Angel Soft: Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol and the 20 Softest Athletes in Sports
There are some guys that will do anything to win. These are the Michael Jordans, Curt Schillings, and Brett Farves of the game. These are the iron men that will go out no matter what the injury may be and no matter how bad they feel. These are the sports warriors.
Then there are the other guys. The players are afraid to break a nail or get roughed up a little bit. Go get a tough rebound? Nope. Fight for the extra yard? Nope. Play through that nagging injury? No way.
These are the top 20 softest athletes in sports...
20. Jason Collins
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The next question under the category: “New Jersey Nets Twin Centers from Stanford”.
Clue: This former member of the Nets, and now current Atlanta Hawks, cannot rebound, shoot, or block shots. He has a propensity to stand around and consistently gets dominated by bigger and stronger opponents.
Answer: Jason Collins.
19. Yi Jianlian
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When Yi was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft, he did not want to play in Milwaukee because the market was not big enough.
Now, four years and three teams later, he might need to go there for the witness protection program.
At 23, Yi has not been able to grow into his seven-foot body yet, and gets thrown around like a rag doll in the NBA. If he does not get tougher, he will find himself in one of the world’s biggest markets: China.
18. Jacoby Ellsbury
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During the 2010 season, Ellsbury went on the 15-day DL for a stress fracture in his ribs. After returning for a few games, he went back on the DL for most of the season.
The team greatly missed him and his critics began to call him soft for not playing through an injury that many believed was not nearly as bad as he thought.
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17. Reggie Bush
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Bush cannot run between the tackles, plain and simple. He was the No. 2-overall pick, and now he has shown us why he is nothing more than a third-down back.
He always made a living by making people miss. Well, when you get to the NFL, they don’t miss very often. Bush will never be a featured back in the NFL because he will not get in there and play with the big boys.
16. Randy Moss
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Moss is a threat unlike any other in the NFL, unless he needs to go over the middle. There are few wide receivers that spend less time in the middle of the field than Randy Moss.
Maybe it is because he is pretty skinny, or maybe it is because he runs his mouth so much and everyone wants a piece of him.
15. Brook Lopez
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On paper, Lopez looks like a good enough player, right? Twenty points per game puts him amongst the best scorers in the league and he has the tendency to take over games on the offensive side of the floor.
What stands out more than anything is his six rebounds per game! Seven-feet tall and six rebounds per game! It looks like he is allergic to the basketball at times.
When he is forgetting to rebound the ball, he allows this to happen.
14. Anderson Varejao
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Varejao is a different type of soft. He plays hard and crashes the boards, but very few are as big of fakers as the Cavaliers forward.
Here, he gets dunked on, with authority, proving that he is not going to stand up to the top dogs. Here, he flops, showing that he is both an actor and a comedian.
Either he is a faker, or he allowed a point guard to push him over. Either way, he is a marshmallow.
13. Carl Pavano
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The Yankees cannot wait for Pavano to retire so that they can give him a plaque in Monument Park. Pavano signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the Yankees in 2005.
He would go on to commit grand larceny, taking the Yankees money for nothing in return. Strange injuries began to develop, bringing his teammates to question whether he wanted to be in New York or even pitch at all. He lost all credibility, making up more reasons why he could not pitch.
He was the epitome of another Yankee free-agent bust.
12. Fernando Torres
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Any Spanish or English soccer fan knows that Torres has the propensity to get pushed around. There is no denying his skill, but when the going gets tough, he gets to falling.
The best part of the video is that the Man U players are puling him up, because they know he flopped on purpose. Torres does not deny this and holds his hands up like a prisoner surrendering.
He lost favor in Liverpool, and upon his departure, the team became more successful. Sounds like a real punk to me.
11. Andrea Bargnani
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If you are looking for a comparison between Dirk and Bargnani, stop immediately. Their height and European origin is where the comparison should begin and end.
Bargnani loves to sit out on the perimeter and play one-on-one basketball. He is a tough guy from 15 feet and beyond, but once he enters the paint, his knees quiver and the big boys put him back in his place.
And 4.9 career rebounds is not going to cut it for a seven-foot man.
10. Darko Milicic
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In all fairness, Milicic did not get enough playing time when he first came into the league, stunting his development. When he finally got the chance, it was more of the same.
For a No. 2-overall pick and a seven footer, he has been highly ineffective on the glass, averaging 4.3 rebounds per game for his career.
Defensively, he is equally as soft, allowing things like this to happen on a nightly basis.
9. Glen Davis
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Having a nickname like "Big Baby" immediately puts Glen Davis on a list of softies. He infamously cried after being reprimanded by Kevin Garnett during a timeout.
In addition, Davis has never been known as one of the tougher members of the Celtics front line. Garnett and Perkins (before the trade) were the workhorses.
8. Andy Roddick
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Roddick has won only one Grand Slam, on a hard court where his fast serve dominates. What he lacks is the killer instinct.
Roddick fell victim to several first-round knockouts at the US Open and French Open despite high seeds. He has been outdueled by all of the greats, and seems to be outwilled most of the time.
He has the skill, but is soft when it comes to crushing his opponents.
7. Richard Jefferson
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Who would have thought it; here is another former New Jersey Net on this list. Jefferson has potential, and at times he has looked like a prolific scorer.
But if you look more closely, he has missed countless big free throws, he does not attack the rim, and he cannot grab that big board to take over the game at the defensive side.
He is always going to be seen as a nice player, but nobody that people will look back on and remember for years.
6. Sidney Crosby
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Sid the Kid is the best player in the NHL. Nobody raises the level of his team quite like the Canadian and he has the proverbial bulls-eye on his back whenever he is on the ice.
What people criticize most about his game is that he is pretty soft. Most stars are not going to get into stupid fights, but everyone knows that he is one of the most protected men in both the NHL and sports.
He lets others fight his battles for him: a true warrior.
5. Pau Gasol
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Do not confuse lack of skill for softness. Gasol is one of the most-skilled big men in the game, but also gets dominated by more physical centers.
Having Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom next to him makes his life easier, but throughout his career there has been a glaring hole in his game that everyone can see.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
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The Portugal and Real Madrid star is what we call a pretty boy. Ronaldo has turned falling down and faking an injury into an art form, lunging to the ground in pain whenever he thinks it will work.
His skill is undeniable and his free kicks are generally unstoppable; his toughness, though…leaves much to be desired.
2. Jay Cutler
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Ah, Mr. Jay Cutler…where do I start? Who takes themselves out of an NFC championship game with an injury that did not look painful?
He has had a long track record of being soft towards injuries and having an inability to come back from adversity. He drove himself out of Denver and seems to be doing the same in Chicago.
Everyone consistently questions his toughness: a trend that will only get worse if he continues his ways.
1. Chris Bosh
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Kevin Durant came out and publicly stated that Chris Bosh is one of the "fake tough guys" in the NBA. When your colleagues are challenging your toughness, not only are they personally attacking you, but they don’t even fear that you will retaliate.
Low blow for Bosh who is the third wheel who could not withstand the pressure of the playoffs and allows this to happen to him.
Follow me on twitter @ AustinSchindel
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