Since we had Tony Mandarich on our program yesterday, I thought it would make sense to post this blog that I found on si.com today:

Here’s our list of the top five most overhyped athletes …I would have added Kimbo Slice (pictured):

1. Tony Mandarich: After a stellar college career at Michigan State, Mandarich made just 47 starts in the NFL and never came close to scratching the surface of the potential he’d shown. Mandarich recently admitted that he’d used steroids in college. Shocking.

2. Sam Bowie: A high school hoops phenom, Bowie was injured throughout his time at the University of Kentucky, but the Portland Trail Blazers still selected him second overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, just ahead of some guy named Michael Jordan. Bowie’s leg injuries continued throughout his NBA tenure, while Jordan became arguably the greatest athlete in team sports history.

3. Anna Kournikova: Some might argue the hype was understandable, considering she looks like this in a bikini. Still, though she cracked the top ten in the women’s rankings, Anna was never able to win the big one.

4. Butterbean: The other night on ESPN Classic I caught a “Best Of Butterbean” special, which featured a series of fights starring Eric Esch, a boxer shaped like a butterbean who got a lot of attention but never was an actual contender. Recently, he’s competed in MMA events — can someone line up a Kimbo-Butterbean match?

5. Darko Milicic: Drafted ahead of guys like Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade, Detroit stuck Darko on the bench before eventually trading him. He’s now with the Grizzlies, nearly as anonymous as the franchise.

Thanks to Lang Whitaker, who is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.com.

WHO IS HE MISSING?

written by Roc