Jim Tressel, former head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, resigned following the revelation that his players had received inappropriate benefits.

He had reached the top of his sport, winning pro cycling's treasure in 2006, the Tour de France. Only two other American cyclists have ever won the event — Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong. However, Landis was stripped of his title and banned from the sport for two years due to a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. The disgraced rider was vehement in his defense, sparking his own multiple legal challenges until finally admitting in 2010 that he had cheated throughout his entire career. He also then accused Armstrong and numerous others of doping. Turns out he was right about Armstrong.

He is perhaps the most electric player to ever lace up football spikes. Wide receiver speed with running back moves and a cannon of an arm quarterbacks only dream of. He is the ultimate video game create-a-player and was one of the NFL's most popular players with the Atlanta Falcons. But you know how this story ended. Vick bankrolled a dogfighting ring, a crime which sent him to prison. Once the most marketable player in the NFL, Vick finally got a second chance in Philly. And in the fall of 2012, he became a dog owner again. Yikes!

Pete Rose. The name itself emits a certain feel of purity and baseball joy, at least it did for his decades as baseball's all-time hits leader and manager of the Cincinnati Reds in the '80s. He was a guaranteed Hall of Famer ... until allegations of betting on baseball ruined his career and image. His was a sports scandal of the highest level, and Rose later even went to prison due to tax evasion. Despite nearly two decades of strong denials, Rose finally admitted (awkwardly, in his own biography for profit) his dugout sins ... but he has still never found a home in Cooperstown, and likely never will.

Once known simply as the world's greatest golfer (possibly ever) and richest pro athlete, he had the perfect life, including his family with former Swedish model Elin Nordegren. Late in 2009, his world crashed — all innocuously starting from a tabloid story of Tiger having an extramarital affair with a nightclub manager. Then came Tiger's mysterious car wreck outside his home, sparking curiosity about his marriage. Then Tiger went silent, before stern media denials of being a home-wrecker. But finally, the floodgates opened when over a dozen women revealed crouching with Tiger. Despite taking 20 weeks away from golf, Tiger and his wife split up and his game has never fully recovered.

As one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, Favre revelled in his image as fun-loving, on-field warrior and off-field family man. But a scandal involving reported lewd texts sent to former New York Jets employee Jenn Sterger shed an unfavorable light on him. After he got called out for his behavior, fewer people than ever believed his "awshucks" attitude, including Wrangler jeans, which dropped him as a sponsor. And on the field, his lackluster final season in the NFL didn't help matters either.

Marion Jones won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics — three gold and two bronze. But you won't find a record of those accomplishments now. Jones, who also won an NCAA basketball title at North Carolina, has since forfeited all five Olympic medals after admitting she used performance-enhancing drugs. Jones would later serve six months in jail after pleading guilty to making false statements before a grand jury.

Kobe Bryant has seen it all. From his ground-breaking choice in 1996 to skip college for the pros to his three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers by age 23, Bryant was living a hoops dream. Then came the shocking nightmare: the squeaky clean Bryant accused of rape in the summer of 2003. In a surreal press conference, Kobe (with wife Vanessa at his side) confessed to adultery, but denied any rape charge (the 19-year-old accuser refused to testify the following year, closing the case). Kobe's A-name sponsors dropped him, his jersey was a joke, his name a punchline. Though it took the rest of the decade, Kobe recovered the fame, NBA glory ... and yes, those ad dollars.

The former Mets OF, nicknamed Nails, was sentenced March 5, 2012, to three years in state prison in a grand theft auto case. Prosecutors said Dykstra and two co-defendants tried to lease and then sell high-end cars from car dealerships by claiming credit through a phony business. Dykstra filed for bankruptcy in 2009, claiming he owed more than $31 million and had only $50,000 in assets. Federal prosecutors said that after filing, Dykstra hid, sold or destroyed more than $400,000 worth of items from the $18.5 million mansion (which he purchased from Wayne Gretzky) without permission of a bankruptcy trustee. Dykstra faces federal bankruptcy charges and is scheduled to stand trial in summer 2012. Dykstra also pleaded not guilty to indecent exposure charges for allegedly exposing himself to women he met on Craigslist.

Look at their career numbers. These are the two easiest Hall of Fame cases a voter will ever have to consider. Right? Wrong. At this point, it's anyone's guess whether these two icons will ever be enshrined in Cooperstown. Both are caught up in a steroid whirlwind, neither will admit to knowingly using. Public opinion has turned against them, with Bonds being found guilty of obstruction of justice and Clemens, while was found not guilty of perjury, making false statements and obstructing Congress, is generally considered guilty by average fans.

Ben Roethlisberger had the world in the palm of his hand. Already a two-time Super Bowl champ in his 20s as quarterback of one of the most respected franchises in sports, Big Ben was a hero to Pittsburgh Steelers fans. He almost threw it all away on several occasions (near-fatal motorcycle crash in 2006, sexual assault allegations in 2008), but shocked his team, fans and city when accused of raping a college student in March, 2010. Although he was never charged, the case details released by Georgia police were revolting, leading to a suspension to start the 2010 season under the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Oh, Tonya. Once a championship-level figure skater in the early 1990s, she failed to medal at the 1992 Olympics and by 1993 her career was in decline. Nobody saw what came next: Rival Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by a man hired by Harding's ex-husband during a practice at the 1994 U.S. Championships. Harding and Kerrigan both made the Olympic team as bitter teammates. Harding admitted to covering up the attack, but her lawyers' legal threats saved her spot (she finished eighth amidst full-scale media glare). Later in 1994, she was banned for life by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, relegating her to a shamed career full of reality TV and low-level women's boxing events.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's 45 years coaching the football program came to an end when he was fired by Penn State's board of trustees in the wake of the full-scale media storm surrounding child sex-abuse allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. He passed away on Jan. 22, 2012 from lung cancer, shortly after his firing.

Live … strong? Lance Armstrong was a hero, a fighter, an icon. He beat cancer and amazed us by winning Tour de France title after Tour de France title. Now, he’ll go down as one of the biggest fakes in all of sports. The seven-time Tour champ will likely be stripped of all of his Tour titles after a USADA report labeled him a serial drug cheat. He even lost his endorsement deal with Nike … and Nike doesn’t drop anyone (Tiger Woods still has his deal, and they even brought Michael Vick back on).

Only six months after proving to the world he could race on blades and compete with able-bodied Olympic athletes in London, South African sprinter and double-amputee Oscar Pistorius was charged in the shooting death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius competed in the 2012 London Games and Paralympic Games, where he earned gold medals in the 400 meters and 4x400 relay.

Every young sports fan dreams of being a professional athlete — the fame, the fortune, the adoring fans. But when it comes to these athletes, all bets are off. Legal trouble, PR trouble, you name it. We present sports' most dramatic falls from grace.