Maurice Clarett — Remember when he was hailed as the next Heisman Trophy winner? Then when he left Ohio State after that mess with the SUV that wasn’t his and tried to enter the NFL draft? Except a judge said he couldn’t, so he sat out a year during which he prepared for his one shot at the big time by getting as fat and slow as he possible could. Then, when he got a shot in training camp, he forgot to try. At least Ricky Williams thought he had a reason for throwing away a career, then got over it.

Clarett never figured it out.

Kurt Busch — When you’re one of the best in the world at something, it’s very, very hard to get fired. But, as Terrell Owens has proved, it can be done. Apparently jealous of T.O.’s success at derailing his career, Busch did the same thing, getting tossed off his NASCAR team after being arrested for reckless driving and then giving the cop who pulled him over a hard time. What makes this turkey prime is that afterwards his brother, Kyle, blamed the media for everything that happened.

Bob Goodenow — Early in the year, the then head of the NHL Players Association could have ended the lockout that ultimately caused the NHL to be the first sport to shut down for an entire season. Goodenow turned down the owners’ final offer, assuring his membership that they could do better.

A few months later, he agreed to a worse package than the owners had been offering in January, earning himself a place in history as the worst leader of a union ever. Then he was invited to find another job by the players he served so poorly. That’s why instead of being at the bargaining table he’s on the Thanksgiving table.

Bill Romanowski — He was one of the nastiest players ever, which made him popular with some fans but not with every one of his teammates, particularly the ones he beat up. So this year he confessed what everyone knew — he was doing steroids and probably whatever other drugs he could get his hands on.

Oh, and he’s sorry he did — right.

George Steinbrenner — The Boss kept a low profile this year, but he earned his spot at the table at season’s end when he congratulated Mike Scioscia, the manager of the Angels team that took the Yankees out of the playoffs, for a job well done but neglected to thank his own manager, Joe Torre, for perhaps the best job Torre ever did. Along the way, he chased Torre’s pal and Yankee pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre out of town, just as he had the popular Don Zimmer a year earlier.

Marcus Camby — Though a lot of players complained about the dress code David Stern instituted for the NBA this year, Camby gets his Turkey of the Year nomination for whining that if the league wanted the players to wear "business casual" attire, then Stern would have to give the players a "clothing stipend." It could have become the players’ battle cry: "Millions for bling, not a penny for a sport coat."

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