Updated March 5th 2023 

 

PLEASE READ BELOW FOR AN IMPORTANT UPDATE ON THE TSL

Hi Captains/Players, Friends of the TSL,

As we open registration for the Spring football season, we wanted to start with a quick update about some important changes you'll be seeing in the TSL this session.

Topper’s been warning us all for the last year or two that he’s been looking to retire as multi-time TSL Executive of the Year to spend more time with his dogs (or whatever it is that Topper does) and he’s decided that it’s finally time.  After 12 years of record-setting prosperity running the unquestioned greatest football league in Western New York, Topper will be stepping aside and leaving management of the league to the next generation.

No, you haven’t seen the last of Topper. He’ll still be around whenever he feels like showing up – at the bar, on the fields, or hosting one of his legendary pool parties.  But you can stop asking him questions about subbing approvals or schedule requests – just let the man enjoy his retirement!

Instead, the League will be run by the same people that were essentially running it last Fall anyway: Jeff Krol, Joe K, Travis Cleavenger and Garrett Beesing (with help from Val Cleavenger, George Lombardo, Emily Schilling, our Breakfast Club captains, website writers, refs etc). 

Although the spirit of the League won’t change, some other things will – starting with this website, which Topper currently owns (among other things) under the TopperSports LLC name.  Rather than transfer all of that over to new people, we agreed it would be simpler just to form a new LLC under new ownership (and frankly more fair to Topper, who shouldn’t have to worry about a League being run in his name that he no longer controls).  At the start of this year, we officially registered TSL716 LLC as a new entity, and that’s what we’ll be operating under going forward. 

At some point in the very near future, www.Toppersports.com will be deactivated and replaced with www.TSL716.com.

No, we don’t expect you to actually call the League “TSL716”.  You can call it the TSL just like you always have.  We won’t even correct you if you call it “Toppers”, because we all know what the T in TSL really stands for.  The website (and our email addresses) will all look different, but make no mistake: this is still the TSL you know and love, and we will continue to do our best to make sure we don’t forget what makes this League great… by which we mean dunk tanks, fancy banquets and face painting clowns, of course. 

As with any transition, there will likely be some challenges, so we appreciate your patience.  It helps to have Topper himself as a consultant along the way (unpaid consultant of course – hopefully that was clear Topper?)

We’ll send communications both through this website and via email when the new website is active, and we appreciate your patience as we get this stuff sorted out.

Having said that… Registration is officially open for Spring session!    See below info on how to register:

 

How To Register a Team

Please fill out the link below to register your team:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SzZvfaaybegh8ZQ599IYx855PIIZwIbpE1zO6n9YMmQ/edit

We ask that you please only register when you have your complete roster more or less set.  We understand that you may add/subtract players before the season starts, but don’t keep someone off your roster on purpose so that you are placed in a lower division, only to add that player once divisions are set... we don’t have time for roster games as we're putting divisions together.  As always, the League reserves the right to move teams to a different division as needed to preserve competitive balance.

Rosters are limited to 14 players per team, and players are only allowed to play on ONE team this session, unless they meet one of the exceptions we established last Fall (which we spell out again in detail below) so please don't submit an illegal roster without reading all the info below.

The full balance of $450 will be due upon registration, with an additional $50 forfeit fee required for new teams ($500 total for new teams).  The forfeit fee will be carried over to the next season if you don't forfeit a game (or reimbursed at the end of the season if you'd like).

Payment can be made via Venmo to @jeff-krol.  If captains don't have Venmo, and none of the players on their team can Venmo on their behalf, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will find other arrangements for payment.

 

How to Register for Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club games will be held at 9 am every week from April 29th to June 24th.  To register, simply fill out the form below and venmo $50 to @jeff-krol (or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we'll make other payment arrangements if you don't have Venmo):

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VgNxdGgnkxegyNhDdCqcbY8zQoxwOTbwUhkD7kPRqww/edit

The Breakfast Club draft will be held on April 8th, so the deadline to register for Breakfast Club is Friday, April 7th.  We can NOT add people after April 7th so please don't wait until the last second to sign up.  Everyone in Breakfast Club is automatically eligible to be a sub for the main League, so if you want to play a lot of football this session, Breakfast Club is the way to do it!

 

Spring Session Dates & Times

Here are the dates for the season:

• Week 1 April 22^nd
• Week 2 April 29th (start of Breakfast Club season)
• Week 3 May 6^th
• Week 4 May 13^th
• Week 5 May 20^th
• Week 6 May 27th (Memorial Day weekend - yes, we have games)
• Week 7 June 3^rd
• Week 8 June 10^th (Lenny & Rameer Day)
• Playoffs Week 1 June 17^th
• Playoff Semis & Finals June 24^th

 

Games will be at 10 am, 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm.

The top 8 teams in division will make playoffs, and the exact playoff structure/schedule will be announced at a later date.

Terms & Conditions

1. All players must be 21 years of age and over to play.
2. All players must have a signed waiver on file for THIS season (previous seasons do not count) so please fill this out yourself, and then send it to the players on your team to fill out as well.  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NqaQgYi1a2Sr-vlV_Nab-G7gIJhM3fE0O_xWzK0s5P0/edit
3. The Rules will be reviewed over the next month or so, posted to our website, and emailed to captains before the start of the season.  There will not be any major changes from previous sessions other than some minor tweaks/wording changes.
4. The new website is still under development and will be operational before the Spring session starts.  Don't worry, the Godfather will be making the jump to the new website. We may be a little slow to upload all the teams to their divisions on the Standings before the season starts, but we’ll get there.
5. A sub list (and email address to contact the League about sub requests) will be provided to captains prior to the first week instructing them which players are eligible to sub in their division throughout the season. Details on when sub requests are due (and what happens if a request is received after that deadline) will be provided in that same email to captains before the season starts.
6. If you must forfeit a game, your team is responsible for notifying the League before 5 pm on the Friday before your game.  Any forfeit after that time will incur a $50 forfeit fee (i.e. the cost of the refs who were assigned to that game).

 

Playing on Multiple Teams

Last Fall we announced that starting this Spring, the League would be strongly pulling back on allowing people to play on more than one team.  The logic behind this is that teams stop bringing new people into the League when we allow them to recruit from other teams instead (why would you ask a new person to play when you can just recruit a great player from another team instead?).  Over time this leads to the League stagnating with fewer and fewer people playing on multiple teams.  Our goal is to grow the TSL (or at least add people at the same rate that our older players retire!) and that can only be done by forcing teams to bring in new people when they need athletes to fill out their rosters.  Effective Spring session, players are only allowed to play on ONE team, unless they meet one of the following exceptions:

• Anyone is allowed (and encouraged) to play on a Breakfast Club team, which doesn't count as a "second" team
• Anyone who reffed four or more games LAST Fall session will be allowed to play on a second team this session.  Yes, we already know who meets this criteria, and no, you cannot "promise" to ref games THIS session to be eligible for a second team this Spring (though you can ref four games this session to become eligible for this Fall).  The League is not possible without committed refs, so we're willing to make an exception for them.
• Anyone who wants to play on a gender team will be allowed to - we strongly encourage gender teams, so they don't count as a "second" team
• If a person who already plays on one team wants to start a brand new team that will bring new people into the League, we may make an exception for these situations on a case by case basis.  If you have questions about what will/won't be accepted as a "new team" just reach out and ask!

We understand that this policy will negatively impact some players who are forced to decide between two teams... but this was communicated exhaustively via emails, website posts, podcasts, and physical sheets of paper we created, printed and hung around the fields every week last session.  In other words, ignorance of this rule is not grounds for an exception, and everyone had the chance to ref if they really wanted to keep playing on two teams.

 

If you have any questions about registration, payments, scheduling, roster rules, etc please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call/text 716-480-5074

 

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at the fields!