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Dec. 15, 2005 I’m going out on a limb here, and with my girth that could be dangerous. This list is made up of fifteen athletes with high hopes and who crushed the hopes of the fans in the cities where they played. I’m sure you sports fans out there will be able to name a few who deserve to be on this list. There are no particular standards other than failure and/or notoriety. Now, on with the show. (By the way, I excluded hockey players as I haven’t followed the sport closely enough to make an informed decision). Taking top flop honors is Ryan Leaf. Hard to believe that this guy was taken number one over Peyton Manning. To this day San Diego Chargers General manager Bobby Beathard refuses to wear neckties, afraid he’ll flashback to that one April day in 1998 and hang himself. $20 million and four NFL teams later, Leaf saw the light and retired. The only thing we learned about him was that his temper was more explosive than his arm. His rookie season totals: 2 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. QB rating—39. His career numbers, 14 touchdown passes, 36 interceptions and a QB rating of 50.0. Roy Tarpley—He was drafted 7th overall in 1986. Many thought he would become one of the all-time greats, but the only thing legendary about him was his use of drugs and alcohol. He was so strung out that Elvis would have considered an intervention. He was literally the most “wasted” NBA draft pick ever. When he did play, his stats were impressive. But he had a problem with coming to work. Todd Van Poppel—Perhaps this is the man with the most hittable fastball EVER. Like Halle Berry in a bar full of sailors, his “fastball” would get hit on from every direction. He was supposed to be another Roger Clemens, but pitched more like Samuel Clemens. Even though he was the winner of the first two Butkus Awards as the nation's top college linebacker, Brian Bosworth knew that he was all ego, hype and steroid-induced muscle. Nonetheless the Seattle Seahawks wasted a supplemental draft pick on him. In fact, during his senior season at Oklahoma he hired an acting coach, which for him turned out o be a waste of money, proving that turnabout is fair play. He is best known for being bowled over by Bo Jackson during a Monday Night Football game. In 1975 The Golden State Warriors selected Joe Barry Carroll with the number one pick. He went on to average 15 points and 7.7 rebounds per game during a ten-year career spent with seven teams. He was lazy, played poor defense (when he felt like even trying) and alienated teammates. In 1989 while at the University of Houston and under the tutelage of Jack Pardee, Andre Ware set 26 NCAA passing and total offense records. He threw for an eye-popping 517 yards in one half against SMU. He won the Heisman Trophy that year and was drafted in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft. He signed with the Detroit Lions and spent four years there, but floundered and eventually went to the Canadian Football League (CFL). Later he played in the NFL’s version of a farm system—the World League—but was injured. After a brief tryout with the Oakland Raiders, Ware retired as just another case of unfulfilled promise. Sam Bowie would made Joe Barry Carroll look like Shaquille O’Neal. Hard to believe that he was drafted ahead of Michael Jordan (at number 2), especially when you review his career numbers: In ten years he averaged missing a third of the season, but did manage 13.3 points per game and 10.9 rebounds. A bad leg subject to repeated breaks doomed what could have been a brilliant career. He was the second in a triumvirate of injury-prone and/or doltish centers: (Walton/Bowie?Duckworth). Harold Minor came out of college with the nickname “Baby Jordan,” a not so veiled comparison to basketball great Michael Jordan. But the only thing he has in common with the former Chicago Bulls great is that they are both out of basketball. In fact, Minor is such an obscure NBA reference that his statistics are unavailable. Mark Breland won the Gold Medal in the 1984 Olympics, leading a team that included Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker, Tyrell Biggs and Meldrick Taylor. He thus became the most hyped fighter since Howard Davis in 1976. He was compared to Kronk Gym stablemate Tommy “Hit Man” Hearns: Both were tall fighters with sinewy builds. Both possessed rapier-like jabs and uncanny power with the right hand. Breland fought well enough, winning 31 of 34 career fights. But he had something else in common with Hearns—a weak chin. In 1987 Breland was stopped by light-hitting Marlon Starling in the 11th round. It was Breland’s first title defense. Eight months later they fought to a draw. Breland had a few wins after that bout, but none of them were against fighters of any distinction. He lost his last fight, a sixth round TKO to Jorge Vaca, never attaining what many boxing pundits thought would be legendary status.. Tony Mandarich—He was supposed to be Robert Gallery before Robert Gallery; that is, a 300-pound offensive lineman with speed and uncanny agility. He was supposed to be the prototype offensive lineman of the future. But he went bald before he even had one good season. Many speculate that his steroid abuse led to his rapid physical decline. Ryan Anderson had what scouts said was “unlimited potential.” Sadly, he never made it out of the minor leagues. He was a much ballyhooed pitcher drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the 1997 amateur draft. He was left-handed, had an “unhittable” slider and a 100-mph fastball. He stood 6’10” and was immediately compared to the ace of the Mariners staff—6’10” fellow southpaw Randy Johnson, also known for his great slider and fastball and known to baseball fans as The Big Unit.” Hence, Anderson became known as “The Little Unit.” Anderson last pitched at the Triple-A level in 2000. That year he went a disappointing 5-8 with a 3.98 ERA. His career was cut short due to a rotator cuff injury. Prior to that, in 104 innings pitched Anderson had 146 strikeouts and only 55 walks. He was released to make room for light-hitting shortstop Rich Aurilia. Jerry Cooney was the last in a long lline of “White Hopes,” building a reputation by pummeling fighters well past their prime, specifically Ron Lyle, Jimmy Young and Ken Norton. He piled up a 25-0 record with 21 KOs before he ran into Larry Holmes who TKO’d him in round 13. Cooney then took a year off, came back to win three more fights by KO (all over journeymen), then got another title shot against the undersized and unorthodox Michael Spinks. This time a defenseless Cooney was KO’d in 5. Joe Charboneau was a 6’2”, 205 lb. kid with a lightning bat and an exuberance for the game of baseball. He. came up with the Cleveland Indians in 1980 and hit .289 with 23 HR and 87 RB in 131 games. He quickly became a fan favorite and even had a song written about him. The next year injuries limited him to 48 games and he hit a paltry .210. The year after that he hit .214 in 22 games with the big club. It didn’t take long for pitchers to find out Charboneau couldn’t hit a breaking ball. At the end of his career he was so mentally messed up that he couldn’t have hit land if he fell from a tree. Duane Thomas combined with Calvin Hill to form a fearsome twosome in the Dallas Cowboys backfield. But he was moody and enigmatic. Moreover, it was rumored that he loved to smoke marijuana. In his first two seasons he led the team in rushing and both teams made it to the Super Bowl, winning one. After that, drugs ruined him. Cowboy coach Tom Landry lamented, “If Duane Thomas continued to play the way he did the couple of years he was in there, it would have been very hard for Pittsburgh to beat us [in Super Bowls X and XIII.” Todd Marinovich—He was nicknamed “Robo Back” because of his father’s computerized training regime and throwing motion. But this guy liked drugs as much as Hugh Hefner likes the ladies. He even bombed in the USFL and the CFL. Barely missed the Top 15 cut: Maurice Clarett, Marcus Dupree and Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. Dishonorable Mention, Basketball: Ralph Sampson, Quentin Dailey, Kwame Brown (which is sad, because he’s still playing), Yinka Dare (Who?), Bobby Hurley (Kings would have been better off drafting Elizabeth Hurley. Her chances of getting off a jumpshot in the NBA were no worse than his), Steve Alford, Rony Siekaly (his last name should have been spelled ‘psyche-ly’—as he was a real head case), Ernie “No ‘D’” DiGregorio, Chris “Crash and Burn” Washburn, Freeman Williams, Keith Lee. Dishonorable Mention, baseball: David Clyde (Whose fall was as sudden as his meteoric rise. Expected to be a franchise savior at 18, and the pressure got to him), J.R. Phillips, Clint Hurdle and Mike “Poison” Ivie (Never has an athlete had a more appropriate name). Dishonorable Mention, NFL: Ed Marinaro (played football like he acts; with a reckless disregard for his craft), Tim Couch, John Cappelletti, Ed Marinaro, Pat Sullivan, Archie Griffin and Lawrence Phillips. Miscellaneous: Howard Davis (Should have ran track. Known to run and throw out a jab), Kyle Rote, Jr. (He was supposed to get Americans interested in soccer. Ha!), Jim Ryun (Dominated the mile except at the Olympics). On the verge: Kerry Wood (sorry Kaycee); Freddy Adu; and I have my suspicions about the 49ers’ Alex Smith. Can anyone say “Jim Druckenmiller”? ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is a 46-year old California native with a wide variety of interests-from fishing to politics, which have a lot in common: Both require you to deal with worms and most of your time is spent idling. He is a former Democrat, believing that Party represents outdated ideas. He is officially registered as an Independent, choosing to keep his options open. Timothy is also the author of more than 80 screenplays and novels, two of which have been "published": "Tempest In The Stone" and "The Malice Of Cain", both available through PublishAmerica. He defines his writing style as "Hip-hop fiction; a cross between Richard Pryor and Richard Wright." His UK columns is written in a hard-edged style, but he is not yet a curmudgeon or a conservative. (Is that redundant?) After all, one of his favorite movies is "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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