Whoever said sport and politics do not mix had never met Damian Collins.

When I first heard about Sebastian Coe’s plan to abolish bidding processes for International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) events late last year, I found it hard to stifle a laugh.

Earlier today, Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zarif confirmed visas will be granted to United States wrestlers for a Freestyle World Cup event later this month in Kermanshah. The news came after the Ministry reportedly banned USA Wrestling from competing in response to American President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration.

It is just after five o’clock in the morning when the hordes of Angelenos arrive at the iconic Memorial Coliseum, dressed in all sorts of weird and wonderful outfits.

I do not know whether, like me, you caught the Australian Open tennis finals over the weekend.

So I see the latest tweet from BBC 5 Live Sport on West Ham’s home game against Manchester City after Yaya Toure has put the visitors 4-0 up from a penalty. “There is a mass exodus of #WHUFC fans,” reports the commentator, Conor McNamara.

That background noise you might be aware of in calmer moments? It is the sound of rule-books that have underpinned international affairs for most of my adult life being ripped up.

Magnanimity is not a word much extracted from the sporting lexicon these days.

The old adage that a "week is a long time in politics", attributed to former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, is often relevant when considering the hustle and bustle of happenings in the Olympic world.

Sport has an incredible ability to temporarily distract you from the wider issues of the world. While the vast majority of people are still getting their heads around the latest executive order by the President of the United States, sporting nostalgia fests on the other side of the world have provided some relief.

Last night, the National Hockey League (NHL) named their greatest 100 players ever at an event held to kick-start the All-Star weekend here in Los Angeles.

I’m back from a summer break in Australia for the festive period – and glad to be so. Not just to be back in Europe and away from sweltering Sydney, but also to be back on deck for a new year. There’s so much to do.

So Usain Bolt now has eight rather than nine Olympic gold medals. Does anyone think less of him for it? No. Is it bad news? Yes and no.

Fourteen nominations! When a film - La La Land – named after one of your city’s many nicknames is so honoured, you could be forgiven for starting to think that this might be your year.