalo suffered a bitter defeat to a newly revamped Morning Wood. Mo Saleh was on cloud 9 beating Topper after a very long off season of trash talking. MW’s newest receiver Matt O added some much needed speed which their new QB Wade took full advantage of. Always a solid team who were just missing a couple pieces may have finally found them and could give D2 more than the Godfather is predicting for them.

The Angels feat. Bobby McConnell squeaked by the Freeballers. For those who don’t know, FB is 40 year plan guys new team so they have some remnants from the late 3^rd and Schlong. The Angels allowed FB the use of Cat Peters as they claimed no one from the Universal Sub List was available. Unfortunately for the FBs, they seem like yet another team that doesn’t utilize the females enough. Still, they were able to hang with the Angels right up until the end of the game when they took a safety and the L. Budda and Taylor Pagano each had their fair share of highlight reel catches to keep the Angels in the game. QB George was caught unawares by what it’s like to be rushed by Maggie.

The last game of the day was D4 Champs Sticky Bandits versus D2 Champs the Dilfs. SB moved up, Dilfs did not so make of that what you will. The Dilfs had a rough start to the game. They were missing Travis and Dubey so had to call in Topper for an emergency sub. This was Topper’s 3^rd game of the day but he trucked through it. Brian Stevens went Beast Mode, scoring pretty much all of SBs TDs. Alex Buchlis showed off some of his athleticism by making a TD catch and toe tapping the line. The SB proved they belong in D2 early and I’m excited to see how they progress throughout the season.

Notable Performance of Week 1:

1.      Mountain Dew Me found their place in D5 where they won their opening day game 53-0 against Intentional Pounding

2.      Steph Czaja played pretty much every hour (at least that what it looked like to me)

3.      Everyone (mostly) following the new rules and regulations without causing Topper to go home and chug a bottle of wine (which he might have done anyway but not because he had to)

4.      Why So Serious had a tough game but had the balls to play in D1 so props to them

That’s all for this week. I am still just beyond excited that football is here and I was able to see all your beautiful faces this past weekend. I am looking forward to a long season and hoping to see new heroes arise, new names to be recognized and who knows what else may happen? Until then, I’ll be watching…