Anthony Fusco, staff

There is one thing dreaded by sports fans across the world. Every single team in their history has had at least one underachieving player who disappoints. I’ve compiled a list of my personal top 5 underachieving players from a variety of sports.

5) Darko Milicic: The 2003 NBA Draft was highlighted by future stars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh. One name you can leave out, though, is Darko Milicic. He was selected second overall by the Detroit Pistons before Anthony, Bosh, and Wade, but he has only proven to be a colossal bust from day one. His best season was in 2006-07, when he averaged 8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.

4) Alexandre Daigle: Once projected as the next Mario Lemieux after scoring 247 points in junior hockey, Ottawa drafted Daigle first overall in 1993 thinking he would be the star of their franchise.  They were wrong! Daigle went on to score 51 points in his career before retiring at 25 in the year 2000, citing the NHL wasn’t for him. Worst of all, the thing he will probably be remembered for most is a quote he made when drafted in 1993, “I am glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two!” The number two pick in the 1993 draft…Chris Pronger.

3) Jonathan Cheechoo: He once scored 56 goals and won the Rocket Richard trophy. After that great season, it all went downhill. By the 2009-2010 season, he was a fourth liner for the Ottawa Senators. From the time of his Rocket Richard winning season, he has steadily declined and struggled to find a job at the NHL level. He tried out for the Dallas Stars and was cut. He was then signed by the St. Louis Blues and assigned to their AHL affiliate. At last check, he is now playing for the Peoria Rivermen. Rocket Richard winner to AHL player. What happened?

2) Jake Shields: The former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion was riding a 15 fight win streak over a period of six years. Dana White brought him into the UFC to challenge welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. Shields looked terrible in his first UFC fight against Martin Kampmann. Despite this, he won, and was given the shot at GSP.  He lost to GSP and then was knocked out by Jake Ellenberger. He fights  Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 144 hoping to turn his luck around. Jake Shields is massively overrated and has done nothing in the UFC so far to warrant any praise.

1) Scott Gomez: The Montreal Canadiens forward did something no other player has done. He went an entire year (between 2011-2012) without scoring a goal. Let me break that down for you. That is 7.4 million dollars worth of salary going towards one player who has, at this very moment, 2 goals and 7 assists. That is a terrible 9 points and he is a minus 8 to boot.