Worst Athletes of 2011

The worst athletes of 2011 gave us reasons to follow our most beloved sports teams inly to end up disappointed and heartbroken when these highly touted athletes stunk it up. Whether they promised something fabulous then failed miserably, like one LeBron James, or got injured right after you wasted a first-round pick on them in your fantasy football draft, like one Peyton Hillis, or found another way to fail, these athletes each stand out from the pack as the biggest stinkers of the year.

It's easy to fault a favorite athlete after they do something stupid, such as the stomp attack heard round the world by Detroit Lions fan favorite Ndamukong Suh on Thanksgiving, but sometimes it's often when athletes do nothing that they disappoint us the most.

Athletes make big money and it's often those mind-blowing monster contract that end up burning the team ponying up the money and the fans, who expect a lot from the deal, in the end. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, White Sox slugger Adam Dunn, New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk and so many others signed huge contracts in 2011 only to severly underperform or not play at all the next season.

Other times, we only hate athletes because they are associated with other people we love to hate in 2011, such as their significant others. Anyone not living under a rock this year knows of the Kardashian family, which, for 72 days at least, included two NBA players, Lamar Odom and Kris Humphries. The reruns of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom's wedding may be done and Kris Humphries' brief courtship with Kim Kardashian may be dunzo but we can't help but rank both Odom and Humphries as two athletes we've heard enough about already.

Like all good relationships, being a good sports fan takes a lot of work and assuredly always comes with good times or bad. Not everyone can be among the top athletes of the year and that would be boring anyway. If nothing else, these worst athletes of 2011 keep it interesting for all of us viewers at home.