5@10: The top five underperformers

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. -- The 5-at-10 has taken the show on the road.

We are going to move quicky as the sand, tots and mini-golf are on the agenda. Again. Side note: We believe Navarre Beach is five years from living Yogi Berra's adage that, "it's so crowded no one goes there any more."

From the sun-splashed veranda of the "Talks too much" studios, it's easy to grin when your ship comes in...

Top five underperformers

For the regular readers, you know the drill. The 5-at-10 is normally five things on our mind at 10 a.m. Five at 10, pretty genius, huh?

Well, since we are sneaking up on 700 consecutive 5-at-10s on Mondays-Fridays, we can hardly stop now.

That said, when we're on vacation, we have to adapt and overcome -- i.e. shorten the process. The Mrs. 5-at-10 has us on the clock. Hey, on the clock is a draft term and we love the draft. You know this.

So we do top 5 lists (and if you have any suggestions/requests, fire away).

Let's take a look at Sportfans' idea from Monday: Jay, If you're looking for a topic this week.. Sergio (stupid Sergio) got me thinking about the Top Five (or is it bottom five?) golfers who failed to live up to their true potential. I was thinking Sergio, Daly, Norman, and Michelle Wie, but I couldn't come up with a fifth name. Any suggestions?

We like this concept -- and Sergio and Wie are first-ballot choices here; Norman is debatable; but we think coming from where he did and winning more majors than Couples makes Big John Daly more of an overachiever than a Sergio. (On the golf list, Lee Westwood is in the conversation, too; as is Davis Love III.)

We want to expand the parameters. Who has had a fair amount of success but given their talent and potential, their career feels like a disappointment? Side note: Injuries are a get off this list free card. Yes, Mark Pryor fell miles short of his expected level of success, but injuries can do that. They are cold and ruthless; the great equalizer among all athletes.

Also, any and all kid stars in Hollywood are excluded because, well, that is a whole different list. Lohan, to Culkin, to any number of others.

photo Dale Earnhardt Jr. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

1) Sergio -- Fifteen years ago, when he appeared to be Tiger's No. 1 adversary, what were the odds that he would still be without a major title in 2013? 1000-to-1? Higher maybe?

2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Sure the name works against him in the expectation category, but the fact that he is more of a popularity side show than title contender certainly has his old man spinning.

3) Eddie Murphy -- This may seem harsh considering the guy owned the late 1980s, but other than landing the role of a Donkey next to a cartoon ogre, he has had a forgettable two decades.

4) The Wallflowers -- Edging The Black Crows in the musical honors on this list, we thought Jakob Dylan's band would have been way, Way, WAY more than one-hit wonders.

5) Andy Roddick -- We defer to Paschall's tennis knowledge -- and we reserve the right to change out this last spot because a lot of Roddick's misfortune was simply bad timing -- but man it feels like Roddick's career sum was far less than the parts or the promise.

Discuss.