Desmond and Odysseus

First, let me give credit for the following comparison to a contributor on the board at the "Lost-Desmond Fans, Brotha!" group on Facebook. I just thought it was a cool idea and should be shared.

Anyways, has anyone noticed a similarity between the LOST character Desmond and Odysseus from the Iliad and the Odyssey? For example:

ODY: he is described as honorable, resourceful, and cursed by the gods.
DES: probably one of the more honorable people on the island. And how much more cursed can you get than being constantly tossed between the past, present, and future?

ODY: regains his honor by fighting in the Trojan War and then spends ten years sailing around, looking for his home, Ithica.
DES: enters a sailing race to win back the approval of Penny and her father, but ends up on the island for at least three years.

ODY: stabs a cyclopes with a large spear in a cave.
DES: shoots the one-eyed Russian in that underwater docking bay.

ODY: it takes him 10 years to return home to his wife, Penelope.
DES: hopefully, it won't take him that long to return to his own Penelope, or Penny.