2010's Least Amazing Big Deals

10 most overrated things of the year
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 5, 2010 7:32 PM CST
2010's Least Amazing Big Deals
In this film publicity image released by 20th Century Fox, the character Neytiri, voiced by Zoe Saldana, and the character Jake, voiced by Sam Worthington are shown in a scene from, "Avatar."   (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)

We're officially in that always-fun time of year: The season for "best of" lists. And while Newser is sure to present plenty of lists that round up the best of 2010, we can't help but slip in a few that focus on the worst. Courtesy of Mark Juddery, author of Overrated: The 50 Most Overhyped Things in History, the 10 most overrated things of the year:

  1. Avatar: Praised ad nauseam as the "most successful movie ever," it actually isn't. Adjusted for inflation, the box-office champion is still Gone with the Wind—Avatar comes in 14th.

  1. Tiger Woods: While Juddery understands why the sexual behavior of this American sporting icon would be "Big News," things went a little overboard: Tiger snagged 20 consecutive covers of the New York Post ... more than the World Trade Center did.
  2. The Great Recession: Things are bad, but we've survived worse. Juddery would like to remind us that two years into the Great Depression, the unemployment rate was 25% and those who managed to hold onto their jobs saw their monthly salary drop from $50 to $16.
  3. LeBron's Decision: Sports controversies "just aren't what they used to be," bemoans Juddery, who points out that LeBron is on Time's Person of the Year list of nominees. Too bad "his major influence was his effect on national productivity, with millions of work hours lost arguing about him at the water-cooler."
Click for the complete list, which includes a high-profile engagement.
(More year in review stories.)

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