Events in Sports History in January 2013

Jan 1 79th Orange Bowl: #13 Florida State beats #16 Northern Illinois, 31-10
Jan 1 99th Rose Bowl: #8 Stanford beats Wisconsin, 20-14

Carlsen Breaks Kasparov Record

Jan 1 Magnus Carlsen breaks Garry Kasparov's chess FIDE rating, reaching 2,861

Chess Grandmaster and Political Activist Garry Kasparov

Jan 1 Phil Taylor claims his 16th and last PDC World Darts Championship title with a 7–4 victory over Dutchman Michael van Gerwen in the final in London
Jan 2 79th Sugar Bowl: #21 Louisville beats #3 Florida, 33-23
Jan 3 42nd Fiesta Bowl: #5 Oregon beats #7 Kansas State, 35-17

Spain's Fourth Title

Jan 5 25th Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Spain wins 4th title; Anabel Medina Garrigues & Fernando Verdasco beat high profile Serbian pair Ana Ivanović & Novak Đoković 6-4, 7-5 to clinch 2-1 victory

Jan 6 The NHL reaches an agreement to end a 113 day lockout
Jan 7 College Football, 15th BCS National Championship, Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens: #2 Alabama beats #1 Notre Dame, 42-14

Messi Wins Record Fourth

Jan 7 FIFA Ballon d'Or: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins award for a record 4th consecutive year; US forward Abby Wambach wins women's award

Nash 5th to 10,000 Assists

Jan 8 Steve Nash becomes 5th NBA player to record 10,000th career assists, playing for the LA Lakers against Houston - Lakers still lose 125–112

Jan 12 "Mile High Miracle", In AFC Divisional Playoff Game Denver Broncos ahead of Baltimore Ravens 35-28 with 1:09 remaining, quarterback Joe Flacco heaves 70 yard touchdown pass to receiver Jacoby Jones to tie the game. Ravens win in overtime.

Armstrong's Doping Downfall

Jan 19 Lance Armstrong admits to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories

Jan 19 The 2012-2013 NHL season begins after a 119-day lockout
Jan 20 AFC Championship, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough: Baltimore Ravens beat New England Patriots, 28-13
Jan 20 NFC Championship, Georgia Dome, Atlanta: San Francisco 49ers beat Atlanta Falcons, 28-24

Azarenka Defeats Li

Jan 26 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus wins her 2nd straight Australian title; beats Li Na of China 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

Jan 27 7 people are killed and 3 are injured when a retaining wall collapses during a football match at the Ugur Sports Facility, Turkey
Jan 27 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Novak Đoković wins Open era record 4th Australian crown; beats Andy Murray of Scotland 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2

Carlsen Wins Tata Steel Tournament

Jan 27 Magnus Carlsen wins the 2013 Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands

Jan 27 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii: NFC beats AFC, 62-35; MVP: Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings, TE
Jan 27 Spain defeats Denmark to win the 2013 World Men's Handball Championship