DFW.com's Top 25 turkeys of 2012

25. Michael Brutsch: If you were to see Michael Brutsch's name by itself, it probably wouldn't inspire much feeling one way or the other. But his Reddit handle -- Violentacrez -- guaranteed all manner of offensive material from one of the biggest Internet trolls out there. Tech website Gizmodo blew the lid off Arlington resident Brutsch's cover in October, exposing him as not only one of North Texas' biggest turkeys, but perhaps the Internet's as well. His defense was a half-hearted one, and he lost his job as a result of the expose. In cyberspace, everyone can hear you -- a lesson some people apparently need to re-learn.

22. Chris Brown: From his getting a neck tattoo some said was an image of an abused Rihanna (he said it was a MAC Cosmetics-designed Day of the Dead skull) to getting into a throwdown with Drake at a New York City nightclub, this guy can't leave trouble alone. Dude, at least wait until your five-year-probation for assaulting your ex-girlfriend is up before you start making waves again.

17. Jerry Jones: There are plenty of sports-related reasons to single out the Dallas Cowboys owner for derision, but we come not to hate on his general-managing skills. Rather, we're highly amused/nauseated by his turn as a "rapper" in a recent ad for Papa John's pizza. Listen, Jerry, thanks for the glittering sports jewel in Arlington, but we'd really appreciate it if you never, ever, ever tried to rap again. We've only seen the commercial a handful of times during Cowboys games, but it's permanently seared onto our retinas. The horror, the horror.

16. The developers of Dallas' Museum Tower: The $200 million skyscraper in Dallas Arts' District is mired in all sorts of legal and public-relations problems because of the harsh glare that the building reflects on the Nasher Sculpture Center, one of the few cultural gems in Dallas. Not suprisingly, sales of the 115 mostly million-dollar condos are going very slowly.

14. Fort Worth food-truck closings: Vegan food truck Zombie's is just one of a few to close during the past few months -- the Bacon Wagon and FW food-truck pioneer the Wiener Man have also shifted into park. According to DFW.com content partner DFW Food Truck Foodie, closings aren't that unusual -- but the majority of the DFW ones have been in Fort Worth. With one food-truck park (Fort Worth Food Park) about to celebrate its one-year anniversary but another (Cowtown Chow Down) continually uncrowded, is Fort Worth just not ready for a food-truck scene? Or is the city just making it too difficult for food-truck owners to succeed?

13. Dublin Dr Pepper shuts down: One of this year's earliest turkeys occurred weh Dr Pepper Snapple Group and its oldest but smallest bottler, Dr Pepper Bottling Co. of Dublin, announced that they were ending their 120-year relationship to settle a trademark feud. This was one ending that wasn't sweet.

11. Madonna: A good two decades had passed since the Material Girl had last performed in Dallas, and given how long it took her to make it to the stage at the American Airlines Center in October, it almost felt as though another decade passed by. Her return to North Texas was a bumpy one, marred by an unexpected cancellation (owing to "severe laryngitis") and a show, with some tickets going for well north of $300, that didn't wrap up until almost 1 a.m. On a Sunday. Thanks, Madonna -- pretty sure your fans weren't feeling like Lucky Stars on that Monday morning.

10. DFW freeway construction: We know, it's a hazard of living in a major metropolitan area. We know, the end result supposedly will mean fewer traffic jams and quicker commutes. But it sometimes seems as if every single freeway in DFW is undergoing some sort of construction. The toughest stretch is through the Grapevine/Southlake area, where construction requires you to have the driving skills of a Star Wars fighter pilot -- when you're not stuck at a standstill.

9. Rick Perry: Yes, the governor is a perennial turkey, but only within the state's borders. This year, however, he took his brand of Lone Star crazy national during the Republican primary season. The hits are almost too many to name: Forgetting which federal departments he'd close during a televised debate; appearing supremely loopy during a press conference in New Hampshire, leading to rumors of drunkenness ... Perry would probably just as well forget the first half of 2012. Yet, as he returned to Austin to lick his wounds, there's still buzz about his strength as a presidential contender in 2016. Crazy? Like a fox.

8. DFW media vets moving on: Let's make this clear: Tammy Dombeck, pictured, is not a turkey. But her absence from local TV is. The popular KXAS/Channel 5 traffic reporter left her station in late July after they couldn't agree on contract terms. And she's not the only one missing from local TV. Dombeck's former colleague, meteorologist Rebecca Miller, told DFW.com she's done with TV news after she departed her station, KDAF/Channel 33, when it switched to a more "youth-friendly" nighttime newscast in early November. And longtime news anchor Jane McGarry resigned from KXAS/Channel 5 after pleading no contest to a May driving-while-intoxicated charge. They're all off the air right now; at least Mark Davis, who left WBAP/820 AM when he had a contract dispute with the station's owner, Cumulus Broadcasting, has landed on his feet at KSKY/660 AM. Traditional media is more unstable in modern times, but we still consider all these changes to add up to a whole turkey.

7. Komen for the Cure leadership: The breast-cancer charity has done a lot to help people, but its leadership upset a lot of folks in January when reports surfaced that it would cut off funding to Planned Parenthood for breast-cancer screening -- and then upset other folks when it rescinded the decision three days later. Nancy Brinker (pictured), founder and CEO of the charity, stepped down in August (although she remains involved) and organization president Liz Thompson left in September. Cancer doesn't care about anyone's politics, but this turkey sure got political fast.

5. Casey Pachall: The tatted-up TCU QB's first season in the Big 12 (and potential NFL career) ended in October when he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (he was already under the microscope after he admitted past drug use to the police in February, according to CBS Sports). To his credit, Pachall withdrew from TCU to enter a substance-abuse program. But he was the quarterback of a still-strong college-football team, and his step into maturity may have come a little too late.

3. No more Twinkies: Or Ding Dongs, Ho Ho's or other snacks if Hostess' filing to shut down its operations is granted. Granted, for most of us at DFW.com, these were no longer a substantial part of our diet -- but we still carry the weight of nostalgia for when they were.

1. Lance Armstrong: Lance, we were really with you in those years of denying allegations that you used performance-enhancing drugs during your time as a competitive racer. But giving up the fight of proving those allegations wrong doesn’t inspire confidence from anyone. And then you cut all ties with Livestrong. In a year when the sports world was marred by misjudgment, your fall from grace can’t be taken lightly. That's why you're our top turkey this year.