- Jan 1 69th Sugar Bowl: #4 Georgia beats #16 Florida State, 26-13
- Jan 1 89th Rose Bowl: #8 Oklahoma beats #7 Washington State, 34-14
- Jan 2 69th Orange Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #3 Iowa, 38-17
- Jan 3 College Football, 5th BCS National Championship, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ: #2 Ohio State beats #1 Miami, 31-24, at 32nd Fiesta Bowl
America Wins Title
Jan 4 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Serena Williams & James Blake beat Australian pair Alicia Molik & Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 for a 3-0 win, and 2nd American title
- Jan 10 NBA announces Charlotte, N.C. is awarded an NBA expansion franchise to be known as the Charlotte Bobcats and start play in 2004-05; eventually changes to the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014-15 season
1,200 Points for Jágr
Jan 11 Washington right wing Jaromír Jágr scores his 10th career hat-trick and adds 4 assists for 7 points and his 1,200th NHL point in a 12-2 win against Florida; Jágr has 20+ goals in each of his 13 NHL seasons
- Jan 19 AFC Championship, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland: Oakland Raiders beat Tennessee Titans, 41-24
- Jan 19 NFC Championship, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10
- Jan 25 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams wins 5th Grand Slam singles title and 4th straight; beats older sister Venus Williams 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 for her first Australian title
Agassi Beats Schuttler
Jan 26 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi of the US wins his 8th and last Grand Slam title; beats Rainer Schuttler of Germany 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
- Jan 26 Super Bowl XXXVII, Qualc:omm Stadium, San Diego, CA: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Oakland Raiders, 48-21; MVP: Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay, S
- Jan 31 The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia; 7 die when train driver has a heart attack and safety system fails
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Tennis Champions