The Wanderer
Kid A
NHL:
Eric Lindros - poor attitude and injuries have de-railed a career that was supposed to lead him to a parallel with Gretzky and Lemieux; played poorly in only Cup Finals appearance
Bryan Fogarty - was supposed to be the next Paul Coffey -- great puckhandler, playmaker, skater and powerplay pointman; set the record in junior hockey for the most points in a season ever by defensemen (150 pts); struggled with depression and substance abuse; disappeared from professional hockey altogether and passed away earlier this year with almost no media coverage whatsoever
MLB:
Darryl Strawberry/ Dwight Gooden - same story with both of these guys, became mega-stars at a very young age in the Big Apple and soon there were rumours of these guys showing up for games hungover or strung out from cocaine; Gooden had as good a first few years as any picture in baseball history... Strawberry was a 5-tool player and "can't miss" future Hall-of-Famer
NBA:
Derrick Coleman - as a NJ Nets fan, I witnessed this tragedy firsthand, he had absolutely no heart, could have been the best powerforward of his time; Chuck Daly once said of him, "he's as skilled a player as I have ever coached"
you could choose from any number of players to add to this list, including Juwan Howard, Danny Manning and Penny Hardaway
NFL:
Kordell Stewart - can take himself off this list with a big year next season, but has only had 2 good years out of how many now, 6? choked badly in the AFC Championship Game; but clearly has demonstrated that he has Pro-Bowl calibre skills, but never consistently
Dan Wilkinson - "Big Daddy" was supposed to be dominating the league, next great defensive stud, yeah right...
Ryan Leaf - maybe scouts just overestimated his talents? I'm not sure, is it that or is he just lazy and stupid? is he an underachiever or is he just a bust who was never really that good, like say... Rick Mirer?
ATP/ WTA:
Marcello Rios - the 1st Chilean to reach #1 in the rankings, has quite possibly the most caustic personality of any top athlete in major sports; am I wrong betty in saying he coulda/shoulda have won a handful of Slams?
Anna Kournikova - was she ever that good or was it all wishful thinking? I think there is/was definitely potential there, she was once ranked in the top 10, only 2 years ago, so I don't thinks it's acceptable for her fall out of the top 50; I hear she's making a legitimate effort to try and fulfill some of her promise, but how long will her new-found interest in tennis last?
PGA:
is it too early to be saying Sergio Garcia is an underachiever?
Eric Lindros - poor attitude and injuries have de-railed a career that was supposed to lead him to a parallel with Gretzky and Lemieux; played poorly in only Cup Finals appearance
Bryan Fogarty - was supposed to be the next Paul Coffey -- great puckhandler, playmaker, skater and powerplay pointman; set the record in junior hockey for the most points in a season ever by defensemen (150 pts); struggled with depression and substance abuse; disappeared from professional hockey altogether and passed away earlier this year with almost no media coverage whatsoever
MLB:
Darryl Strawberry/ Dwight Gooden - same story with both of these guys, became mega-stars at a very young age in the Big Apple and soon there were rumours of these guys showing up for games hungover or strung out from cocaine; Gooden had as good a first few years as any picture in baseball history... Strawberry was a 5-tool player and "can't miss" future Hall-of-Famer
NBA:
Derrick Coleman - as a NJ Nets fan, I witnessed this tragedy firsthand, he had absolutely no heart, could have been the best powerforward of his time; Chuck Daly once said of him, "he's as skilled a player as I have ever coached"
you could choose from any number of players to add to this list, including Juwan Howard, Danny Manning and Penny Hardaway
NFL:
Kordell Stewart - can take himself off this list with a big year next season, but has only had 2 good years out of how many now, 6? choked badly in the AFC Championship Game; but clearly has demonstrated that he has Pro-Bowl calibre skills, but never consistently
Dan Wilkinson - "Big Daddy" was supposed to be dominating the league, next great defensive stud, yeah right...
Ryan Leaf - maybe scouts just overestimated his talents? I'm not sure, is it that or is he just lazy and stupid? is he an underachiever or is he just a bust who was never really that good, like say... Rick Mirer?
ATP/ WTA:
Marcello Rios - the 1st Chilean to reach #1 in the rankings, has quite possibly the most caustic personality of any top athlete in major sports; am I wrong betty in saying he coulda/shoulda have won a handful of Slams?
Anna Kournikova - was she ever that good or was it all wishful thinking? I think there is/was definitely potential there, she was once ranked in the top 10, only 2 years ago, so I don't thinks it's acceptable for her fall out of the top 50; I hear she's making a legitimate effort to try and fulfill some of her promise, but how long will her new-found interest in tennis last?
PGA:
is it too early to be saying Sergio Garcia is an underachiever?