Cleavie's 5 Most Disappointing Athletes

As I was channel surfing last night I came across the show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. I try and stay away from reality shows as much as possible, but this season has Doc Gooden as one of the patients struggling with sobriety. Doc and Darryl Strawberry were two of my favorite baseball players growing up and I'll always remember how disappointed I was when they both pissed their careers away abusing alcohol and drugs. I can deal with steroids, infidelity, and an overindulgent sense of entitlement, but the one thing that really bothers me is unfulfilled promise. Whenever I see an example of this I always feel like I've been cheated out of witnessing greatness. Over the years there have been countless athletes that fall into this category, but there are 5 that really bother me. Here is the list of my 5 most disappointing athletes.

5. Adam Morrison. I should have known something was up when I saw him crying like a little girl after losing a college game. Michael Jordan still picked him with the #3 pick in the 2006 NBA draft and he folded like a house of cards under the pressure of becoming an NBA star. The last time I saw him was on a milk carton at Safeway.

4. Kenny Anderson. I blogged about this guy a few months back. Kenny Anderson is perhaps the most talented point guard to ever come out of New York City, but he never took the game seriously enough to get the most out of it. Nowadays he's the poster child for what not to do if you're an NBA player.

3. Sammy Sosa. This example actually has nothing to do with Sammy's performance on the field. Sure he took PED's during his career and hit an obscene amount of home runs because of it, but my disappointment comes from the fact he bleached his skin and changed his eye color. It's hard to imagine that someone who made over $100,000,000 in his lifetime is still insecure about who he is. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/07/sammy-sosas-skin-photos-p_n_349602.html

2. Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. After the Sports Illustrated article depicting the rise and fall of these two great athletes they will forever be linked in my mind. These two should have gone down as the greatest pitcher and home run hitter of their generation.

1. Derrick Coleman Derrick was my favorite player during his days at Syracuse and I would have wagered my first born child he was going to be a first ballot hall of famer when his career was over. Instead a bad attitude, a terrible work ethic, and a total disrespect for the game turned him into a punchline. For the record he had more talent than Tim Duncan or Karl Malone. Too bad talent alone will not make you great.