Call me nasty or negative, cynical or sceptical.
But I sincerely hope the New Zealand Rugby League takes this idea of a second NRL team, based in Christchurch, and gives it a hefty punt into the bin marked "BAD IDEA".
Rugby league is a great sport and it is pleasing to see it coming back to life in Otago, where Steve Martin and company are doing sterling work to revive the code.
But the idea of a second NRL club, the Warriors Mark II, based in the South Island is simply foolish.
The people of Christchurch need a city rebuilt, not another sports team to follow. And, as explored in our Survival Game series, Dunedin is struggling to sustain its own major sports organisations.
I still can't imagine the Warriors - who belong to all of New Zealand - being delighted about a second New Zealand club being established, though surely Wellington would be the base if it happened.
My hope is simply to see the Warriors playing at Forsyth Barr Stadium once a year.
• High(landers) hopes
Injuries aside, this is still a Highlanders team that is capable of great things this year.
You can expect a tricky start as a depleted squad tries to stay afloat. It would not surprise me if the first month brings only one win, or even none.
But there is now real talent and toughness and experience in Jamie Joseph's squad. It's a long season, and once everybody gets back on deck, it is fair to expect some good results.
• The front-row club
They were as close as brothers when they propped the scrum for Otago, the Highlanders, the All Blacks and French club Castres.
But Kees Meeuws and Carl Hoeft will each be hoping the other ends up on the losing side tonight.
Meeuws is the scrum coach for the Highlanders, who are off to Hamilton for their opening game. There they meet the Chiefs, whose new scrum guru is Hoeft.
While Meeuws has been home for a couple of years, Hoeft and family only returned to New Zealand in November. They are living near Hamilton, and Hoeft is helping coach Waikato, giving some advice to the Chiefs, and working with the Hamilton Boys' First XV.
• More family links
Former All Black Grahame Thorne has emailed The Last Word with another example of family links in New Zealand sport.
He cites the case of Gerald Kember, who played 18 games (one test) for the All Blacks, and daughter Ros Kember, who played cricket for the White Ferns.
Thorne has his own story, of course. His son, the late Bruce, represented the Junior Springboks.
• Boxing keeps sinking
People say boxing can't get any lower, but then along come the Terrible Twit-Brained Two.
The unfortunate spectacle of British boneheads Dereck Chisora and David Haye "brawling" in Germany, following Chisora spitting in Wladimir Klitschko's face, was another body punch for the sport.
Anyone with half an interest in the sweet science must now hope a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight eventually happens, and that it turns out to be a classic encounter. That's the only way for boxing to regain a skerrick of respect.
• Gavaskar joke
More on the story of Sunil Gavaskar's magnificent go-slow (36 not out off 174 balls) at the 1975 Cricket World Cup, referenced last week.
Marion Potter recalls an after-dinner speech from former New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney, when he mentioned Sunny's innings:"He told of an English player in the field calling out for all to hear, 'Hey Gavaskar - how did your mother get you out?'."
• Yachting news
An update from Peter Nees and Roy Roker, the veteran Otago yachties who featured on the cover of our Friday sports tabloid a few weeks ago.
The regular rivals joined forces for the national Sunburst championships in Auckland.
"Our borrowed boat was a bit less than we hoped for, quite old and considerably overweight," Nees reported back.
"We finished mid-fleet of the 30 taking part, with our best being ninth in the last of the six races. We teamed well, and would both be very happy to sail together in the future."
The pair hope more sailors will be encouraged to get on the water when the national regatta is held in Dunedin next year.
• Cheadle a start
It was always going to be fanciful to think the revived New Zealand PGA Championship at The Hills could attract Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson.
And when news of the associated pro-am emerged, you always knew there were going to be more Murray Deakers than Justin Timberlakes in the field.
But Don Cheadle?
That's not a bad star guest for the first tournament. For those who are not immediately familiar with the actor, check out his Oscar-nominated turn in the heart-wrenching Hotel Rwanda.
If Cheadle goes home after the tournament and raves about The Hills to fellow golf-playing actors like Bill Murray and Samuel L Jackson, who knows who might be inspired to come next time?
• Birthday of the week
Bobby Riggs would have been 94 today.
He was the wise-cracking, chauvinistic American tennis player who took part in one of the most famous games in history, the Battle of the Sexes, in 1973.
Riggs, an outstanding player in his prime, was a hustler and a gambler, and came out of retirement aged 55, claiming he was still good enough to beat any female player.
He duly beat Margaret Court - everyone forgets that - but was wiped off the floor by Billie Jean King, his original target.
Selena Roberts wrote a great book about the match and its significance: A Necessary Spectacle.
