Sports

The Post’s 15th-annual best and worst of New York pro sports

From left: Jerricho Cotchery, Amar’e Stoudemire, Bart Scott, Sasha Vujacic, Joel Lindpere, Brian Rolson, Mariano Rivera. (AP(2); Getty Images(2); Landov; Anthony J. Causi, Pual J. Bereswill)

OVERRATED

1. Bart Scott, Jets

Filiblustering linebacker has all of two sacks and one forced fumble in two seasons of talking like he’s Jack Ham.

2. Francisco Rodriguez, Mets

Twelve blown saves in 72 Mets opportunities for third-highest-paid reliever in baseball. Innings, like criminal record, no longer clean.

3. Antrel Rolle, Giants

Wishes he could play for Rex Ryan. Tom Coughlin wishes one of the NFL’s highest-paid safeties (five years, $37 million) had more than one interception last season.

UNDERAPPRECIATED

1. David Robertson, Yankees

Strikes out more than one per inning of reliable middle relief while everybody is caught looking at the travails of Joba Chamberlain.

2. Rich Seubert, Giants

Put the offense on his bum shoulder for the six games he moved to center for injured Shaun O’Hara and team had its best stretch. O’Hara was voted to the Pro Bowl.

3. Joel Lindpere, Red Bulls

Heady, tireless midfielder arrived from Estonia, a place most can’t find on the map, to finally help put New York’s soccer franchise on the map. For $115,000 had a bigger impact than Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez at $5 million each.

TOUGH

1. Barry Cofield, Giants

Loquacious lineman suffered in silence a shoulder needing post-season surgery. Played every game and made 54 tackles, three fewer than the great Vince Wilfork.

2. Mark Sanchez, Jets

Throwing arm took a bigger hit than Ryan’s reputation as a defensive genius during first half of AFC title game. Wiped some snot on it, was back the next series, and almost pulled out the game.

3. Eli Manning, Giants

Remains 105 consecutive starts behind his brother. But still 23 ahead of the next ironman, Philip Rivers.

FRIENDLY

1. CC Sabathia, Yankees

No longer quite the fat man, but still jolly.

2. Brian Rolston, Devils

Waved hello even as he was being waived. Stunningly resurgent . . . maybe it’s not time to say goodbye after all.

3. Damien Woody, Jets

Tender-hearted tackle also has been unguarded as a guard and well-centered as a center. When it’s over, will be on TV faster than fans can turn on Brian Schottenheimer.

EXCITING

1. Amar’e Stoudemire, Knicks

Great finisher personally put the finish on the franchise’s lost decade.

2. Carmelo Anthony, Knicks

To win, you have to have a 1 and 1(a, says Amar’e). Who will be who? Right now, ecstatic fans could care less.

3. Santonio Holmes, Jets

Game-winning catches in final seconds of regulation (Houston) and overtime (Cleveland). Caught a 52-yarder in overtime to set up another winner (Detroit) and drew pass interference at goal line to save the day at Denver.

IMMATURE

1. Francisco Rodriguez, Mets

Little children who watched him beat up his girlfriend’s father outside the Mets’ big, happy family room are more mature. Franchise would like to manage its anger by not letting him reach 55-game trigger on $17.5 million option.

2. Antonio Cromartie, Jets

“Say you’re going to get into a room and do what you need to do, then do it,” says the noted collective bargaining consultant, who used that philosophy to father nine children with eight women in six states.

3. Boone Logan, Yankees

More snide comments than Jeter’s house has rooms. Complains about distance from players’ lot to clubhouse. “Lots of parking at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Boone,” said Javier Vazquez.

HATED

1. Fred & Jeff Wilpon, Mets

Fans want owners who will compete with the Phillies and Yankees by hook or crook. Instead see a team a long way from clawing back into contention.

2. Oliver Perez, Mets

Iconic figure of franchise failure. Needing regular work in minors, opted for no work here, a pathetic reminder why Omar Minaya got Buffaloed.

3. Matt Dodge, Giants

Contempt has no bounds after failure to kick out of bounds. Unlike this punter, it will take a long time for fans to drop it.

LOVED

1. Mariano Rivera, Yankees

Mans the ultimate what-did-you-do-for-me-today position. And fans and teammates still want him to go on forever.

2. Amar’e Stoudemire, Knicks

Wait for a winner was eternal. Probably so will be the gratitude.

3. Derek Jeter, Yankees

Man of the people, despite the $7.7 million mansion (no guestroom for Hank Steinbrenner) and the big contract demands coming off .270. Unless countdown to 3,000 proves more protracted than the negotiations, it will be a 74-hit lovefest.

UNDERACHIEVING

1. A.J. Burnett, Yankees

If he gets turned around, new pitching coach Larry Rothschild should get the $16.5 million this year.

2. Jason Bay, Mets

Made(off) with $15 million of Wilpon money in 2010, hitting six home runs in 95 games. Denied any knowledge of difference between Fenway Park and Citi Field when he rejected $60 million Red Sox offer to get the last dollar in New York.

3. Marian Gaborik, Rangers

Refusing to use his speed, and is threatening to derail a promising Rangers season. Has been a headache even before his concussion.

OVERACHIEVING

1. Landry Fields, Knicks

NBA brains who let astonishingly complete forward fall to 39th pick badly underachieved. “Makes hustle look easy,” says assistant coach Dan D’Antoni.

2. Brett Gardner, Yankees

Skinny walk-on at College of Charleston. Took a new position, perhaps the most famous in sports, and ran with it.

3. Mike DeVito, Jets

Undrafted free agent, remembered only at Maine, was plug for Kris Jenkins, one of the league’s biggest best plugs. Season didn’t swirl down drain.

DIFFERENT

1. Rex Ryan, Jets

Behaves like no head NFL coach any of us has ever seen, both on the Internet and off. Basically, behaves like Everyfan in the upper bowl getting a chance to run the show.

2. Nick Swisher, Yankees

Valiantly leaps for home runs 15 rows in the seats. Slides into second on throws he beats by five steps. No appointment necessary at his locker.

3. Ronny Turiaf, Knicks

Rejects 1.1 shots a game and the premise of most questions. Both cordial and condescending.

ARROGANT

1. Jim Dolan, Knicks and Rangers

No contract extension for Donnie Walsh, who had the plan and patience to clean up Isiah Thomas’ mess. Yet boss still has Dumbo ears for Thomas. Can anybody be more contrarian?

2. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

Speaks less these days, theoretically to keep foot out of his mouth, but might offend more. Essentially has opted out of regular postgame at his locker.

3. Santonio Holmes, Jets

Welcome worn to nub in Pittsburgh. Opposition DBs try harder to get close to him than teammates.

BRIGHT

1. R.A. Dickey, Mets

3.35 GPA as an English major at Tennessee. 2.84 ERA as a re-inventor of himself as a knuckleballer.

2. Chris Young, Mets

Wrote Princeton thesis on “The Impact of Jackie Robinson and baseball integration on racial Stereotypes: A Quantitative Content Analysis of Stories about Race in the New York Times.” Far more impressive than quantitative projection of Mets rotation without Johan Santana.

3. Chris Capuano, Mets

Phi Beta Kappa in economics at Duke. Between starts can figure out where the Madoff money went. Mets strategy is to put up goose-eggheads on opponents’ linescores.

CLASSY

1. Jerricho Cotchery, Jets

Speaks well but usually only when spoken to. Will never say things his teammates do, but thinks they’re hilarious.

2. Justin Tuck, Giants

He and wife Lauran founded Rush for Literacy to gather books and promote children’s reading in native Alabama and New York City. Also helping to save the newspaper industry by speaking good sense every Thursday.

3. Phil Hughes, Yankees

Mood didn’t drop with his performance level in second half of season. Good Guy Award winner doesn’t even wish the Rangers any ill against his Lightning.

PARANOID

1. Brandon Jacobs, Giants

Tirade when he became convinced cameramen were shooting him only because they thought he was cleaning out his locker for the last time. Fined $20,000 for obscene words and gesture at Eagles fans, $10,000 for throwing helmet into stands in Indianapolis. Thinks more than just linebackers are out to get him.

2. Garth Snow, Islanders

Franchise starving for attention, yet still booted the most-read, most informative blogger about the team from the Nassau Coliseum.

3. Billy King, Nets

Basketball boss keeps local media at longer arm’s length than Brook Lopez does Dwight Howard when there’s a rebound up for grabs.

RESPECTED

1. LaDainian Tomlinson, Jets

Team of mouths turns all ears to one of two running backs (with Walter Payton) in history with 13,000 rushing and 4,000 receiving yards.

2. David Wright, Mets

The Wilpons were hit high by Madoff and low by clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels. But for $55 million over six years, they got a guy who never cheats himself on an at-bat or blooper by the railing, even if 79 wins is not what he signed for.

3. Ryan Callahan, Rangers

Team suffered absences of last year’s top two scorers (Gaborik and Vinny Prospal), this year’s top scorer, (Brandon Dubinsky), and captain (Chris Drury). Yet, according to coach John Tortorella, injury to 5-foot-10, 190-pound dynamo was the one “I most worried we could survive.”

ANNOYING

1. Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets

Climbed under James Dolan’s skin with billboard of himself and Jay-Z near the Garden during free-agency. Then, after publicly congratulating himself for driving up the Knicks’ cost for Carmelo Anthony, made deal for Deron Williams on the day of Melo’s debut. Not waiting for Brooklyn to make this a real rivalry, finally.

2. Francisco Cervelli, Yankees

Fist pumps on strikeouts in the first make him the last guy opponents greet at the batting cage.

3. Sasha Vujacic, Nets

Yappy, clappy combo guard crosses the line from sure of himself to full of himself. “I can score 20 or 30 points any night, but I’m not that kind of guy,” he has said. Teammates like him but are annoyed he doesn’t bring fiancée Maria Sharapova around more often.