Top 10 Most Overrated Active Athletes

10) Michael Phelps - Swimming: Yes, 8 gold medals is quite an extraordinary achievement. But guys who finished 4th and 5th were breaking world records in that pool as well. Something tells me if Phelps was Chinese, we'd be questioning his age.

9) Maria Sharapova - Tennis: For all the accolades Ms. Sharapova receives, her domination seems to come only when the Williams sisters are off their game, either literally or mentally. If she recovers from her current injury well enough to beat them at Wimbledon next year, I'll be a believer.

8) Rick Nash - Columbus Blue Jackets: The former 1st-overall pick has only been a plus player twice in his pro career - with a + 5 and a + 2 last year, with no playoff appearances for his Blue Jackets. Add in that his highest point total was last year with 69, and it's easy to see why he shouldn't have a team built around him.

7) Donovan McNabb - Philadelphia Eagles: Too many injuries (only 3 seasons where he started all 16 games) and no ring means he shouldn't be put into the upper echelon like he is.

6) A.J. Burnett - Toronto Blue Jays: It's easy to get a career high in wins when you don't go the distance once all year and baseball's best pen is behind you. Halladay went the distance 9 times, A.J. - 0.

5) Michelle Wie - Golf: This one's hard because it's not really her fault. She's been placed as a sponsor's exemption in second-tier men's events rather than play with her own gender. Thankfully, her success at Q-school is the first step to getting back on track.

4) Francisco Rodriguez - Los Angeles Angels: Also not K-Rod's fault that he's here. His "record" 62 saves are impressive, yes, but playing on a great team helps. Not to mention the rule that even with a 3 run cushion, a save can still be recorded. He'll get a huge offer from a number of teams - the largest from the Mets, I'm sure, after this year's failures from the pen - and a decent number of pitchers could likely set the same record on this Angels team.

3) Brett Favre - New York Jets: It's hard to write this one after his 6 TD performance against Arizona today (although it would have been less had the Cards, you know, covered anybody), but Mr. Favre holds all the bad records for quarterbacks as well as the good ones. That comes with his Ripken-like starting streak and the natural law of numbers. If you play more than everybody else, you'll set more records than they will. He does get points, though, for saying today "Don't book your Super Bowl tickets yet."

2) Tom Brady - New England Patriots: Brady's inclusion on this list is tied to the performance of Matt Cassel, who so far has been good, not great, for the Pats. If Cassel improves as I think he will and leads the Patriots to the playoffs, Brady's mystique is gone forever.

1) Phil Mickelson - Golf: The reason Phil Mickelson is so popular is because of his endearing personality. Everyone loves him, and I think he's a very engaging character. His 34 PGA tour wins help his fame, but after finally breaking through the majors wall by winning 3, Phil has faded. He only has 2 wins this year, even without the omnipresent Tiger Woods over his shoulder. Everyone wants a rival for Tiger, like we have with Federer and Nadal in tennis. The only problem, Tiger has no rival, no equal. He is the best golfer ever, period. And much like Sergio Garcia (who narrowly missed this list), Phil Mickelson is rated higher by the media and by fans because of that desire.