Benji Marshall is heading back to rugby league after humbly describing himself as an ''average'' rugby player. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, David Moyes' horror first season with Manchester United is over while balls are still being kicked in anger. Matt Smith takes a look at other sporting experiments which should have been left in the laboratory.
Centre of attention
What's that definition of insanity?
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?
All Black fullbacks playing at centre in Rugby World Cups, come on down!
Christian Cullen in 1999 was the first fullback to pull on the cursed No 13 jersey at a World Cup campaign, as John Hart tried to squeeze as many matchwinners on to the paddock as possible.
That went pear-shaped in spectacular fashion in the semifinal against France.
Four years later, Tana Umaga is supposedly out injured so John Mitchell and Robbie Deans decide Leon MacDonald is the answer at 13.
Stirling Mortlock dined out on the centre channel all game, and the All Blacks were knocked out again in the semifinal.
Come 2007, and lessons have been learned.
What? They haven't? Mils Muliana gets the nod ahead of Conrad Smith for the centre position and the All Blacks bow out to France in the quarters.
If Israel Dagg is seen in the No 13 jersey in England next year, please don't wake me from the nightmare.
Cricket Max
Martin Crowe's creation is an unfortunate inclusion in this list, in my humble opinion, but I don't always have the final say.
If anything, the shortened version of cricket was ahead of its time.
Well, mostly. There were a few rogue elements, including four stumps instead of three at each end, as batsmen could not be dismissed lbw.
The Max Zone encouraged straight hitting, but offended purists as batsmen could not be caught in the trapezoid-shaped zones, while any runs scored in the zone were worth double.
But plenty of other rules made sense and have made their way into present-day limited overs forms - bowlers were restricted to four overs each and batsmen had a free hit after a no ball.
You're a star, right?
Warren Ryan is better known these days for his gravelly tones on the ABC radio commentaries of NRL games.
But he was an innovative coach back in the day, always looking for the edge on his opponents.
After coaching the American Tomahawks at a world sevens tournament in 1997, he made it his goal to find an NFL player to join the Newcastle Knights in 1999.
He thought he had found one when Greg Smith - described by one internet scribe as ''faster than a bag-snatcher'' - sweet-talked himself into a contract claiming he had two seasons in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Smith's spiel was later found to be a lie, but not before he was peppered with bombs by the Bulldogs in his one and only game - turning a 24-4 Knights lead into a 28-26 Bulldogs victory.
Smith never played for the Knights again and Ryan's little dalliance with American football was over.
Icy reception for puck
I've tried to watch ice hockey on TV - honestly, I have - but I'm not alone in lacking the lightning-quick reactions to follow the puck adequately.
Never fear, the Fox Network came along to save the day in 1996 with its new-fangled Foxtrax system, where a tiny circuit board and battery were placed inside the puck, which was activated when the puck was dropped on to the ice or hit by a hockey stick.
Viewers at home could watch the path of the puck thanks to a blue or red trail.
Many Americans liked it, but the traditionalists north of the border in Canada were not so keen.
Oh, and the players didn't like it, seeing as it rebounded more than the standard puck and they weren't allowed to to use them in practice.
Ratings dropped by a third in the next two years, and the broadcast rights went to NBC for the 1999 season.
Lowest form of Witt
It was something of a surprise when the Warriors told Michael Witt, at the start of 2009, that he was not required.
It was a major shock when he ended up with an Otago rugby contract.
Witt came south on a two-year deal with Otago and the NZRU.
But while he played reasonably well for Taieri in club rugby, and had the odd run for Otago, he never looked comfortable in the 15-man game.
Bolted back to league after nine months.
Other players who could be included in the file labelled ''Otago Rugby's Unfortunate Recruitment Policy, 2009-12'': Chris Small, Ryan Shortland, Josh Tatupu, Joe Hill, Ben Atiga, Sam Giddens, Regan Tamihere, Daniel Ramsay and James McGougan.
Unhappy marriage
Who wouldn't want to amalgamate two traditional North Island rugby rivals - I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
When Manawatu and Hawkes Bay came together under one banner (Central Vikings) for the national provincial championship, a potential superpower was born. At least, that was the idea.
With the late Frank Oliver in the coaching box, and players such as Christian Cullen, Mark ''Bull'' Allen, Stephen Bachop and Roger Randle to call on, the depth was there.
The Vikings, resplendent in one of the ugliest jerseys in recent memory, smashed the lower division two sides in 1997 before hiccups against Northland and Bay Of Plenty.
The Vikings turned the tables on Bay Of Plenty in the semifinals, but were hammered 63-10 by Northland in the final.
In 1998, some of the big names had gone. Despite that, the team went through the second division unbeaten but the Vikings' application for entry into first division was refused by the NZRFU, and the two unions - now separate again - were more than $430,000 in debt after two seasons.
Notable mentions
• Michael Jordan's ill-fated attempt to play professional baseball - you're Air Jordan for a reason.
• Vince McMahon's XFL professional American football competition - lasted all of one year.
• Israel Folau in AFL - should have gone straight from league to union.
• Night thoroughbred racing at Avondale - nice idea in the 1980s, but was not profitable and the club is still paying off the debt today.
