Busted & Disgusted

The end of the JaMarcus Russell Era in Oakland has inspired Bay Area fans to make a list of the 50 biggest sports busts ever. This list might be a little too Bay Area-centric for some, but when your local teams include the Raiders, the Golden State Warriors, and the post-DeBartelo 49'ers, you will have a lot more busts on the shelf than championship trophies. Some of these are funny in a pitiful way: Readers' List of Biggest Sports Busts

6. Chris Washburn (NBA, Warriors): He lasted just four seasons and averaged 3.1 points a game after going third overall in 1986.

Golden State drafted Washburn despite that fact that he had an SAT score below 500, was caught stealing a stereo at North Carolina State and was the subject of published reports that he hadn't attended class.

Washburn was banned from the league in 1989 after failing three drug tests. After some minor-league stops, he currently works in the mortgage business near Dallas.

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17. Matt Bush (MLB, Padres): Classic story of No. 1 overall pick in 2004 who can't hit in minors and gets moved from shortstop to pitcher. Bush lasted seven innings before tearing up his elbow.

Five years later, a drunken Bush got in a fight with high school kids, and a witness said he "picked up and threw a lacrosse player and yelled, 'I'm Matt F- Bush.' " He was immediately dumped by San Diego, and GM Kevin Towers said, "The Matt Bush era is probably over."

Just imagine that before these guys hit the pros, they had entire support systems built around them and their can't-miss fortune & fame: agents, parents, high school coaches, friends from the neighborhood, etc. They would have been better off playing the ponies. I'd also imagine that there's a lot of schaudenfreunde out there. Just imagine being the hapless high school nerd* who got picked on by Ryan Leaf! No need to skip the reunion!

*not a problem for Psota since the most prominent athlete to come out of his high school was a girls lacrosse player who got mixed up in a Confederate flag scandal at Harvard