Lip service: an avowal of advocacy, adherence or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds.
Examples include a Television New Zealand bigwig promising a raft of quality new programmes, or anything said by a politician two weeks out from an election.
And "lip service" is the perfect phrase to describe what New Zealand rugby bosses pay to the concept of not scheduling an excessive amount of tests for the All Blacks.
They have banged on for years about the importance of player welfare and the danger of diluting the All Black "brand" by saturating an already-crowded market.
Then they turn around and schedule 14 tests for the year following the World Cup.
An expanded June series, an expanded Tri-Nations (with the most unimaginative name, The Rugby Championship, in the history of sport), another tiresome northern tour and a pure money-making test at Twickenham.
Player welfare? Protecting the brand? Pffft.
• McCaw country
The Last Word was briefly back in Oamaru last week for a wedding (congratulations, Anna and Gareth).
Having previously suggested the town needed to make more of its status as the birthplace of Richie McCaw, All Black great and captain of the World Cup champions, there was much interest in a new sign just this side of the Las Vegas of the South.
"Welcome to Oamaru: Birthplace of Ritchie McCaw".
No, our eyes were not deceived. The first name of arguably New Zealand's greatest living sportsman - heck, our greatest person, full stop - is spelled incorrectly. A rogue "t" has sneaked in.
Call in the Mayor, the local MP, the editor of the Oamaru Mail, and Alf's Imperial Army. Get it fixed.
• Tough task...
You can probably take either a deliberately cynical or a deliberately positive stance on the appointment of Tony Brown as the new Otago rugby coach.
It is certainly fair to question whether Brown has the requisite experience for such a position.
He has just started work as the backs coach for the Panasonic Wild Knights, in Japan, after spending one season with Otago as a technical adviser. It is an extremely thin coaching resume.
Brown is 36 and has only just hung up his boots. He has been given a top coaching job based more on who he is than on what he has done, and that doesn't always lead to great success. See Johnson, Martin.
Otago, like England, is in dire need of stability at the top. It goes into the 2012 season with a fourth different coaching team in four years (Steve Martin in 2009, Phil Mooney in 2010, Mooney and Andy Hunter in 2011, Brown and Phil Young in 2012).
• ... for a tough man
But there are also plenty of things about the appointment that stack up.
Brown might be light on coaching experience but he has crammed a huge amount of rugby experience into his career. He's been an All Black, he's played in multiple countries and, in his own way, he has embraced leadership opportunities.
His appointment will be immensely popular in the province, which doted on "Browny" when he played for Otago and the Highlanders.
Brown is the ultimate tough nut, and he bleeds - literally, in the past - blue and gold.
There are also reports that, even in the short time he was involved with the Otago coaching staff, he showed he possessed the ability to guide a team from the sidelines as much as he did from the middle over such a long period.
Finally, it is a smart move to have Brown matched with Young, a much-respected and successful older coach who will be an ideal right-hand man.
Next year is a big one for Otago. It has a stable squad, some solid veterans and some genuinely exciting young players.
Promotion to the top tier of the national championship must be the goal. And Brown will answer any critics if he can achieve that.
• Lockyer, legend
What more is there to say about the great Darren Lockyer?
Rugby league's iron man finally, after receiving more farewells than Carisbrook, retires from the sport this weekend, after playing for the Kangaroos in the Four Nations final.
The Herald Sun pointed out Lockyer had been celebrated for his "last premiership game for the Broncos, last match at Suncorp Stadium, last State of Origin in Queensland, last semifinal for Brisbane, last Origin in Sydney, last test in Australia, last test of all, and last match in Sydney."
Robert Craddock, the Courier Mail's long-serving sports writer, observed: "I thought Steve Waugh's farewell lap of Australia was a long goodbye but compared to Darren, Steve almost slipped out the side door.
"When our paper printed a Darren Lockyer liftout, we had a circulation spike. Everyone from his wife to some kids who sat next to him in primary school have had their say in the farewell tributes. People who have gone out for dinner with him in Brisbane in recent months say they know what it must have been like to have a hot dog with Elvis, so great was the attention."
• Trash talk
Craig Bradshaw was a very good (not great), one-season Otago Nugget.
And there may well be some truth to the theory the Nuggets welched on a verbal agreement to re-sign the player, though the facts do not seem clear.
But Bradshaw might have been better off keeping his mouth shut earlier this week when commenting on his previous team.
Trashing your former employer is never a classy move, and nor is it smart. New Zealand basketball is a small community and jobs are limited. What happens if the Sharks part company with Bradshaw after one season, and he needs to find another job?
I am the last to defend the Nuggets' management efficiency over the past 13 years - their record speaks for itself. But I would suggest criticism of the franchise means more from people like Glen Denham and Leonard King than it does from a temporary star.
