These are desperate times for international sport. Yannick Noah says he is heartbroken by the reduced status of the Davis Cup; future schedules of the British Lions are being reduced; World Cup and European Championship qualifiers in football are increasingly insignificant and the Olympic movement is held in contempt like never before.
To this, add a decision announced from a swanky office in the heart of Manhattan last week. The National Hockey League will not be releasing its players to compete in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. Meaning the ice hockey competition is as good as dead.
For the NHL to snub the Olympics is the equivalent of the major European football leagues boycotting the World Cup.