Lothrop Sports

    It’s Rivalry Week: the final and most important week of the regular season. On Friday and Saturday, teams from all over the country will play their most hated rivals for trivial trophies that represent nothing but pride and bragging rights, but these games may be as important as bowl games to most fan bases. This year, Rivalry Week offers a post-Thanksgiving feast of ranked matchups, chances to break losing streaks and earn redemption, and a handful of games that can decide conference championships, bowl game placements, and College Football Playoff berths. Below, I previewed the most important and fun matchups on the menu for this weekend.  #24 Virginia Tech (8-3) at Virginia (8-3)     Virginia Tech has won 15 straight the Commonwealth Cups and 19 of the last 20 meetings. The last time the UVA won, NFL journeyman Matt Schaub was throwing passes as a Cavalier. That streak almost broke last year, though, as QB Bryce Perkins led UVE to a 7 point...

We’re now over halfway through the NFL season, and so many players have impressed us with dazzling performances. Ravens signal caller Lamar Jackson has defied my own preseason predictions and kicked major ass. Kyler Murray, another QB I profiled before the season started slowly but is making strides under center. The undefeated San Francisco 49ers have looked superb on both sides of the ball. Tom Brady is 42 and still an above average quarterback, somehow (maybe it’s the spa dates with Paul Rudd). But there have been plenty of disappointments too. The Browns started the year as a dark horse Super Bowl candidate, and now they stand at 2-6 with a struggling QB-coach tandem. The Rams were supposed to build on last year’s Super Bowl run, and instead started slowly and sit at 3rd in the NFC West, on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Below, I’ll talk about the 5 guys who have given us their worst this year.  Adam Vinatieri Adam Vinatieri is playing professional football at ag...