Who you have been wrong about?

I thought the Braves would recover from 1991 to win every World Series in the '90s.

 

I thought Hulk Hogan was at Bash of the Beach to help Sting and Randy Savage, not the Outsiders and the formation of the NWO!

 

Derek Fisher. I thought he would be exposed as being totally worthless once he left the Lakers.

 

I thought Clinton Portis for Champ Bailey was a terrible deal for the Broncos, and I wrote that several times.

 

Saw Phillip Rivers his senior year of high school and couldn't understand the fuss.

 

Everyone. [/Isiah Thomas]

I saw Vlad Guerrero (hi Shottie) in 1996 and was floored. Imagine how good he'd be if he kept himself in shape.

Francisco Liriano. Hopefully he's young enough to bounce back and have the filthy career he appeared destined to have.

Vinny Testaverde. Thought he was a complete turd with the Buccaneers, but a few years of watching him up close proved he was just the victim of the worst-run franchise in sports. Not a Hall of Famer, and he needs plenty of preparation to succeed, but he's tough as shit and an excellent teammate who has done an admirable job of crawling out of the mess in Tampa.

 

Remember Mark Davis? Cy Young Award winner as a relief pitcher? When I saw him in the minors, I thought he was going to be a superstar -- just overwhelming talent as a starting pitcher. May have been the best minor league baseball player I ever saw when he was in Double A. I believe he had some arm troubles later on that kept him from completely realizing his potential. There really is no such thing as a pitching prospect, as the guys as Baseball Prospectus like to say. Too many arm injuries have gotten in the way.

I thought Greg Norman would rank with the all-time greats in major golf championships. Oops.

I didn't think Andre Agassi would grow up so much, mostly as a person. Happy to say I was wrong about that one.

For puckheads, when I saw Tim Connolly play for the Islanders as an 18-year-old, I was convinced he was going to be a great player. He didn't progress much the next few years, with a head injury only part of the reason why. Connolly finally took a step forward last season, then got clobbered in the playoffs and still isn't back because of this latest concussion's effects. Too bad.

 

what happened?
Christian Laettner
Pearl Washington
Eric Lindros
Walter Berry

how did they get so good?
Jim Furyk

 

Hoover HOOVER HOOVER.

 

yao, lebron, kirk hinrich

 

WRONG
Sean Burroughs.
I was sure with he'd develop some pop to go with a .300 average. Not 30-40 HRs, but 20 HRs and challenge for batting titles.
Drew Henson.
Saw him play minor league baseball here and you could tell it wasn't in his future. But I was sure he'd be a pretty good QB once he gave up baseball.
Khalil Greene.
Juries still out ... if he can stay healthy.
Cade McKnown.
Knew he didn't have the arm strength, but threw it all over the field at UCLA. Didn't think he'd flop that bad in the pros.

RIGHT
Dat Nguyen.
Watched him tackle everybody as an Aggie in the Cotton Bowl against my Bruins. Had his career with the 'Boys cut short by a neck injury last season but he turned in a much better pro career at MLB than his size (5-11) should have allowed. Jason Taylor Lite and fun as hell to watch.
Denny Hamlin.
Come on, who didn't see that coming

 

Rick Mirer for starters. The all-timer was seeing the greatest third baseman in baseball history, Mike Schmidt, before he got to the majors and doubting his future.