Dan Roan

Of all the places, it had to be the dream holiday location of the Seychelles...

For the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), it was the lavish setting for possibly the biggest decision it had ever faced.

Even in an era of renewed athlete activism in US sports, the voice of Steph Curry is among the most important.

Having twice been voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player, the 30-year-old basketball superstar is the driving force behind a Golden State Warriors franchise that have come to dominate the league, the reigning champions winning the title three times in the last four seasons.

English cricket's biggest star, and those who run the game, will be breathing a huge sigh of relief.

But while Ben Stokes' acquittal is arguably the biggest victory of his colourful and controversial career, this episode has still been damaging to the reputation of both the player, and - because of his status - the image of the game. And even though he has now been added to England's squad for the third Test against India, it is not the end of the saga.

The sense of anticipation at the start of a new football season is a familiar one, with so much about to unfold.

And as ever, there seems to be as much at stake off the pitch as there is on it.

In terms of reputation, Geraint Thomas' Tour de France victory appears a blessing for Team Sky after a year of controversy - and perhaps a relief for the wider sport too.

Certainly, a more straightforward cause for celebration than a fifth win by team-mate and fellow Briton Chris Froome might have been.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be remembered for many moments of drama, but arguably its most important legacy will be in helping to bring about a shift in the way sport sees its role in wider society.

It is often said sport and politics should never really mix.

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee's report into combatting doping is a devastating blow to the reputations of some of the biggest names in British sport.

To Lord Coe, the most powerful figure in world athletics and architect of the London 2012 Olympic Games, who is accused by the select committee of misleading parliament about when he first knew of corruption allegations.

It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly things can change in sports news.

This time last year I reflected on the sporting highlight of 2016, the Rio Games, where Britain sealed its status as a true Olympic and Paralympic superpower.

The eyes of the sporting world will be on the International Olympic Committee's headquarters in Lausanne later on Tuesday when President Thomas Bach announces whether he and his board have banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics.

For an Olympic powerhouse nation, the hosts of the next football World Cup no less, to be cast as an international sporting pariah, would be unprecedented.

A row has developed over a 'risk report' that claims there is "an increasing political risk that Qatar may not host the World Cup in 2022".

The study, by management consultants Cornerstone Global, assesses the impact of the current diplomatic crisis between the tiny, gas-rich emirate and its neighbours.