Like the whack-a-mole game, it’s becoming fiendishly tricky to stay on top of all the doping busts.

Almost every week carries a new chapter in the sordid saga. The busts come so thick and fast I’ve largely become immune to the shock. Another day, another dope.

The New York Times had a cracker last week when it lifted the lid on what really went down at the Sochi Olympics. The narrative read like a spy thriller and was made even better by damning photographs.

The Russians were so brazen you wonder how they ever thought they would get away with their duplicity. The suggestion that Russian doping has been state-sponsored is now beyond dispute.

This story will run and run, but you suspect the game is up for the Russian cheats who are getting nabbed one by one.

If sport seems like a dark and grimy place, there are rays of light, like this heart-warming yarn on Reece Whitley, a 16-year-old “phenom” who breaks many of the stereotypes of the modern swimmer. It’s an inspiring piece, not least for a South African audience who may be surprised to discover that Whitley is a black swimmer of immense promise.

If Whitley is a sportsman on the rise, Amir Khan is on the downward trajectory after his spectacular KO defeat by Canelo Alvarez last weekend. This excellent piece in the Telegraph by Paul Hayward examines the inevitable crossroads Khan now faces and also condemns those who sought to mock him in the aftermath.

If, like me, you’re a fan of Instagram, there’s a first-class read on how and why the picture app has had a major re-design. The essence of the reasoning is that evolution is inevitable. It’s also smart.

If you’re reading this on an electronic device, it figures. The most devastating read of recent days came courtesy of this analysis by marklives.com on the sad state of SA newspapers. It’s a dispassionate look at readership figures and offers a brutal reality. Sales are down, shockingly so.

Talking to friends in the industry, so is morale.