• Print
• Email

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

• Prev
• Next