10/7/25 - Mitchell Ellison, BSL Sports Editor - This year feels different. Even before we got to Week 5, about one-third of the way through this season, things felt like they were different. The BSL has never had so many new owners join in the same league at the same time and there has never been as many other teams in owner limbo before, so it was bound to be different. But after 5 weeks, across the 3 leagues, the difference is how wide-open things seem. Of the 15 Team of the Week awards in the 3 BSL leagues this season, there have been 14 different winners. Only the Omaha Players in the TLSL have won more than 1 so far, and they only have 2. There also have been no multiple week winners of the Offensive Player of the Week so far this year, the farthest into the season this has happened in over 10 years. Five weeks in we have 3 undefeated teams (2 in the CDL – Tanzmanian Devils and Killer Tomatoes, and 1 in the TLSL – St. Pete Minutemen) of which 2 at least are unfamiliar with that position. And of the 36 BSL teams, 18 are currently either (2-3) [5 teams] or (3-2) [an amazing 13 teams]. Things are certainly trending toward late season chaos for playoff spots as we sit now. So let’s look at each league, shall we…
As always, we start with the OG, the CDL. As noted, we see a mix of familiar (Tanz Devils) and unfamiliar (Tomatoes) sitting atop the league at (5-0). Not far behind are more of the familiar (Uncanny X-Men) and unfamiliar (Buzzardpukes) sitting at (4-1). 5 Different ToW winners and at most a 1 game division lead in each division means the CDL is closer than ever. The number 1 offensive team (Tomatoes) is dead last in Special Teams and middle of the pack in Defense, adding to the anything is possible theme. As an example, keep in mind that currently, less than 80 pts separate the top scoring CDL team from the 8th highest scoring team. As bye weeks start creeping in, on top of all the injuries that we always have by this time of year each season, we will see how well or if the top teams can keep things going or will it be as we are expecting, seeing new blood rise this season.
Over in the FSDL, there are NO undefeated teams remaining due to a 99-yard INT return for a TD by one of the newest owners’ team, The Rising Rookie, used the 18.9 pt play to beat the Sinister 36ers by 16.2 and ruin what would have been an epic 40+ point comeback on Monday Knight by the 36ers. The league’s other (4-1) team, the Midway Monsters, slipped in their opening game but have a 4-game heater going now. There are 6 other teams in the FSDL at (3-2) [Jedi Knights, St. Cloud Brown Stars, the aforementioned Rising Rookie, HitMen, Crazy Bisons (yes, we KNOW that Bison is already plural), and China Open Faces]. As we are only 5 weeks in and having only 2 of the 12 FSDL teams more than 2 games out of their division lead should keep things interesting for the duration. Unlike in the CDL, the top teams in Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams are all in the Top 3 in overall scoring so far so those teams can keep it up, maybe they can pull away from the large pack.
In the TLSL we also see only about 80 pts separate 1st from 8th place in scoring, a trend that is not normal this far into the season. Also like in the CDL, the TLSL top scoring team is 1st in Offence but next to last in Special Teams and middle of the pack (7th) in defensive scoring. And the 1 undefeated team, the Minutemen, aren’t leading in any category. They aren’t even 2nd. Here in the TLSL 2 divisions, the Ditka and the Gibbs-Parcels, each have 3 teams sitting tied for the division lead at (3-2). It doesn’t get much wider open than that. And the other division has the 2 best teams by record, the previously mentioned (5-0) St. Pete Minutemen and the (4-1) 2-time Defending Champion Bewildered Bruins so that isn’t moving in the runaway direction either. We would also like to point out that the currently highest scoring team in the TLSL is in last place in their division, albeit only a 1 game out at (2-3) in the Ditka Division, but still in last as we sit now. All in all, this year is shaping up to be different from other years. Yes, we have close races each year but normally by Week 5 even, we have some sense that some teams are out, and some teams are pretending. This year, even the (0-5) and (1-4) teams, well most of them at least, seem to be poised to make noise. We will watch the remainder of the 2025 CDL, FSDL and TLSL season with the expectation that our expectation will not match the outcomes. Look for more updates and articles as the season progresses.