WEEK 8 THOUGHTS, PICKS AND STUFF

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Category: The Godfather's Picks

Created: Friday, 11 October 2024 18:56

Published: Friday, 11 October 2024 18:56

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 42

Ladies and Gentlemen of the TSL Universe, we are currently ONE week away from the start of the Race for Social Co-Ed Immortality, as the TSL Fall 2024 playoffs will commence! While Topper is currently looking for an “Olympics-like” Cauldron for a flame to burn, complete with B’s Brother running the TSL Torch into the fields to light the fire to kick off the games, the rest of the TSL has some unfinished business to take care of. That’s right, there are 26 of the 239 total games on the schedule remaining to determine regular season division winners (who get nothing for the achievement of surviving the last 8 weeks and coming out on top), and most importantly seeding and placement for the greatest Social Co-Ed Football Tournament there is: The TSL Playoffs. 

While next week is Playoff Saturday, we get a taste of the playoff action as the Breakfast Club playoffs start this weekend. The TSL’s 7th division for people who think that they’re morning people when they really aren’t will kick off the first round of action early because when you’re locked into only having 9am games, you can’t really play two games in one day. More on that later though. 

Now, I’m sure you’re asking “Oh wise Godfather, why does seeding for the playoffs even matter? Everyone makes the playoffs, so it’s not like we’ll miss out, and there’s so many upsets every season, it doesn’t REALLY put us at disadvantage, right?” to which I say: You’re right, sort of. Seeding isn’t the MOST important thing, but why on Earth would you make things harder on yourself? If one win this weekend can be the difference between your team playing in a 4v5 game next week over finishing 8th and getting the top seed, wouldn’t you want to win? Luckily, most of the league is filled with hyper competitive people who want to win (you can be both hyper competitive AND fun to play with or against, by the way), so winning will be a priority anyway. 

So what’s left to play for this week? What do we already know for the playoffs? Is anything set in stone? Let’s dive into each division and see where we’re at. 

D1/D2

Last Week’s Games

D1

Eyes Downtown 46, Sticky Bandits 44

Wet Bandits 32, Sticky Bandits 16

Frodo Swaggins 46, Freeballers 21

D1/D2 Crossover Corner

Eyes Downtown 53, Can’t Touch This 45

Wet Bandits 51, Scared Hitless 23

Freeballers 32, Mavericks 23

D1 leads the Crossover Series 16-4-1

D2

Can’t Touch This 42, The Untouchaballs 6

The Malones 47, Mavericks 21

Eyes Downtown go 2-0 on the day with wins over Sticky and CTT. Can’t Touch This moved to 1-1 with a dominating win over the Untouchaballs. Sticky would go on to lose to the Wet Bandits later on, who would then beat Scared Hitless as well. Frodo Swaggins got a nice win over the Freeballers, who would later get a win of their own over the Mavericks. The Mavs have their worst TSL Saturday in a while, going 0-2 on the day as they would later lose to The Malones as well. 

D1

What We Know:  The Wet Bandits clinched the #1 seed and Eyes Downtown are locked in as the #2 seed, so both will have first round byes.  Freeballers are locked in as the #5 seed and will play the #4 seed in the first round of playoffs.

What’s At Stake: Sticky Bandits vs Frodo Swaggins this weekend with the #3 seed (and last playoff bye) on the line!  Winner gets next week off... loser plays Freeballers on October 19th.

D2

What We Know: The Mavericks and Can’t Touch This are locked into the top 2 seeds, clinching the first round bye weeks. 

What’s At Stake: Positioning galore. Either the Mavs or CTT can finish 1st overall, and the 3v6 and 4v5 games aren’t decided at all. We can still get just about any combination of games between the other 4 teams, so we’ll have no idea who plays who until the dust settles this week. 

This Week’s Games

D1

Sticky Bandits vs Frodo Swaggins (+7) - Winner gets a week to rest, loser gets a date with Freeballers next week.  Is it worth using all your tricks to try to get a first round bye? Or do you keep things pretty vanilla and just assume Freeballers won't give you that much of a headache? It’ll be interesting to see how they play this. STICKY BANDITS BY 8

D1/D2 Crossover Corner

Sticky Bandits vs Grey Hair Don’t Care (+14) - I’m sure Sticky will want to go into the playoffs with a solid win, and they’ve got the right opponent to do it. Grey Hair can be surprising at times, and they’re just simply not as bad as you’d think from the results this season, but I can’t imagine an upset. STICKY BANDITS BY 10

Can’t Touch This vs Freeballers (+7) - Just a casual reminder that D1 and D2 have played the same schedule, so technically if you combined divisions, CTT would be tied for 3rd in “D1” going into this week. Freeballers would be sitting in 9th of the 11 teams. Yikes. CAN’T TOUCH THIS BY 7

Eyes Downtown vs Mavericks (+8) - The Mavericks had themselves an off week, and instead of getting a “get right” game before the playoffs, they get one of the hottest teams in the TSL in Eyes Downtown. While I believe that the Mavs just had a bad day a week ago and it isn’t “the norm”, it’ll be hard to tell that after this week. EYES DOWNTOWN BY 10

D2

The Malones vs The Untouchaballs (+10) - Neither team has been having the season they had hoped for, but it is what it is. The playoffs are what matters. Either way though, the UTs seem just, dead in the water. Meanwhile The Malones keep showing signs of life, and you can’t really kill them anyway. THE MALONES BY 18

Scared Hitless vs Grey Hair Don’t Care (+10) - While Grey Hair is sometimes surprisingly good, Scared Hitless has had a good season that has just seen them fall short SO MANY TIMES. They won’t fall short this time. SCARED HITLESS BY 13

D3

Last Week’s Games

Mix’n It Up 38, Jabronies 25

Passing While Intoxicated 24, Buffalo Vice 19

Mix’n It Up 23, Passing While Intoxicated 6

Let’s Get Reccked 39, Buffalo Vice 18

Wanderers 35, Topper’s All Stars & Todd 20

Mix’n It Up goes to 2-0 on the day with wins over the Jabronies and PWI. PWI got a win of their own over Buffalo Vice, who would be 0-2 this week with a loss to LGR as well. Topper returned to throw the football in an effort to beat the Wanderers, but that fell short. 

What We Know: In typical D3 fashion: Not much. Mix and Wanderers will end up as the 1-2 seeds, Team Topper is going to play in the 8-9 game, and after that? Nothing. 

What’s At Stake: Falling to the #8 seed and having to play an extra playoff game. Right now Buffalo Vice sits there, and with the same record as PWI, the PWI win last week gives them the tiebreaker. Everyone from seeds 3-6 can be moved around. Nothing is really set. 

This Week’s Games

Wanderers vs Buffalo Vice (+14) - Vice’s hopes of getting out of the 8 seed took a big hit here, getting the Wanderers who are going for the top seed as well. I can’t imagine things are going to go well for our friends from Vice here. WANDERERS BY 17

Let’s Get Reccked vs Passing While Intoxicated (+10) - LGR gets a forfeit win this week over TAST already, so they’re 5-3 going into this game. A win here gives them a shot at the 3 seed, and a loss is going to enter them into the Topper’s Super Secret Tiebreaker Formula Machine to see who shakes out where. PWI’s only wins are against the teams below them in the standings, they have some growing to do. LET’S GET RECCKED BY 14

Mix’n It Up vs Practice Squad (+7) - A pretty high profile matchup, even if you ignore the fact that the Squad has hit some speed bumps recently on the way to an 0-3 record in their last few games. Mix rebounded well from the loss last week, and they’re still in the driver’s seat to get the #1 seed. Expect a good game. MIX’N IT UP BY 2

D4

Last Week’s Games

Creekers 21, Select 0 (forfeit)

ILF 56, Cobblestone 24

GirthQuakes 34, Select 12

Cunning Stunts 55, The Herd 37

Select ends up 0-2 for the week, as they limp to the finish line of the season, giving the Creekers a forfeit win and losing to the Quakes too. ILF stomped Cobblestone, and the Stunts beat The Herd, who hung around a little bit, but couldn’t keep up. 

What We Know: The Stunts are awesome and the #1 seed. ILF is slightly less awesome but could lose the #2 seed if they lose to The Herd. 

What’s At Stake: Like we said, the #2 seed MIGHT be, but the rest of the division looks like it could get really shaken up based on results this week. Not much set in stone here. 

This Week’s Games

The Herd vs Creekers (+10) - The Creekers continue to crawl towards the finish line of this disaster of a season, but The Herd have been arguably the best surprise of the season. It’s been said many times before, but what Dalfonso is doing with the former Roaring 20’s has been spectacular. THE HERD BY 14

ILF vs The Herd (+6) - While I still think we’re looking at a Stunts-ILF finals, The Herd just won’t go away. ILF had their hiccup a few weeks ago, although a Herd victory here opens up the door for a 3 team race, and they could potentially take the #2 seed from ILF. Which they will. THE HERD BY 3

GirthQuakes vs Cobblestone (+3) - The GQs keep on coming, and they find themselves staring at a winning record for the season in the face. Cobblestone and their inconsistent lineup sits in their way, and they still feel a bit too jumbled to stop the quake. GIRTHQUAKES BY 12

GirthQuakes vs Vaspian (+8) - The Vaspian hype was real at one point, but they’ve since found themselves in the middle of a 2-5 season that should probably have a couple more wins. They’ve shown that they’re going to be a tough out no matter where they end up in the standings. VASPIAN BY 3

D5

Last Week’s Games

Power Puff Girls 38, Pit Harade 6

Spinelli’s Plumbing 26, Two Tuddies 12

Two Tuddies 34, Not So Sticky 18

Come From Behind 44, Stir The Sauce 14

The PPGs continue dominating D5 as they’ve definitely hit their stride. The Two Tuddies went 1-1, losing, somehow, to Spinelli’s, before regrouping and beating NSS. Come From Behind put a big beatdown on STS. 

What We Know: Nothing really. There’s a world where we could have four teams tied at 6-3, and it’ll be up to the Topper Machine to sort them out. Meanwhile, the “lower 4 teams” could all end up with the same record as well, I think. The point is, nobody knows anything in this division where nobody has ever known anything. 

What’s At Stake: Seeding for everyone. Seriously. D5 is a ride. 

This Week’s Games

GUCCI vs Spinelli’s Plumbing (+3) - I didn’t have “GUCCI and Spinelli’s are playing to not be last place” on my bingo board this year. However both teams are 2-5 and sitting at the end of the standings. Both teams have had some ups and downs, but it’s not exactly the season either expected. GUCCI BY 3

Two Tuddies vs Spinelli’s Plumbing (+7) -  The Tud Buds take on Spinelli’s who will be on the back end of a double header, looking to get a win to lock in 3rd place. Not to mention the fact that the Tuddies have lost to Spinelli’s earlier this season and they’ll be focused on getting that win back. TWO TUDDIES BY 8

Not So Sticky vs Pit Harade (+7) - Neither team is really scoring a whole bunch, but they have similar defenses. NSS is on a 4 game losing streak, but one has to think that they’re going to break the slide before the season ends. NOT SO STICKY BY 8

Power Puff Girls vs Stir The Sauce (+3) - Big game in D5 as STS looks to make a claim at the #1 seed for the season. The PPGs have been on cruise control for a couple of weeks, and they look really good playing together. STS has been pretty good all season as well, so this one has game of the day potential. STIR THE SAUCE BY 2

Come From Behind vs GUCCI (+7) - Usually this is for the #1 seed, but GUCCI didn’t get the memo. The struggling GUCCI vs the top defense and #2 offense in the division doesn’t sound like a fair fight. COME FROM BEHIND BY 13

Stir The Sauce vs Pit Harade (+10) - STS could need this win, while PH is pretty locked in to a bottom 3 finish in the standings. While PH is playing better, STS did beat them 34-6 early in the season, and I don’t think PH caught up to them. STIR THE SAUCE BY 12

D6

Last Week’s Games

Sticky Laces 18, Day By Day 13

Blitzkrieg 38, TMA 14

Sausage McMuffins 36, TMA 0

Purple Nurples 46, Balls Deep 28

Sticky Laces pulls off the win over Day By Day, Blitzkrieg demolished TMA, who then got beaten up on by the McMuffins. Finally the Nurps beat up on Balls Deep a bit. 

What We Know: Blitzkrieg and the McMuffins battling for the #1 seed and game against Dogg Pound. Sticky Laces is locked into the 3rd seed. The rest is up for grabs. 

What’s At Stake: Teams are battling to make it to the 4v5 matchup which should be easier than getting to play one of the top teams. 

This Week’s Games

Day By Day vs TMA (+6) - DBD beat up TMA pretty badly earlier in the season, but TMA has played better since then, even if the record doesn’t always prove that. Meanwhile Day By Day has gone from surprising football darlings to “what the hell happened to them?”. DAY BY DAY BY 7

Blitzkrieg vs Balls Deep (+9) - It’s Blitzkrieg’s world, and Balls Deep is just living in it. BK is quite close to an 8-1 record and the #1 seed. They’ll finish the job this time. BLITZKRIEG BY 11

Sticky Laces vs Balls Deep (+3) - The Sticky Laces slowly but surely continue to grow, improve, and win more games. A win here over a reeling Balls Deep team just feels like a formality. STICKY LACES BY 8

Sausage McMuffins vs Purple Nurples (+10) - The McMuffins are on cruise control, and they’ll fare quite easily against the Nurps. SAUSAGE MCMUFFINS BY 16

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR SATURDAY

• How badly are rosters going to be messed up for Fall Fest? Other than Memorial Day in the spring, Fall Fest accounts for the most “I can’t get enough people to play” excuses for teams. The difference is that these games are a little more important being in the last week of the season. But I’m sure that teams won’t all be at 100% this week. 

• Do we know anything about the playoff schedule yet? Nope. Jeff has to make the schedule based on the many different players with two teams and making sure he can minimize (but not guarantee) those players teams don’t play at the same time. 

• I keep hearing about the Banquet but haven’t seen anything. Did I miss it? No you certainly did not! Jeff Krol sadly found out that we’ll more than likely have to move the banquet to a new place this season (to be fair, we used to move nearly every year), and the date might even be December 13th instead of the 6th. Details will be finalized soon, I’ve been told. 

• You said it’s Breakfast Club playoffs already? Yep! Breakfast Club starts the playoffs a week early because two of the teams get a bye. So we’ll have 3v6 and 4v5 this week, seeds 1 and 2 taking on the winners, and then the remaining two teams will battle for Breakfast Club history after that! Shout out to Dri Girls 1 Cup and Steph Infection for getting the byes with 5-1 records! 

• Will rainouts affect the playoffs and push them back? Good question. In a word, No. Tell your teammates now to plan to have the 19th and 26th cleared, just in case. This is called “advance warning.” Remember no subs in the playoffs! 

TEN FINAL THOUGHTS FOR TOMORROW

• Breakfast Club Playoffs: 

• D’z Nuts 35, All Ryled Up 20

• Syd On My Face 40, Carlyac Arrest 37

• The weather is looking to be 60 degrees and mostly sunny this week, beautiful weather for football. 

• Or more than likely, Fall Fest, which was the reason for Topper forfeiting. It’s not to “keep his arm fresh” for the playoffs. 

• It feels like The Sentinel isn’t watching very much anymore. That’s why I think it’s Buddy Lee. 

• Joey Batts really went 18-0 this season, and we’re all going to have to hear about it. 

• Let’s remind ourselves that as the games become more meaningful, tempers will flare. Be good to league officials and to the referees who are doing their best. Fun fact: they don’t care who wins. 

• I really hope The Herd pulls off the upset in the playoffs. What a story that would be. 

• Three teams that need a win badly: Practice Squad, Scared Hitless, Day By Day

• Remember when Select was on fire to start the season and people were upset about having a star on the roster in Malikye? That aged well. 

• Topper returning at Quarterback is exactly what this league needs. Up next: He’s throwing for Breakfast Club. 

-GF OUT

WEEK 6 THOUGHTS, PICKS AND STUFF

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Category: The Godfather's Picks

Created: Friday, 27 September 2024 14:12

Published: Friday, 27 September 2024 14:12

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 85

Ladies and Gentlemen of the TSL Universe, I’m sad to report that there are only three weeks remaining in the TSL Fall 2024 regular season. As always, the saddest part of any TSL season is how quickly it seems to pass as we’re in it. But right now, it isn’t time to be sad. No, the Race for Social Co-Ed Immortality is nearly upon us. I’ve said many, many times that the most important thing isn’t how you begin a season, it’s how you finish it. How you grow during the season, and how you, as a team, overcome the unique challenges every single season presents you. 

The first two weeks of the TSL season tend to show us a picture of how the season is going to go, but more often than not the teams that were good (and the ones that were bad) in the beginning of the season show their true colors from Week 3 and beyond. If we ignore the first two weeks of the season, who has been good? Who has been bad? It’s in the meaty middle of the schedule that we may get an idea of who will be spraying the very, very expensive Jeff Krol Private Stock champagne on October 26th. 

STOCK UP (these teams have been some of the best since Week 3 began)

-Wet Bandits. No surprises here. They’re 3-0 in this stretch, and have looked every bit the dominant favorite for the D1 title. Good thing there’s not a team out there that can put it all together and beat them for a Fall championship. Oh, wait, hold on a minute.

-Eyes Downtown. ED has shaken off whatever was off with them from last season and now find themselves also 3-0 in this stretch, looking every bit as good as the Wet Bandits. The defending Fall D1 champs look to be rounding into form at just the right time. 

-Mavericks. The Mavs look like they’ll be playing for the D2 title at this rate. They’re 3-1 since Week 3, and the 1 was a 13 point loss to the Wet Bandits. 

-Can’t Touch This. They’re only 2-0, and while I wanted to avoid looking at teams that have only played 2 or less games for this exercise, CTT is a current “top tier” TSL squad. Why? Those two wins were against the defending D1 champs in Sticky Bandits, and the defending D3 champs who moved up to D2 and were strongly considered to be placed in D1 in The Malones. 

-Scared Hitless. They deserve this mention, even if they’re 2-2 during this stretch. The losses are a 2 point loss to the Mavericks and a 4 point loss to the Sticky Bandits. They’re absolutely priming themselves to be the “lower seed that makes the championship game” in D2, and they’re going to be everyone’s favorite “Long Shot” bet before the playoffs begin. 

-Mix’n It Up. Team Keller has taken another step forward overall, as they’re 4-0 in this stretch, finding ways to win every which way they can. Damien looks like a younger, less handsome Scott Sr. throwing the ball, and once he realizes the power of using the workout bands on the sidelines before games, Damien should have a real shot at D3 QB of the Year. 

-Wanderers. 3-1 since Week 3, looking every bit as dominant as they usually do at this point. Their only loss was to Mix’n It Up. Par for the course here. 

-Practice Squad. Anyone who was waiting for them to crack after a hot start has been severely disappointed. They’re 3-1 since Week 3, and the only loss was a close one to the Wanderers. And they’re only going to be better once “Playoff B” shows up. 

-Cunning Stunts. 3-0, dominating the boys as they do all of the time. 

-The Herd. Yes, you ‘Herd’ me right. They’re 3-0, and averaging 47 points a game during this time period, and they’re rounding into form as one of the TSL’s hottest teams. They get rematches against both the Stunts and ILF before the season ends (Yes, they got both of these teams as the two teams they play twice. Jeff Krol clearly hates them.) and it’ll be exciting to see how they fare against them now. 

-Come From Behind. 3-1 since Week 3 with the lone loss being a 1 point loss to Stir The Sauce. Rounding into form at the perfect time, they’ve only allowed an average of 14.75 points per game during this stretch. It’s more impressive when you realize they’ve played GUCCI and Not So Sticky along the way. 

-Two Tuddies. The Tud Buds are still crashing the D5 party, sitting at 3-1 since Week 3 with the loss coming against the Power Puff Girls. Nothing to sneeze at there. They’re looking to be for real. 

-Blitzkrieg. 3-1 in D6 with a loss to the upstart Day By Day. Whispers around the league continue to get louder that this year HAS to be the year for them…right? 

STOCK DOWN (teams who have just been “not great” since Week 3, regardless of how they started the year)

-The Malones. 0-3 since Week 3. That seemed unfathomable heading into the season. Losing to Eyes Downtown in a Crossover game? Fine. Losing to Frodo? Explainable. Losing by 22 to Can’t Touch This? CTT is very good, but that’s not what you’re expecting from The Malones. This season we went from The Malones vs Everybody, to The Malones vs The Malones. I have faith they’ll figure it out. It just might be in the Spring. 

-The Untouchaballs. 1-4 since Week 3. Rumors early on that Burr wasn’t going to play QB. The top candidate for “Season From Hell”, the UT have struggled mightily on defense, they got waxed this past week by Wet Bandits and Mavericks, and very clearly something isn’t right here. 

-Topper’s All Stars & Todd. 1-4 in this stretch, roster issues have plagued them a bit, and so have injuries. They haven’t had great QB play this season, picking up subs more often than not, but there’s hope here. They finally got the team together, and should have beaten Mix’n It Up. And even better, Topper was heard on the sidelines saying that he finally feels ready to throw again. There’s a world where Topper starts behind center before the season ends, beats the Wanderers in the last week of the season, and then goes on a magical playoff journey that will prove, once and for all, that we really are living in a simulation. 

There aren't a lot of pure “Stock Down” teams because right now we have a lot of teams in the “mushy middle” where they went 2-1 or 1-2 and they’re in close games or improving in the last few weeks. Yes, even Cobblestone. There’s a lot of football left, and these current trends could change by the time we roll into Week 8. Some teams like Stir the Sauce and Sticky Bandits have 5 games remaining and could easily find themselves on either one of these lists. Others such as Frodo Swaggins, Grey Hair Don’t Care, and Bullet Club only have 2 games left to go (and Bullet Club only technically has one left, with a forfeit win from the Straw Hats still coming for them) and at this point one has to think that they are who they are. 

As always, it’s going to be very interesting to watch it all unfold. 

D1/D2

Last Week’s Games

D1

Eyes Downtown 32, Frodo Swaggins 25

D1/D2 Crossover Corner

Wet Bandits 60, The Untouchaballs 32

Grey Hair Don’t Care 28, Frodo Swaggins 28 (TIE)

D1 leads the Crossover Season Series 11-4-1. 

D2

Can’t Touch This 52, The Malones 30

Mavericks 48, The Untouchaballs 9

Mavericks 42, Scared Hitless 40

Eyes Downtown continues to roll, this time beating Frodo by a TD. Frodo ended up going 0-1-1 on the day giving us our first tie of the season (Non-Breakfast Club version) when they split with Grey Hair Don’t Care. The Wet Bandits have the new season high for points in a game with 60 this year, as they pummeled The Untouchaballs, who would then go on to get smacked by the Mavericks as well. The Mavs were 2-0 on the day, also getting a hard fought win over Scared Hitless, 42-40. And finally, Can’t Touch This takes care of The Malones and seem to be headed for a collision course with the Mavericks for D2 supremacy. 

This Week’s Games: 

D1

Eyes Downtown vs Freeballers (+10) - Eyes Downtown has been very good lately, and while the Freeballers have been improving, they’re not quite on the level of Bobby and Co. EYES DOWNTOWN BY 18

D1/D2 Crossover Corner

Sticky Bandits vs The Untouchaballs (+10) - Sticky Nation has only played 4 games so far this season, and after a week off get back at it against an Untouchaballs squad that is playing about as poorly as they ever have recently. I do not doubt UT’s ability to figure it out and roll in the playoffs, they’ve done it before, but right now this feels different. STICKY BANDITS BY 14

Wet Bandits vs The Malones (+12) - The Wet Bandits are essentially doing to D1/D2 what The Malones did to D3 last season. They average 48 points a game, and just blow teams out of the water. The Malones aren’t quite themselves as they adjust to the better teams in the league, and they’re about to become that bad guy in a movie that finally realizes “Oh my god, is THAT what I’ve been doing to others?”. WET BANDITS BY 17

D2

Mavericks vs Grey Hair Don’t Care (+14) - GHDC is 1-5-1 heading into this game, not quite what they had in mind this season. It’s clear they could use another stand out player, but that’s what the offseason is for. The Mavericks continue to just casually cruise to 40 points and victories. They look to be 7-1 heading into a Week 8 crossover matchup with Eyes Downtown that could be very fun to watch. Hopefully, they don’t get caught looking ahead like I’m doing. MAVERICKS BY 24

D3

Last Week’s Games

Mix’n It Up 30, Topper’s All-Stars & Todd 29

Bullet Club 34, Passing While Intoxicated 17

Wanderers 36, Practice Squad 30

Mix’n It Up 41, Buffalo Vice 35

Topper’s All-Stars & Todd 21, Straw Hats 0 (Forfeit)

Jabronies 30, Let’s Get Reccked 8

D3 continues to be quite exciting, as Mix’n It Up goes for the 2 point conversion and sneaks by TAST to win the game. Mix would end up 2-0 on the day after getting a one score win over Buffalo Vice as well. Bullet Club put together a nice win over PWI, who continues to look like they belong in D3, even if they’re still not quite getting the results they expect from themselves just yet. Wanderers get a huge win over Practice Squad, beating them by a touchdown to ruin the perfect season. And lastly, the Jabronies had no trouble with LGR, waltzing to a victory. 

This Week’s Games

Practice Squad vs Jabronies (+7) - These two teams have one thing in common for sure: They both have close losses to the Wanderers this season. Other than that, Practice Squad has been enjoying a fantastic season, while the Jabronies have certainly had their share of ups and downs. Give me the more consistent team here. PRACTICE SQUAD BY 8

Jabronies vs Passing While Intoxicated (+6) - Joe Miano vs Buddy Lee is the unexpected QB battle we didn’t know we wanted, but we’re glad to have coming our way. Both teams have some question marks, PWI with their guys, and Jabronies with their ladies, so it’ll be interesting to see which QB uses their players better here. A Buddy to Tori TD for the win? My Sources Say Yes. PASSING WHILE INTOXICATED BY 4. 

Practice Squad vs Bullet Club (+5) - While Practice Squad has been enjoying a great season, secretly so has Bullet Club. A season removed from being 2-6 and in the “Play In” game, Bullet Club has already doubled their win total (counting the Straw Hats forfeit) from last season, and if you remove the two blowout losses in Week 1, they’re 4-2 since, with the two losses being one score games with Mix and LGR. This should be a pretty good game, but give me the team with B. PRACTICE SQUAD BY 3. 

Mix’n It Up vs Let’s Get Reccked (+6) - Mix is sitting pretty at 5-0, looking to continue their hot start against LGR who continues to disappoint. LGR is 2-3 but could easily be 4-1. They never seem to put it all together though. This should have Game of the Day potential. MIX’N IT UP BY 2

D4

Last Week’s Games

Cobblestone 27, Creekers 21

ILFers 40, Creekers 13

The Herd 46, Select 33

Cunning Stunts 42, GirthQuakes 31

Cobblestone wins…and it counts! Cobblestone beats the Creekers despite playing a man down. Things don’t get any better for the Creekers as they fall to 0-2 on the day as ILF blows them out. The Herd continues to rock and roll, putting up a bunch of points as they get by Select. And then finally, the GirthQuakes get introduced to the Stunts, losing by 11. 

This Week’s Games

Cunning Stunts vs Creekers (+13) - The Creekers are up next for the Stunts to slaughter. The Stunts beat the Creekers 45-20 earlier in the year. I don’t think the Creekers figured out defense in the last week. CUNNING STUNTS BY 17

ILF vs Vaspian (+7) - Vaspian is still under the radar a bit, but they’ve closed the gap nicely between themselves and the top teams in the division for sure this year. They’re slightly on my upset radar, but I don’t have the testicular fortitude to pick them to do it. The ILFers are just too good. ILF BY 4

ILF vs GirthQuakes (+10) - A double dose of ILF is always good for the league, but it’s not going to be great for the GQs (it’s catching on). There’s some talent on the GirthQuakes, and they’re going to win some games at some point. It’s just not this time. ILF BY 10

Vaspian vs Cobblestone (+7) - Every nice thing I’m saying about Vaspian might be all for nothing if they fall short against Cobblestone, who is having just a tough season, but might be turning things around? Either way, Vaspian should be “ahead” of Cobblestone, even if you can never count out Darryl Carr QB Superstar when it comes to football. VASPIAN BY 6

Cunning Stunts vs Select (+14) - Select has been outscored 84-41 the last two weeks in blowout losses to Vaspian and The Herd. It’s a far cry from when they were 2-1 after a 5 point loss to ILF where they could’ve won. Now they’re all over the place and they get a Cunning Stunts team that couldn’t be more on fire. Not the best time for them to cross paths if you’re Select. CUNNING STUNTS BY 17

D5

Last Week’s Games

Pit Harade 25, Spinelli’s Plumbing 24

Power Puff Girls 33, Two Tuddies 16

GUCCI 28, Not So Sticky 6

Come From Behind 34, Pit Harade 16

Power Puff Girls 51, GUCCI 36

Come From Behind 48, Not So Sticky 22

Pit Harade gets their first win in D5 with a nice win over Spinelli’s, before they lose to Come From Behind to go to 1-1 on the day. CFB went to 2-0, as they also collected a win over Not So Sticky, who went 0-2 after they lost to GUCCI as well. GUCCI was 1-1 on the day as the Power Puff Girls collected a win over them, and PPG ended up giving the Tud Buds their first loss of the season as well to get to 2-0 on the day. 

This Week’s Games

Power Puff Girls vs Spinelli’s Plumbing (+10) - I said last season that the PPGs were figuring this whole “gender team” thing out, and they carried it all over to this season as they’ve been absolutely great this fall. Spinelli’s still has some kinks to work out, mostly defensively, which can only mean that they’re boned in this one. POWER PUFF GIRLS BY 17

GUCCI vs Stir The Sauce (EVEN) - Stir The Sauce has played three straight 1 point games, going 1-2 in them. They upset GUCCI in the playoffs last year, and you HAVE to think GUCCI remembers that. GUCCI has been good for a while. STS keeps getting better and better. This game is going to be one to remember. STS needs it more. STIR THE SAUCE BY 1

GUCCI vs Pit Harade (+10) - Pit Harade finally got in the win column and it coincided with the return of their own female QB, Rayanna. That’s probably not a coincidence. PH has struggled through roster issues which is never the move for going up a division, but having Ray throw gives them an easy answer to the 8 points GUCCI gets from All-World QB Kelly Kane. (2 female QBs AND a gender team? D5 is fun.) However, give me the experience of Kelly in this one. GUCCI BY 12

Not So Sticky vs Stir The Sauce (EVEN) - I don’t fully know what to think about STS just yet. I know they’re on the rise. They’re in every game. But then you look and they haven’t had the hardest schedule just yet. Ending with NSS, GUCCI, CFB, and PPG will really show us what we have with them. Not So Sticky is right where they always seem to be, at .500, winning some nice games, losing some others. You never quite know what you’re going to get, which is part of the charm. NOT SO STICKY BY 1

Come From Behind vs Two Tuddies (+3) - The Tuddies still don’t get tons of respect from the oddsmakers as they continue to have to prove themselves to not be a fluke. On one hand, they’ve beaten Not So Sticky, GUCCI, and Stir The Sauce. On the other hand, NSS was Week 1, GUCCI was that weird week GUCCI didn’t have anyone, and they snuck by STS by a point. Then the PPGs smacked them a bit. CFB, meanwhile, is playing some very good football, and they seemed poised to finally get that title that’s been eluding them for a bit. If the Two Tuddies are serious contenders, they’ll win this week. They are. TWO TUDDIES BY 2

D6

Last Week’s Games

Blitzkrieg 47, Purple Nurples 6

Sausage McMuffins 38, Sticky Laces 18

Balls Deep 42, Day By Day 37

Blitzkrieg 42, Dogg Pound 6

Purple Nurples 41, TMA 24

Blitzkrieg goes 2-0 with a pair of nearly identical dominating wins over the Dogg Pound and Purple Nurples. The Nurps would go 1-1 on the day with a win over TMA. Meanwhile, the McMuffins continue to win football games, beating Sticky Laces by 20, and Balls Deep puts up 42 points in a win over Day By Day. 

This Week’s Games

Purple Nurples vs Dogg Pound (+7) - This will depend on what players show up for the Nurps, but you know the DP will roll 14 people deep. Dogg Pound is close to everything ‘clicking’ and having wins come their way, and honestly? I think it clicks this week. DOGG POUND BY 6

Balls Deep vs TMA (+7) - Okay Balls Deep, I see you. 42 points against a very good DBD team is a good way to get noticed. I still think Balls Deep is a step behind the top teams in D6, but they closed that gap a little now. TMA apparently struggles because their QB never shows up for them. When he does, they win and play well. When he doesn’t, things aren’t great. Someone needs to kidnap Ryan and force him to be there every week, if he is, they win this game. But I can’t assume he will be there. BALLS DEEP BY 8

Blitzkrieg vs Sticky Laces (+10) - Blitzkrieg’s collective buttholes are tightening as the season draws nearer to a close. No team in TSL history has won as many games, been favored and picked to win a championship, and then never ends up doing it more than they have. Now they’re 5-1 after two easy peasy wins, and an 8-1 record with the #1 seed is in their sights, and VERY attainable. Hopefully they shake off the PTSD from years past. Sticky Laces finds themselves at 3-2 and showing lots of improvement from a season ago. This game is the litmus test of all litmus tests to see if they belong in the championship chatter. Not sure they’re there just yet. BLITZKRIEG BY 18

Sticky Laces vs Dogg Pound (+3) - A small, budding rivalry continues in D6 as DP and the Laces (which sounds like a Rock Band name) meet up yet again. These teams play close, tight games, and they did so again Week 1 in a 2 point win for the Laces. The Laces get a win yet again here. STICKY LACES BY 2

Sausage McMuffins vs Day By Day (EVEN) - The Day By Day for D6 favorites train got a little derailed after their loss to Balls Deep, but they can right the ship with a win over the McMuffins this week. I have to hand it to SMM, Alex keeps his team chugging along, and they keep easily winning the games they’re “supposed” to win, winning by an average score of 41 - 25. They’re quietly a Top 10 team in the super accurate Topper formula TSL Rankings. They have a great squad, and Eric Pochylski is in the running for the “Guy Way Too Good For His Division” award. Day By Day is good, and could win this game, I just don’t think they will. SAUSAGE MCMUFFINS BY 7

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR SATURDAY

• Who has been the most disappointing team this season so far? While The Untouchaballs haven’t been the best version of themselves, I’m going to go with the Creekers. They’re 1-4, and haven’t even gotten to 100 points scored yet. When you have a talent like Mullet Guy on your team, you need to win more, especially after last season. 

• Does anyone go undefeated for the whole season? The following teams haven’t lost a game yet: Wet Bandits, Mix’n It Up, Cunning Stunts. Mix’n It Up barely escaped Team Topper last week, and with 4 tough games remaining, I can see them dropping at least one of them. The Wet Bandits have three games to go - The Malones, Sticky Bandits, and Scared Hitless. As of now, I think they have a 90% chance of winning them all. And as for the Stunts, they have Creekers, Select, and The Herd left. The Herd should give them the best fight, but even if they double their total points scored from the first time these two played, they’d still lose 52-48. So I think we’ll see two teams go undefeated in the regular season, which means Joey Batts will go 18-0, which will most likely, hopefully, raise Chris Cole and Matty Ice from their graves to battle him. 

• Who has been the most surprising team this season? I have to go with The Herd. They’re playing fantastic right now, and they don’t look anything like last year’s team. Honorable mentions to Practice Squad and Two Tuddies, who are both playing much better than anticipated. 

• Is this the most even the divisions have been in recent memory? As usual, D3 is very close from top to bottom. D2 is also full of teams that all beat each other, and so is D5 for the most part. D6 has a lot of teams that could be the “top” teams if they sleep on them. D1 has the Wet Bandits winning a bunch, but they’re not THAT far away from Eyes Downtown and Sticky. And Frodo is much improved. D4 is slightly top heavy, but with The Herd, Select, and Vaspian all being much improved, it’s closer than we thought. So yeah, I think this might be the most competitive the TSL has been in a bit. 

• Did we get TSL Banquet details yet? Not yet, but you know we’ll have an announcement from Jeff soon about the greatest party of the year. A wedding without the wedding, and we give some awards out and then drink and dance the night away? Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? You’ll WANT to be there. 

TEN FINAL THOUGHTS FOR SATURDAY

• It seems like Breakfast Club is getting closer than ever, which is exactly how it should be. Teams are also gaining ground on Steph Infection, so maybe Steph WON’T win again. Good. 

• Breakfast Club Predictions: 

• Dri Girls 1 Cup 35, Carlyac Arrest 22

• Steph Infection 40, Syd On My Face 37

• D’s Nutz 24, All Ryled Up 23

• Games of the Day: 

• 10:00 - Jabronies vs Practice Squad

• 11:00 - Bullet Club vs Practice Squad

• 12:00 - GUCCI vs Stir The Sauce

• 1:00 - The Malones vs Wet Bandits

• 2:00 - Come From Behind vs Two Tuddies

• 3:00 - Grey Hair Don’t Care vs Mavericks

• My trusty weather channel app tells me that the weather in Buffalo for Saturday looks to be 75 and cloudy - perfect weather for football. Although it’s going to be 84 and Sunny here in Des Moines. 

• There haven’t been too many freakouts on referees as of late, even when they make a mistake. Good job everyone. 

• The bar continues to be hopping during the day from what I hear, which is always good. Get out there and make some new friends, especially if your own team is a bunch of weaklings who go straight home. 

• An unprecedented amount of requests for female subs have been coming in lately. Ladies, quit skipping your games. (I expect this to be just as bad during Fall Fest on the 12th).

• Topper saying he’s ready to throw again after potentially retiring for “forever” is one of the most exciting things to happen in the TSL in at least a few days. “Someone has to stop Joey Batts!” was his direct quote. I don’t think he knows how divisions work, which would honestly explain a lot of the TSL’s history. 

• Please remember that when it’s B’s brother’s sleepy time around 1pm, don’t disturb him. Doing so will result in suspensions. 

• The fields are holding up well, Field 5 is actually improving (compared to what you may think) as the season goes on, and for the most part it’s been reported to me that the league has run rather smoothly. It takes a village, so good work on the part of everyone that helps the TSL continue to be the best Social Co-Ed Touch Football experience it can be. 

-GF OUT

WEEK 7 THOUGHTS, PICKS AND STUFF

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Category: The Godfather's Picks

Created: Friday, 04 October 2024 14:53

Published: Friday, 04 October 2024 14:53

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 49

Ladies and Gentlemen of the TSL Universe, the Fall 2024 Season is inching closer and closer to the start of the Race for Social Co-Ed Immortality. As the calendar turns to October, the TSL season has reached its penultimate (someone explain to Klussman what that means, please) week of games as teams continue to round into form and show you who they really are. 

It’s been said many times that in the TSL, it’s not how you start, it's how you finish, and that a team that’s heating up today tends to steal the headlines in a couple of weeks. On the other hand, a team with a hot start that is starting to cool off looks to be fodder for the usual Playoff Saturday upsets. Who looks to be the potential party crashers? Who looks to be headed for the potential “I can’t believe they’re not playing on Championship Saturday!” list? Let’s take a look. 

D1

Heating Up - Eyes Downtown just keeps winning and rounding into form. 

Cooling Off - Frodo Swaggins is 3-3-1 and a recent tie with D2 Grey Hair suggests that with an 0-2 record in D1 games, and a 3-1-1 record in Crossovers, perhaps Frodo is still just a pretty good D2 team moonlighting in D1. 

D2

Heating Up - Nobody. The Mavericks and Can’t Touch This have been hot all season, and the rest of D2 has a record of 1-13-1 combined over the last few weeks. 

Cooling Off - The Untouchaballs. They’re 0-5 over the last few weeks. Yes, OH AND FIVE. 

D3

Heating Up - Jabronies. They haven’t lost in a few games and they’ve been playing very, very well. 

Cooling Off - Practice Squad. Started off 5-0, now they’ve lost their last 3 games and the mojo is off. On the plus side for the Squad, the losses were all close (6 to Wanderers, 1 to Jabronies, 2 to Bullet Club), but these are the close games they had been winning before. 

D4

Heating Up - Cobblestone. Now that the roster is sort of showing up and things are settled, they’ve won their last 2 games, and they’re looking like their old selves. 

Cooling Off - Select. After the hot start and calls for “I can’t believe that guy is allowed to be in D4” cries from opponents, they’re 0-3, the offense is sputtering, and they’re not going to be the “Giant Killers” D4 needs. 

D5

Heating Up - Pit Harade. Started the season 0-3 and looking completely out of place, they’re now 2-1, and they were leading in the loss against CFB as well. Amazing what can happen for a team when players show up. 

Cooling Off - GUCCI. Arguably the award winners for the “Season From Hell”, GUCCI is 2-5 overall, and on a 3 game losing streak. Not the expected results we had for Kelly Kane and company. 

D6

Heating Up - Dogg Pound. Yeah, you read that right. In their last 5 games, the Pound is 2-3, but ignoring a 42-6 drubbing by Blitzkrieg, they lost to Day By Day by 1 point and they lost to Sticky Laces by 2, because they always lose to Sticky Laces by 2. There’s a world where they're 4-1 in those games right now. 

Cooling Off - Day By Day. A loss to Balls Deep and then getting beaten up by the McMuffins shows that maybe, just maybe, they’re not who we thought they were. 

And now let’s get to the games. 

D1/D2

Last Week’s Games

D1

Eyes Downtown 45, Freeballers 30

D1/D2 Crossover Corner

Sticky Bandits 36, The Untouchaballs 28

Wet Bandits 45, The Malones 38

D1 leads the Crossover Series 13-4-1

D2

Mavericks 20, Grey Hair Don’t Care 18

Can’t Touch This 21, Scared Hitless 0 (forfeit)

Eyes Downtown continues to cruise, mowing down the Freeballers better than the Rose Garden mows the fields. Both teams of Bandits got wins in the Crossover games, both games were one score games however. Scared Hitless was scared of Can’t Touch This, forfeiting, while the Mavericks score a shockingly low 20 points as they squeak out a win over Grey Hair. 

This Week’s Games

D1

Eyes Downtown vs Sticky Bandits (EVEN) - Now we’re talking. Sticky’s light early season schedule gets them a heck of a stretch run, and it starts with Eyes Downtown. This game is incredibly important because the winner will keep themselves in the running for the #1 seed. If Eyes Downtown wins, they have a shot at the #1 seed if the Wet Bandits go 0-2 this week. Highly unlikely. But, a Sticky win means that their next game essentially is for the #1 seed. This means much more to Sticky Nation. STICKY BANDITS BY 2

Wet Bandits vs Sticky Bandits (+6) - The Battle of Kevin McAllister finally takes place this season, as the Bandits square off against the Bandits. If Sticky wins against Eyes Downtown, they get tasked with beating the Wet Bandits on the same day. The Fanduel odds for that are +350, for what it’s worth. This game could be for the #1 seed, assuming that both teams win out (Wet Bandits have Scared Hitless, Sticky has Grey Hair and Frodo, so it's very plausible).  It’s amazing that despite the Wet Bandits’ dominance all year, they could still miss out on the bye week. They won’t. WET BANDITS BY 10

Frodo Swaggins vs Freeballers (+6) - Frodo hasn’t been great, but the Freeballers haven’t even been a football team at times this season, but lately they’ve been more competitive. Both teams could use the positive momentum heading into the playoffs, and I think one team wants it more than the other. FREEBALLERS BY 3

D1/D2 Crossover Corner

Eyes Downtown vs Can’t Touch This (+7) - Eyes Downtown have themselves a pretty fun double header, and honestly I’m looking forward to this game more than the game against Sticky. Can’t Touch This has been in the “maybe they should be playing in the D1 playoffs instead” category all year, and for good reason. They’re 4-2, but they’re 1-1 in crossover games, losing to Frodo by 5, and beating the Sticky Bandits. A win over Eyes Downtown would be HUGE. But not today. EYES DOWNTOWN BY 8

Wet Bandits vs Scared Hitless (+7) - The Wet Bandits are going to take on Scared Hitless in a crossover game, which means Scared Hitless is going to have to play without Travis, which hurts them in every category except “Average Team Handsomeness”. Wet Bandits usually win by two scores, Scared Hitless usually loses by two points, so split the difference. WET BANDITS BY 9

Mavericks vs Freeballers (+6) - Yes, the D1 team is getting points. The Mavericks have some unfinished business with the Freeballers from last season, and I have a feeling team Cotton Candy is going to dump 40+ points this week. MAVERICKS BY 13

D2

Can’t Touch This vs The Untouchaballs (+10) - I might be signing D2’s death certificate by telling Jeremy Burr he’s the Cooling Off team, and that he’s a double digit underdog against the D2 co-favorites, and that they’re going to lose. CAN’T TOUCH THIS BY 8

Mavericks vs The Untouchaballs (+10) - Twice. MAVERICKS BY 8

D3

Last Week’s Games

Jabronies 42, Practice Squad 41

Jabronies 22, Passing While Intoxicated 17

Bullet Club 25, Practice Squad 23

Let’s Get Reccked 36, Mix’n It Up 14

Buffalo Vice 21, Topper’s All-Stars & Todd 0 (forfeit)

Wanderers 21, Straw Hats 0 (forfeit)

The Jabronies get two big wins to go to 2-0 on the day, taking out PWI and Practice Squad. The Squad would drop to 0-2 on the day, losing to Bullet Club soon after. And Let’s Get Reccked got a big statement win over Mix’n It Up, further proving that you could play the D3 playoffs 10 times and get 10 different results. Buffalo Vice got a forfeit win over Team Topper and the Wanderers got their league mandated forfeit win over the Straw Hats. 

This Week’s Games

Jabronies vs Mix’n It Up (EVEN) - Big, big game here in D3. The Mix loss to LGR has left the #1 seed open, which while it doesn’t have the advantage of a bye week, it does give a team the advantage in that you play the winner of the 8/9 game, so they’re a little tired heading into it. Mix had what can only be considered a hiccup in a good season, but the Jabronies’ wins were a good sign, right? On the one hand they beat the reigning D4 champions, and a previously hot Practice Squad team. On the other, they beat a struggling future 8 seed, and a team that might end the season on an 0-4 run. MIX’N IT UP BY 7

Buffalo Vice vs Passing While Intoxicated (+8) - If PWI is going to “show they belong” a little better here in D3, beating former D4 foe Buffalo Vice is a good start. Vice has just been cruising along at a .500 pace, but they show flashes of being very good, it all depends on who shows up. As for PWI, I don’t think they expected to be 2-4 at this point. They have an above average QB, and a good group of females that are solid across the board. The males leave a little to be desired. In D3, you need a standout female and/or male (besides the QB) to really make it all work. Right now, they don’t have that, and it shows. BUFFALO VICE BY 8

Mix’n It Up vs Passing While Intoxicated (+12) - Two teams probably on a collision course for a future first round playoff matchup, there’s a noticable difference between how these two have been playing all season. MIX’N IT UP BY 10

Let’s Get Reccked vs Buffalo Vice (+7) – Let’s Get Reccked finally gave us the performance we’d been expecting from them all season, in a thorough waxing of Mix. They feel a bit “on the rise” as well (I almost picked them in the beginning of this article), and they’re getting a Vice team that hasn’t kicked it into a higher gear just yet. LET’S GET RECCKED BY 9

Wanderers vs Topper’s All Stars & Todd (+10) - TAST is on the edge of breaking out, but it just hasn’t happened yet. That’s not to say it won’t though, as we all know, anything can happen in D3. While it’s hard to fathom it happening here, I would’ve said the same when they played Mix two weeks ago, and almost (should’ve) won. Expect a close one. WANDERERS BY 3

D4

Last Week’s Games

Cunning Stunts 46, Creekers 20

ILF 44, Vaspian 34

GirthQuakes 35, ILF 29

Cobblestone 22, Vaspian 14

Cunning Stunts 61, Select 39

The Cunning Stunts continue their drive to perfection, as they go to 2-0 on the day with wins over Creekers and Select. ILF gets a win over Vaspian before dropping a game to the GirthQuakes in a surprising upset. Vaspian would go to 0-2 on the day as they went on to lose to Cobblestone as well. 

This Week’s Games

Select vs Creekers (+7) - Neither team is going into this game happy with their season. These teams have 3 non-forfeit wins between them: all of them are 1 point wins. We’re THIS close to having both of these teams at a combined 1-11 in actual games. Both of these teams need a win, badly. SELECT BY 1

ILF vs Cobblestone (+10) - ILF dropped a game to the GQs last week that probably doesn’t change anything for them. They’re still the clear “non-Stunts” favorite, but perhaps the gap between the Stunts and everyone else is larger than we realized. Cobblestone has been playing well since things settled for them a bit, so look for them to give ILF a game, but not actually win. ILF BY 8

GirthQuakes vs Select (+3) - Earlier we spoke on how Select and Creekers had 3 1 point wins between them. Two of those wins were against the GirthQuakes, who were THIS close to a 4-2 record and being the darlings of D4 (just kidding, that’s The Herd regardless). The GQs have played well in every single game they’ve played, (they only lost to the Stunts by 3 for example) and everyone is coming along nicely. GIRTHQUAKES BY 8

Cunning Stunts vs The Herd (+16) - The Herd are in the midst of a 4 game win streak, averaging a 43.75 - 29.25 victory during it. The steadiness that having a QB like Dalfonso brings is immeasurable to a young team. And while things are going good, they get the Stunts again. The Stunts won 52-24 in Week 1 as The Herd was figuring out a lot of things. I’m not saying they’re going to beat the Stunts, they won’t, but I do think they’ll improve upon the last game’s outcome. CUNNING STUNTS BY 13

D5

Last Week’s Games

PowerPuff Girls 27, Spinelli’s Plumbing 25

Stir The Sauce 31, GUCCI 16

Pit Harade 32, GUCCI 28

Stir The Sauce 21, Not So Sticky 16

Come From Behind 30, Two Tuddies 6

The Power Puff Girls summoned the power of league legends last week as they powered through a close game with Spinelli’s. Stir The Sauce returned after a week off to go 2-0 with wins against GUCCI and Not So Sticky. Things didn’t get better for GUCCI who went 0-2 on the day after a loss to Pit Harade as well. And in other news, Come From Behind beat up on the Tuddies. 

This Week’s Games

PowerPuff Girls vs Pit Harade (+16) - Just as Pit Harade seems to be righting the ship, they get a unique challenge in the pretty “on fire” PPGs. The Girls are first in the division, and they lead D5 in scoring as well. Fitting a theme, they’re two 1 point losses away from 7-0. It’s a tough challenge for anyone, let alone a new team (in the division) finding their way. POWER PUFF GIRLS BY 17

Two Tuddies vs Spinelli’s Plumbing (+6) - The Tud Buds are slowing down after a hot start, although a QB injury has played into that a bit. We know what Spinelli’s is, and can be. If they click on offense, they’re putting up 40+ easy, but they’ve struggled to click most of the year. It’s understandable after all that time off though. But if the Tuddies still don’t have a QB, it might not matter. SPINELLI’S PLUMBING BY 3

Not So Sticky vs Two Tuddies (EVEN) - The friendly rivalry continues, but it sort of comes back to what I said above. No QB for the Tuddies means an easier day for the less sticky ones. NOT SO STICKY BY 7

Come From Behind vs Stir The Sauce (EVEN) - Stir The Sauce knows deep inside that they’re the best team in the division and the title is theirs to lose, even if most of the division doesn’t think so. STS already beat CFB once this season, but since then CFB has been on a tear, and their defense is dialed in. COME FROM BEHIND BY 3

D6

Last Week’s Games

Dogg Pound 27, Purple Nurples 8

TMA 12, Balls Deep 6

Blitzkrieg 51, Sticky Laces 16

Sticky Laces 22, Dogg Pound 20

Sausage McMuffins 38, Day By Day 15

The Dogg Pound get a convincing win over the Nurps before losing to Sticky Laces again. Sticky Laces were 1-1 on the day after getting bowled over by Blitzkrieg. TMA outscored Balls Deep in a barnburner, while the Sausage McMuffins handled Day By Day without any issue. 

This Week’s Games

Day By Day vs Sticky Laces (+7) - Day By Day used to be the upstart D6 dark horse candidate, but after a 1 point win over Dogg Pound (should’ve been more), and losing to Balls Deep and the McMuffins, things don’t look as rosy as they once did. Sticky Laces represents a chance to get back on track though. The Laces find themselves much improved from last season, but they don’t quite have the horses to run with the class of the league just yet. DAY BY DAY BY 6

Blitzkrieg vs TMA (+13) - TMA is having fun again it seems, but this game feels like it will be anything but fun. Best Offense. Best Defense. Blitzkrieg is extra special this time around. BLITZKRIEG BY 17

Sausage McMuffins vs Dogg Pound (+10) - While the Dogg Pound are improving, they’re improving in terms of “competing with the bottom 5 teams of the division”, not so much the top ones. The McMuffins might be a slight step behind Blitzkrieg right now, but they’re leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. SAUSAGE MCMUFFINS BY 14

Sausage McMuffins vs TMA (+8) - Mix the last two predictions. SMM represents a slightly less hard challenge to TMA than Blitzkrieg does, but it's still not going to be too pretty. SAUSAGE MCMUFFINS BY 12

Balls Deep vs Purple Nurples (EVEN) - Both of these teams fall into the “which one of them is going to show up” category. The ones that put up 40+ points or the ones that put up single digits? These two teams are hard to figure out, and I’m sure they feel the same way internally. BALLS DEEP BY 8

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR SATURDAY

• Is this the least competitive each division has been this late in the season? Probably, at least from what I can remember. There’s a clear line of the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in every division besides D3, which will always be the TSL Thunderdome. 

• Is the D1/D2 crossover a success or a failure? I’m assuming you mean because of the 13-4-1 record D1 has over D2? It’s still a success. The teams are all having fun, and playing different teams is good for both of them. Right now, the Mavericks would be 2nd in D1, and Can’t Touch This would be in 4th. They can compete. Scared Hitless has been in D1, they can compete. They’re 5 total points away from wins over Eyes Downtown and Sticky and 7 total points away from a win over the Mavs too. There’s only been like 4 blowouts, and 2 of them were from the Wet Bandits stepping on necks. It’s a rousing success. 

• Do your preseason championship predictions still look good? Well, let’s take a look. In D1 I have the Wet Bandits over the Sticky Bandits. That looks good. In D2, I went with The Malones beating The Untouchaballs in the final. That looks terrible, but not impossible. In D3 I had The Wanderers winning the title over Mix’n It Up. They’re a combined 11-2, and might be on a crash course for the title. D4 I picked The Stunts to win, which was a slam dunk. I picked them to beat the Creekers, couldn’t be more wrong. Half credit. D5 it was Not So Sticky over Spinelli’s. Highly unlikely, but it could happen for sure. And finally in D6 it was Blitzkrieg beating the McMuffins, and I’m very much on pace for that one. So, 3.5 out of 6 isn’t the worst, but the playoffs, as always, are a different animal. 

• Who has surprised you the most? It’s GUCCI. It has to be. I don’t think they’ve finished below .500 yet in the TSL, and they’re consistently in the running for the #1 seed. Seeing them at 2-5 just feels wrong. 

• What divisional race are you most excited to see play out in the regular season? D1 is easily the answer. It’s the best football (usually), and the top three teams all have a shot at the #1 seed and the bye, despite how good the Wet Bandits have been. A Sticky sweep this week would be a fantastic and unexpected story. 

TEN FINAL THOUGHTS FOR SATURDAY

• After hearing about the arguing and the drama with the refs this week, I’ll lead off with the casual reminder to not be jerks to the refs, even if you disagree with how they’re calling the game. 

• Breakfast Club Predictions: 

• Steph Infection 47, Dri Girls 1 Cup 44

• Syd On My Face 32, Carlyac Arrest 30

• D’s Nuts 37, All Ryled Up 30

• Steph Infection and Dri Girls 1 Cup look to be the current favorites to meet in the Breakfast Club finals, so this seems like a bit of a preview this week. 

• Games of the Day: 

• 9:00 - Steph Infection vs Dri Girls 1 Cup

• 10:00 - Eyes Downtown vs Sticky Bandits

• 11:00 - Sticky Bandits vs Wet Bandits

• 12:00 - Buffalo Vice vs Let’s Get Reccked

• 1:00 - ILF vs Cobblestone

• 2:00 - Come From Behind vs Stir The Sauce

• 3:00 - Mavericks vs Freeballers

• As the calendar turns toward October, so does the Buffalo weather. My trusty weather channel app tells me you’re heading for a sunny day, but the temperature is going to be hanging out around 60 degrees for most of the games. “Football weather” in its purest form. 

• It looks like the TSL Banquet is looking at December 6th or so for the target date. Keep that day open, but after speaking with Jeff it looks like nothing is finalized yet, but will be soon!

• CAPTAINS: Soon enough, you’ll be getting an email from Jeff Krol about TSL Awards, PLEASE take the time to fill out your thoughts on nominees, even if you only do it about your own division. If you don’t know somebody’s name, do your best to describe them and the league will figure it out. 

• PLAYERS: Yell at your captains to fill that awards sheet out. We don’t get nearly the amount of responses we should for something of this magnitude. 

• I’ve received MANY mentions of how good the Rose Garden bartenders have been this year. Make sure you give them an extra tip this week. Business is about to slow down in a few weeks. 

• When you’re parking, I’ve heard the people in the middle are blocking in the people near the fields. Please don’t be a dummy, and use your brain to leave a space for them to get out. Too often I hear about how some jamoke parks in the exit lane and people from the league have to start searching for the answer to “WHO DRIVES THIS CAR THEY NEED TO MOVE IT?!?”. Just be smart. 

-GF OUT

WEEK 5 THOUGHTS, PICKS AND STUFF

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Category: The Godfather's Picks

Created: Friday, 20 September 2024 17:30

Published: Friday, 20 September 2024 17:30

Written by Jeff Krol

Hits: 72

Ladies and Gentlemen of the TSL Universe, the TSL Fall 2024 season has officially reached middle age. That’s right, Week 5 of the season means that we’re halfway through the unofficial preseason for the Race For Social Co-Ed Touch Football Immortality. That’s what these first 9 games are, aren’t they? Just the preseason before the real games begin. Nobody gets a bottle of champagne from Jeff Krol just for being “really good” in the first two months of the season. You get that bubbly from Mr. Krol for being THE BEST after the two week playoff tournament that truly defines you as a human being and shows you what you’re made of. All of these regular season games are simply here to prepare you for the real test. So, who’s making the most of these practice rounds? Let’s take a look. 

D1

Odds To Win The Championship

Wet Bandits (3-1) - Sitting at 5-0, the Wet Ones have destroyed everyone in their way so far, casually putting up a lot of points, and looking every bit of the best team in the entire TSL. 

Eyes Downtown (4-1) - The rumors of the demise of Eyes Downtown seems to be a bit premature, as the 3-1 team has only lost to the Wet Bandits so far. Despite a close one with Scared Hitless, ED has looked more and more like the defending Fall Champions (that’s not a real thing) we remember from a year ago. Look out D1. 

Sticky Bandits (6-1) - Something isn’t right in Sticky Nation. The Bandits (dry version) are 3-1, but their wins are against the not great Freeballers, and then they’ve gone 2-1 in crossover games, losing to CTT, having to come back against The Malones, and they just snuck by Scared Hitless. Results like that make me wonder how well they’ll stack up against ED and the WB. 

Frodo Swaggins (10-1) - Frodo is 3-2, putting up points, and looking much better than they have in recent seasons. They’ve also gone 3-1 in crossover matchups, and lost their only “D1” game so far, against the Wet Bandits. Hard to put them higher than this currently. 

Freeballers (50-1) - Longshots to win the D1 Championship, the Freeballers still deserve all of the credit for going to D1 despite knowing who they were going to be losing. There’s been improvements as the season goes on, but this team isn’t quite feeling like “D1 champs” this season. Expect a strong finish to the season for them though. 

Last Week’s Games

None. 

This Week’s Games

Eyes Downtown vs Frodo Swaggins (+7) - I’m feeling a high scoring affair between these two, however, Eyes Downtown feels like more of the pick right now. They’re in a better place. EYES DOWNTOWN BY 8

D1/D2 Crossover Corner

Last Week’s Games

Freeballers 37, The Untouchaballs 23

Sticky Bandits 39, Scared Hitless 35

Frodo Swaggins 59, The Malones 40

Eyes Downtown 44, Grey Hair Don’t Care 16

D1 leads the Season Series 10-4. 

A clean sweep by D1 this week really messes up the closeness the Crossover Series was having. Freeballers got their first win, Sticky survived Scared Hitless, Frodo out-Maloned The Malones, and Eyes Downtown took care of Grey Hair pretty easily. 

This Week’s Games

Wet Bandits vs The Untouchaballs (+14) - The Untouchaballs aren’t as “untouchaball” as they’ve felt in season’s past, which means the league just isn’t as fun as it could be. We seem far removed from the fruit basket sending victories right now. I’d like UT to prove me wrong, but the Wet Bandits are on a mission. WET BANDITS BY 17

Frodo Swaggins vs Grey Hair Don’t Care (+10) - Frodo’s offense is becoming something to behold, and it was the ineptitude on that side of the ball (at times) that really derailed the team in the last few seasons. Grey Hair’s defense is nearly non-existent. Not the best matchup for them right now. FRODO SWAGGINS BY 20

D2

Odds To Win The Championship

Mavericks (4-1) - Arguably the team that should’ve won it all last season (and they know it), the Mavs have gotten off to a good start, sitting at 2-1. It’s not much of a sample size, but when you get wins over Can’t Touch This and Frodo Swaggins, and then “only” lose to the Wet Bandits by 13, well, this team could conceivably be the 2nd best team in D1. 

Can’t Touch This (6-1) - CTT has truly become that team nobody else wants to play. Not because of their attitude, they’re delightful, but because they feel they can beat anyone. They took down Sticky, played Frodo tight, and lost to the Mavs. They belong. 

The Malones (8-1) - It’s weird not making these guys and gals the favorites, but when they’re in the middle of their first 3 week losing streak ever, you can start to see holes in their armor. Now granted, The Malones lost 3 straight weeks against Sticky, Eyes Downtown, and Frodo. No slouches there (I have to say weeks since they murdered GHDC in there somewhere too). Even with those losses, they have a positive point differential. Maybe the book is out on them? 

Scared Hitless (10-1) - Sitting at 2-3, you wouldn’t think to look twice at SH, but if you look into the numbers, there’s a better story there. Scratch a Week 1 loss to The Malones, and you have a team that beat a D1 team (Freeballers), lost to a good D1 team by a single point (Eyes Downtown), and then they just took the defending D1 champs to the limit, losing by 4. Scared Hitless is THIS close to really breaking out in a big way. Don’t sleep on ‘em. 

The Untouchaballs (12-1) - On the plus side, whenever things seem to be their most bleak, Jeremy F’n Burr comes in and kicks the asses of everyone on the other side of the field from him. UT isn’t playing like UT, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t turn it up a notch and round into form just as the playoffs hit. 

Grey Hair Don’t Care (22-1) - They’re 1-5 already, they’re giving a ton of points, but they look like they’re having fun. Things don’t get easier for them as they get to play Frodo, Mavericks, Sticky, and Scared Hitless to round out the season. Fun. 

Last Week’s Games

Scared Hitless 32, The Untouchaballs 23

One game in D2 last week that ended exactly how you’d think it’d have ended with Scared Hitless outlasting The Untouchaballs. 

This Week’s Games

Can’t Touch This vs The Malones (EVEN) - LET’S GO. This is quite the marquee D2 matchup. Both teams are looking to separate themselves from the rest of the pack and cement themselves as D2 title contenders along with the Mavericks. Both teams want to make a statement and get a big win over a top opponent. This is going to be the most fun game to watch of the day. THE MALONES BY 2

Mavericks vs The Untouchaballs (+8) - As you’ve read a few times now, the Mavericks are just looking good and UT just has something not right with them. Maybe this is the game that “fixes” them, but I doubt it. MAVERICKS BY 13

Mavericks vs Scared Hitless (+7) - If Scared Hitless is going to have that breakout game, here’s the time to do it. How much longer do they want to be “the team that’s almost good but can’t stop falling short”? Here’s their chance to change the narrative. MAVERICKS BY 2

D3

Odds To Win The Championship

Mix’n It Up (4-1) - With a win over the Wanderers last weekend, the Kellers took the pole position in the championship odds. They’ve had impressive wins all season so far, and while they have to fit 6 games into 4 weeks (They’re 3-0 right now), I have a feeling they’re going to be just fine. 

Wanderers (9-2) - I can’t quite make them the favorites anymore after they lost to Mix, which I hear that the loss was actually equally Frank and Sal’s fault, and nobody else’s. It doesn’t matter though, the Wanderers are always a threat to win the title, even if they always blow it in the playoffs. 

Practice Squad (7-1) - Practice Squad is in unfamiliar territory as the 5-0 team that has everything together from the start. Usually they’re the struggling, underdog team that just clicks into high gear with “Playoff B” and they run to a title. How good is PS? A nice win over LGR helped their case, but other than a 3 point win over Vice, the Squad has two blowout wins over weak teams and a forfeit win. I’m not saying that Practice Squad isn’t good, I’m just saying we’ll find out just how good they are as they have arguably the toughest schedule to end the season with Wanderers, Bullet Club, Jabronies, and Mix’n It Up left to play. 

Let’s Get Reccked (8-1) - The perennial “this team should be better here” team in D3, one would THINK Let’s Get Reccked has won a title or two, but in reality, they never reach their potential. They’re 1-2 in their last three games, all of which were one score games, so they’re grinding out wins. Will they take that next step? 

Buffalo Vice (10-1) - Vice sits at 2-2, getting a forfeit win and a Week 1 victory over Bullet Club. In between have been two one score losses to Practice Squad (3 points) and the Jabronies (10 points). They’re going to compete, and they look better than last season, but we’ll get a better idea of just how good they’re going to be in the next few weeks or so. 

Jabronies (10-1) - The Jabronies sit at 2-2, beating Vice and TAST, and losing to the Wanderers and Bullet Club, which puts them firmly in the “I don’t know what they are” middle with a few other teams. They have the QB and they have top end talent, but depth might be their problem overall. 

Bullet Club (10-1) - Bullet Club is sitting at 2-4, having yet another season where I don’t know what to make of them. They have 2 blowout losses (Week 1 against Vice and Wanderers), they have two blowout wins (Jabronies and TAST), and they have 2 “played tough and could’ve won the game if one or two things go right” losses (Mix and LGR). Like most of the “middle” D3 teams, they feel like they should be better than that. 

Passing While Intoxicated (12-1) - PWI is handling their first foray into D3 pretty well so far, but everything is going to get harder and harder as things go on. PWI lost to the Wanderers by 9, and got smacked by Practice Squad in Week 1. In between they got wins against the combined 0-9 teams of Topper-less TAST, and Team-less Straw Hats. Their last 5 games are against the teams just above them in the odds rankings: Bullet Club - Jabronies - Vice - Mix - LGR. That stretch will tell us everything we need to know about PWI this season. 

Topper’s All Stars & Todd (20-1) - They haven’t had enough Topper this season, which is the big reason for the slow start, things should be getting better as the season moves on. 

Last Week’s Games

Wanderers 46, Passing While Intoxicated 37

Mix’n It Up 27, Wanderers 14

Let’s Get Reccked 37, Bullet Club 32

Practice Squad 39, Let’s Get Reccked 34

Practice Squad 42, Topper’s All-Stars & Todd 21

Wanderers slip by PWI before dropping a game to Mix to go to 1-1 on the day, Let’s Get Reccked slips by Bullet Club before dropping a game to Practice Squad to go 1-1 on the day, and Practice Squad beats TAST to go to 2-0 on the day. 

This Week’s Games

Mix’n It Up vs Topper’s All-Stars & Todd (+9) - Last season, TAST got a two interception performance from Topper (the ones where he catches them, not throws them) as he first claimed his throne as D3 Male Defensive Player of The Spring. The Kellers didn’t forget that, and they’ve been waiting for this moment of revenge. MIX’N IT UP BY 14

Bullet Club vs Passing While Intoxicated (+2) - A big game for both teams, for different reasons. PWI is looking to climb the ladder of D3, and Bullet Club is just ahead of them. Buddy Lee and TD Tori have led the way for PWI so far, and they’ll both need nice days to keep ahead of BC. Meanwhile, Bullet Club needs this win to have a shot at finishing above .500 this season, and after last year’s “finishing 8th” debacle, I think they’d want to avoid another low finish in the standings. BULLET CLUB BY 5

Wanderers vs Practice Squad (+6) - I’ve said enough about these teams already. Practice Squad, just show me what you’ve got. WANDERERS BY 3

Mix’n It Up vs Buffalo Vice (+7) - This feels like one of those games where the speed of Buffalo Vice will really come into play here. Plus, as Andy Clark knows, chicks dig the long ball. Upset alert. BUFFALO VICE BY 3

Let’s Get Reccked vs Jabronies (+3) - Both teams are 2-2, both teams are in the “they should be better” category. These teams have a decent history too. LET’S GET RECCKED BY 6

D4

Odds To Win The Championship

Cunning Stunts (2-1) - They’re 5-0, they’re beating the crap out of everyone, and they look like they’re on the next level. As always, their biggest enemy will be the playoffs. 

The ILFers (4-1) - At this point, they’re clearly better than any team that isn’t just full of women. Kicak and company really need to figure out how to get over the “gender hump” in front of them, or they can just smartly focus on finishing second in the division, and then beating whatever low seed upsets the Stunts in the second round of the playoffs for the title. 

Select (9-1) - The “new” team on the block (that’s chock full of vets) had a rough go of it last week, but they’re still proving they’re in a different tier than some of the other D4 teams they’re going against. And they have a superstar in Malikye, which can only help things. Plus, they’ve got Tater Tots vibes, which makes them league favorites. 

The Herd (9-1) - WHAT IS THIS? That’s right, The Herding 20s are sitting at 3-2, and are on a 3 game winning streak. When your two losses are against the Stunts and ILF, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Amazing what grabbing a former D1 super good QB can do for you. 

Vaspian (9-1) - The third entrant into our “second tier” of teams, Vaspian has been playing relatively well this season. Sitting at 2-3, this isn’t your father’s Vaspian. The Vaspian of old used to play lockdown defense, and would grind out 19-12 wins. This Vaspian has a scoring punch to it, and they’re a 1 point loss to Select and a 6 point loss to The Herd away from being the talk of the league at 4-1. I’m not sure what happened, but I’ve been told that maybe Tawan Crosby finally found his hands after 5 years. 

Creekers (9-1) - They’re firmly in the middle with the other teams, but they just don’t have the vibes this season so far. Luckily, they’re only 3 games into this season, and at 1-2 they can quickly remind everyone who they are. I wouldn’t give up on the Creekers just yet. The best is yet to come for them, and if they end up 6-3, would you be surprised? (Yes, because they have the Stunts and ILF still to play). 

GirthQuakes (15-1) - They’re still finding their legs, yet despite being 1-3 they have a +7 point differential. Why? Cobblestone gave them a 21-0 forfeit win. They lost to The Herd by 12. After that? Two one point losses to Select and the Creekers. While a losing record seems likely, there’s a lot of promise here. 

Cobblestone (20-1) - No, it should not “be higher”. At the end of the day, Cobblestone still has league legend and first ballot Hall of Famer Darryl Carr QB Superstar throwing the ball, which means they can drop 50 points on anyone whenever they want to. The rest of the Carrs, by the way, are pretty good too. Now that they have females, finally, they’ll right the ship a bit, and can be dangerous. 

Last Week’s Games

Creekers 29, GirthQuakes 28

Cunning Stunts 54, Cobblestone 28

The Herd 55, Cobblestone 28

Vaspian 38, Select 8

Creekers sneak on by the GQs to get that first win they’ve needed, The Stunts and The Herd team up to send Cobblestone to 0-2 on the day, and Vaspian beats Select by 30!

This Week’s Games

Creekers vs Cobblestone (+3) - Two teams that had rough starts meet in a game they both have to be considering “must win”, just for their psyche. This should be close. CREEKERS BY 2

ILFers vs Creekers (+10) - The Creekers could really shake things up with a win here, but ILF has just been so darn consistent at what they do, and now that they have an actual QB, I doubt we see any slip ups. ILFERS BY 14

The Herd vs Select (EVEN) - The current hottest D4 team (non-Stunts/ILF division) vs the former hottest D4 team (non-Stunts/ILF division). Select didn’t have the greatest week last week, but most teams have a bad week here or there. Meanwhile, The Herd is ROLLING. I feel like a high scoring game is coming our way. THE HERD BY 8

Cunning Stunts vs GirthQuakes (+17) - It’s nothing against the GirthQuakes, but you’re a team learning and looking for your first non-forfeit win ever, going against the well oiled machine that is the Stunts, who have been spanking everyone they come across. CUNNING STUNTS BY 20

D5

Odds To Win The Championship

Come From Behind (5-1) - I know what you’re thinking. CFB is 2-2, how on Earth are they the favorites? Because they’re still good, and they’re a proven commodity here in D5. If you check back in 4 weeks and they’re 7-2, are you going to be surprised? You’re not. 

GUCCI (5-1) - GUCCI had a bad week, which should probably hurt them here, but in reality we’re banking on GUCCI rounding back into the form we’re used to, and I’ll say the same thing I’ve said for CFB: If they’re 7-2 in 4 weeks, are you going to be surprised? 

Two Tuddies (6-1) - The Tud Buds are the class of D5 and arguably the TSL as they’ve stormed out to a 4-0 record, and the changes they’ve made to the roster really seem to be paying off. They have wins over Stir The Sauce, GUCCI, Not So Sticky, and Pit Harade. With games against the PowerPuff Girls and Come From Behind looming, we’ll see if they’ve been lucky or if they’re good. 

Not So Sticky (6-1) - They’re doing the things they always do here, although having Ricky Recckio doesn’t exactly hurt. 4 games, a 3-1 record, and 3 of 4 games have been 1 score games. The other one? 12 points. NSS tends to play close games, and they’re sticking to their script here. 

Stir The Sauce (6-1) - STS is continuing their climb to get back to the D5 title game, and they’re looking every bit the contender. Other than a big win over Pit Harade, STS has played in three straight 1 point games, Beating CFB 21-20, and Losing 53-52 to Spinelli’s, and 31-30 to the Tuddies. They very easily could be 4-0 right now. They’re tough to beat. 

Power Puff Girls (6-1) - The PPGs have continued their rise in D5 as things begin to click more and more for the team. Defense still is a problem, as the Girls have allowed 25+ points in all 4 games this season. Luckily for them, they sure can score a lot. They have two 1 point losses to NSS and GUCCI this season, and they’re yet another team that could’ve been 4-0 at this point in time. 

Spinelli’s Plumbing (8-1) - Spinelli’s is 1-3 in their return, and while their offense has come back to form, their defense is allowing just under 50 points per game. Not exactly the markings of a D5 contender just yet. If they can shore up their defense a smidge, they could be a hot team heading into the playoffs. 

Pit Harade (25-1) - So far, so not good for Pit Harade’s initial D5 season. They’re currently at 0-3, and they’ve only scored 40 points so far, after averaging nearly 28 per game last season. They’re allowing 40 points a game on defense, a far cry from last season as well. Tougher competition and breaking in another QB has been rough, and although PH has shown flashes of the team of last season, I’m not sure they’ll win a game this season. 

Last Week’s Games

Not So Sticky 41, Spinelli’s Plumbing 37

Come From Behind 42, GUCCI 0

Two Tuddies 29, GUCCI 16

Two Tuddies 31, Stir The Sauce 30

GUCCI goes 0-2 on the day, losing to the Tud Buds and getting blown out by Come From Behind. The Tuddies would go on to slip by Stir The Sauce by a point to be 2-0 on the day. Not So Sticky held off Spinelli’s as well. 

This Week’s Games

Spinelli’s Plumbing vs Pit Harade (+10) - Spinelli’s high octane offense may be too much for Pit Harade’s leaky defense, and they could easily put up 50 points, although Spinelli’s “not great” defense might be just what the doctor ordered to get PH on track. SPINELLI’S PLUMBING BY 14

Two Tuddies vs Power Puff Girls (EVEN) - The Tud Buds have overcome every challenge thrown their way so far this season, and now they get the challenge of a gender team on the rise. They can’t win them all, right? POWER PUFF GIRLS BY 13

GUCCI vs Not So Sticky (+3) - We haven’t really seen full powered, rust knocked off GUCCI yet this season, but it looks like NSS is going to get to see it first hand. I expect yet another one score game here. GUCCI BY 2

Come From Behind vs Pit Harade (+17) - Pit Harade gets to face arguably the two most lethal offenses in D5 on the same day. Not exactly what the doctor ordered. COME FROM BEHIND BY 20

GUCCI vs Power Puff Girls (+3) - This one may come down to which defense makes a play first. Not sure who it’ll be just yet. GUCCI BY 1

Come From Behind vs Not So Sticky (EVEN) - The lighthearted “rivalry” in D5 continues in this one, as these two titans will battle it out. I know better than to bet against NSS when I think CFB will beat them. NOT SO STICKY BY 4

D6

Odds To Win The Championship

Blitzkrieg (3-1) - Blitzkrieg Finds themselves where they usually do at this point, near the top of the standings, good offense, good defense, and wondering if this is really the year or not. They’ve weathered every storm thrown at them this season, with one notable exception….

Day By Day (3-1) - ….Day By Day, who has been on fire all season, looking every bit a title contender. Other than a slip up against the Purple Nurples, DBD has been great, and with a win over Blitzkrieg under their belts, they’re a bonafide title contender. 

Sausage McMuffins (4-1) - The McMuffins are just a shade behind the other two, but they’ve handled their business. Their only loss is against Blitzkrieg, which obviously isn’t anything to be too worried about. 

Sticky Laces (8-1) - The Laces have wins over Dogg Pound, Balls Deep, and a 1 point win over the Nurples. Pretty good wins, but they also got blown out by TMA along the way too. The schedule isn’t too kind the rest of the way, so we’ll see what they’re made of very soon. 

Balls Deep (12-1) - Balls Deep hasn’t had a great season, other than a beat down of the Dogg Pound. They typically have a “not great” offense, anchored by a good defense, but even that has been rough this year. Right now they find themselves not really good enough to compete, but not bad enough to rebuild. 

Purple Nurples (20-1) - The revamped Mighty Drunks are going through some growing pains, but they’re a point away from a 2-2 record, and they’ve already played the McMuffins, Blitzkrieg, and Day By Day. The problem for them? They get Blitzkrieg and the McMuffins again, so their final record may not be great, but the experience they’ll gain could help in the playoffs. 

Dogg Pound (20-1) - They got their first win of the season last weekend against TMA, and lost to Day By Day by a point. They lost to Sticky Laces by 2. Other than getting blown out in back to back weeks, it's been a better season for the Pound, even if the record doesn’t reflect that. 

TMA (20-1) - The TMA of old is starting to appear, as they’re starting to get back to having their team show up, and adding new blood to an old roster. They blew out Sticky Laces, and got blown out against Day By Day. They also played the McMuffins and Dogg Pound tight in losses. They’re trending up, let's hope they rattle off a few wins sooner than later. 

Last Week’s Games

Sausage McMuffins 36, Balls Deep 22

Dogg Pound 30, TMA 21

Day By Day 29, Blitzkrieg 25

Sticky Laces 37, Purple Nurples 36

Day By Day 19, Dogg Pound 18

The McMuffins take care of Balls Deep, while the Dogg Pound gets its first win over TMA before falling to Day By Day later in the day. Day By Day would get a huge win over Blitzkrieg earlier in the day. Sticky Laces sneak out a win over the Nurples as well. 

This Week’s Games

Blitzkrieg vs Purple Nurples (+8) - Fall Blitzkrieg had a hiccup against Day By Day, but I’d expect them to get back on track against a Nurples defense that allows quite a bit of points. BLITZKRIEG BY 12

Sausage McMuffins vs Sticky Laces (+7) - If the Sticky Laces should be included in the “top tier” of D6 contenders, this is the game they need to win. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re quite there yet. SAUSAGE MCMUFFINS BY 14

Day By Day vs Balls Deep (+10) - Unless Balls Deep gets better on both sides of the ball, or Day By Day gets a little too confident over last week’s win over BK, this game should be going exactly how you think it should. DAY BY DAY BY 8

Blitzkrieg vs Dogg Pound (+7) - While the Dogg Pound is getting better and better, they have a ways to go to get up to the championship level teams above them. BLITZKRIEG BY 9

Purple Nurples vs TMA (+3) - It depends on what TMA we’ll be getting this week, but if the normal team shows up, I think they’ll be able to pull this one out. TMA BY 6

Five Questions For Saturday

• What division do you think is the most competitive now? I think the answer is D5. Every single team can beat any other team, with the exception of Pit Harade. If Spinelli’s figures out their defense, we’ll have a 7 team race on our hands! 

• What division is the least competitive then? It has to be D4. The Stunts and ILFers just feel like a cut above everyone else, which can only mean that we’ll be seeing a Select vs Vaspian finals. 

• Who are your current best bets for the championships at the halfway point? Wet Bandits, Mavericks, Wanderers, ILFers, Stir The Sauce, and Blitzkrieg. 

• Who are your favorite current “long shots”? Passing While Intoxicated has made a career out of pulling out upsets when nobody thought they could. And honestly, look out for Scared Hitless come playoff time. 

• What team that’s under .500 will make some noise the rest of the season? Do the Malones count? I think we know about them. Call me crazy, but I just have this feeling that Vaspian is going to really surprise people the rest of the season. 

Ten Final Thoughts For Saturday

• Games Of The Week: 

• 9:00 - Mix’n It Up vs Topper All-Stars & Todd

• 10:00 - Bullet Club vs Passing While Intoxicated

• 11:00 - Can’t Touch This vs The Malones

• 12:00 - Jabronies vs Let’s Get Reccked

• 1:00 - Power Puff Girls vs Two Tuddies

• 2:00 - Come From Behind vs Not So Sticky

• 3:00 - Frodo Swaggins vs Eyes Downtown

• Breakfast Club Predictions: 

• Dri Girls 1 Cup 32, All Ryled Up 28

• Steph Infection 40, D’s Nutz 21

• Syd On My Face 27, Carlyac Arrest 24

• It appears that Dog Day was a success, and multiple kittens and pups had applications for adoption submitted! 

• Watch the GirthQuakes get it together and pop off a bunch of wins in the second half. The talent is there. 

• You may avoid the rain this weekend, but I wouldn’t count on it. My trusty Weather Channel App, even from Iowa, says you’re looking at 50% chance of rain. 

• If you’re reading this, make sure you give Topper a big hug when you see him this weekend. He’ll know why. 

• The rumblings are beginning for the TSL Winter Banquet. No dates or anything have been finalized, but the biggest party of the year is coming. Get ready for it! 

• We need TSLers taking more pictures and posting them on Facebook and tagging us in them! Or we need an official TSL photographer again who can post on Instagram as well. 

• Remember, if you want to be on the TSL podcast, just find Dorene or Joe K, or Jeff Krol, and they’ll set it up! 

• Finally, if you have anything you want to add about your team, or to tell me I’m just wrong and you’re going to shock the world, email me like the others do at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let me know what you want to say!