Fox Sports recently posted its “Top 10 Most Disliked People in Sports”…and in more than a few of their choices, they missed the mark.

Let’s review their top 10:

10.  Gilbert Arenas

Now obviously, Arenas was a late entry…barely making the cut at #10, which Fox Sports may believe actually makes it legit.  But I’m sorry – Arenas in no way deserves to land on this list.  Throughout his career, he’s been nothing but a jovial prankster – - trying to live up to a reputation as a carefree rebel without a cause.  Well, that finally caught up with him this fall, and suddenly – out of the thousands of notable sports related people – he’s one of the top 1% (or less) of disliked people.  I’m not buying it.

9.  Allen Iverson

This must be a lifetime achievement award, if you will.  Iverson hasn’t done anything of importance on or off the basketball in a few years now.  The last unlikable A.I. incident was probably when he beefed about coming off the bench for Detroit (and, as sorry as they are, who in their right mind wouldn’t have beef about that?).    

Of course, Iverson has been reckless during his basketball career, being involved with guns, fights, unhappy relationships with coaches, etc…

He’s one of the pioneers of the urban, street style wardrobe that was adopted by many players in the late 90′s and early 2000′s.  And the Hampton, Virginia native had others copying his cornrow patterns.

Cornrows and gangsta wear?  I guess that image will last in people minds’ for years to come.

8.  Alex Rodriguez

With his steroid admission only a year and some change behind him, A-Rod’s championship season did little to get the haters off of his back.  He’ll always be remembered as the $252-million man – and the mega-contract only generated more critics (not fans).  I even know some Yankees fans who don’t like him.

7.  Terrell Owens

What can you say about T.O.?  Generally speaking, people don’t his light-hearted arrogance and creative showboating.  I wouldn’t say that his hate factor is very high – but maybe this position is one that fits him OK.

6.  Mark McGwire

The former Bash Brother was America’s sweetheart during the magical 1998 home run battle between him and fellow doper Sammy Sosa.  But after not giving much comment during the steroids in baseball Congressional hearing, his star began to fade as if it were Big Mac’s batting average.  Ironically, McGwire is looking much worse than his blabbermouth ex-teammate Jose Canseco – who admitted the baseball/steroids problem to anyone who wanted to hear it.

5.  Jerry Jones

Jones is spurned by those who despise the Cowboys.  Although he never does or says anything particularly newsworthy, just hearing him reverberate “How ’bout them Cowboys?!!” is enough to make some people want to place him on the 40-yard line and kick him through the uprights.

4.  Tiger Woods

Once again, I’d say that this one is aptly positioned.  Nobody would have saw this coming a year ago…but now, how will Woods become the crowd favorite that he was?  Or will people be able to move past this incident at all?

3.  Ben Roethlisberger

The road from being a hero to being a villain can be a very short one at times.  But Big Ben has been building a villainous case for some time now.  Roethlisberger can’t seem to pry himself away from the bar scene.  It’s time for the organization to take a hard-nosed stance on Ben’s future with the Steelers.  For now, Roethlisberger’s earned this spot in the infamous lineup.

2.  Al Davis

Davis is too busy cleaning up the colossal mess that has become the Oakland Raiders.  Davis has suffered through his bad decisions for a decade – seemingly with the next big hope being available in the upcoming draft.  I don’t know why the guy would be disliked so much.  Perhaps its the fact, that the Raiders have struggled for so long.  Or maybe Oakland fans are the loudest gripers.  I’m not sure, but a #2 position is definitely much too high.

1.  Michael Vick

No surprise here – Americans love pets.  Vick killed potential pets (or, if you will, his own pets).  People will remember that for a long time.  Unfortunately, there’s not much that Vick can do to get off of this list.  Time is the only thing that can help him.  And not going to parties where people who were linked to his infamous criminal activities are getting shot.

Who belongs on this list that wasn’t mentioned?

Kobe Bryant

It doesn’t matter if his Lakers just won their second of back-to-back NBA titles.  People either like Kobe or they don’t like him – plain and simple.  My wife, who probably knows 20 NBA players by name, can’t stand him.  Bryant’s attitude borders on the edge of arrogance or extreme confidence, which will sway one way or the other based on people’s individual perceptions of him.  Kobe’s a great player and, unfortunately for him, one of the most polarizing figures that the sport of basketball has ever witnessed.

Barry Bonds

How could Mark McGwire be on this list, but not Bonds?  He’s generated so much hatred – mainly because anyone with a television set could have observed the increase in the muscle mass of his head.  However, nothing has been proven against him – which infuriates those who hold baseball records to be sacred accomplishments.  Bonds is the current all-time and single-season home run leader, and now that the cat is out of the bag (about steroids) his records could stand for some time.  Someone probably punched a wall just from reading that.

O.J. Simpson

Long removed from the sports scene, Simpson is hating for nothing related to athletics.  Nevertheless, he was a sports figure and is one of the most despised people on the planet.  The public doesn’t usually like people suspected of killing other people – off of the gridiron, that is.

Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Allen Iverson, Barry Bonds, Ben Roethlisberger, Gilbert Arenas, Kobe Bryant, Michael Vick, Terrell Owens, Tiger Woods