I remember in France in the 1980s being asked whether it could possibly be true that there was a British radio soap opera that had been running for 30 years.

I’ve never much liked New Year celebrations.  They remind me of the Peggy Lee song, Is That All There Is? “Then let’s keep dancing, let’s break out the booze, and have a ball…”

I found myself re-reading a somewhat over-ambitious article I wrote almost exactly two years ago looking ahead to some expected and hoped-for Olympic developments in 2016. A few, such as a strong Paris 2024 bid, were realised while most others occurred belatedly or not at all. This inspired an urge to compile a similar list on the first day of what should be a quieter year on the administrative front in 2018, but probably won’t be.

The year appears to be concluding in fitting fashion, with an ongoing war of words over Russian participation at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.

A common moral dilemma I find myself having from time to time is the extent and limits to which I am willing the teams and athletes I support to go to in order to win.

It has taken rather more than 80 days but Jules Verne and his literary creations Phileas Fogg and indomitable assistant Passepartout would surely have approved mightily of the epic journey of the Queen’s Baton (QBR) to Australia.

It’s axiomatic that sport requires an element of doubt, a measure of uncertainty, to be compelling. Nobody wants to watch a foregone conclusion.

With Buenos Aires' big Olympic Moment fast approaching, it is fitting that Argentina's Gerardo Werthein should retain his status as top International Olympic Committee (IOC) Tweeter for a second year.

The punch-perfect performance from Billy Joe Saunders, arguably the best by a Brit this year, in successfully defending his WBO world middleweight title against David Lemieux in Montreal recently was certainly the most compelling and complete victory by a Brit since Tyson Fury toyed with Wladimir Klitschko back in 2015.

The last 12 months in sports politics has perhaps not quite hit the heights of the year which preceded it, but it has contained plenty of excitement nonetheless. 

There is a moment annually when on a generally dark and dreary day in the build-up to Christmas and the New Year, either myself or my Dad will utter the words "Do you remember that cross-country in Stebbing?"

When Narinder Batra was elected President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in November of last year, he boldly declared he was confident he could live up to the expectations of those who elevated him to the position.

I am hoping that I am not alone in this, but do you think every year about this time it gets busier and busier? It’s the usual ‘silly season’ stuff, plus work. Once upon time, people slowed down noticeably; now it’s a million miles an hour right up to Christmas Day.

Alan Abrahamson is, according to the just-released 2017 Olympic Sports Social Media Ranking report compiled by Burson-Marsteller/TSE Consulting, the journalist fourth most followed by International Federations on Twitter.