"The great ones make it look easy. And so we bid a fond farewell to JaMarcus Russell, who in little more than three calendar years established himself as the most despised, unproductive, disinterested, uncommitted, overpaid, unmotivated, scandalously inept bust of an athlete ever to hang a shingle in the Bay Area.

His time here ended Thursday when the Oakland Raiders released the would-be franchise quarterback after paying him $39 million for three seasons (at $13 million per), seven wins ($5.6 million per) in 25 starts ($1.56 million per), 18 touchdowns ($2.17 million per), 23 interceptions (a bargain at $1.7 million per) and the kind of memories money can't buy.

He was a flaming disappointment at every turn, from the contract impasse that lasted one game into his rookie season, to the glacial improvement during his second year, to his disastrous 2009, to the practices he loafed through and the meetings he slept through or blew off entirely.

Along the way, he embodied the traits of nearly every athlete who might stake a claim to the Bay Area Hall of Infamy — raising the bar in every case.

Raging disinterest? One-time Warriors center Joe Barry Carroll has been the longtime local standard-bearer. He made it clear through more than six seasons here — not to mention the season he blew off the Warriors to play in Italy — that there was a limit to his emotional investment in the team and its place in the standings. Fans loathed him for his attitude, but at least he produced (averaging more than 20 points per game for four seasons), if not to the level expected of the first pick in the draft."