- Jan 1 40th Fiesta Bowl: #9 Oklahoma beats #25 Connecticut, 48-20
- Jan 1 97th Rose Bowl: #3 TCU beats #4 Wisconsin, 21-19
- Jan 3 77th Orange Bowl: #5 Stanford beats #12 Virginia Tech, 40-12
- Jan 3 Adrian Lewis of England wins his first PDC World Darts Championship with a 7-5 win over Scotsman Gary Anderson at the Alexandra Palace, London
- Jan 4 77th Sugar Bowl: #6 Ohio State beats #8 Arkansas, 31-26
US Clinch Victory
Jan 8 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands & John Isner beat Belgian pair Justine Henin & Ruben Bemelmans 6-1, 6-3 to clinch a 2-1 victory; 6th title for the United States
Ballon d'Or
Jan 10 Ballon d'Or: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins 2nd straight award from teammates Andrés Iniesta & Xavi; Brazilian forward Marta wins women's award for 5th consecutive year
- Jan 10 College Football, 13th BCS National Championship, University of Phoenix Stadium: #1 Auburn beats #2 Oregon, 22-19
- Jan 23 AFC Championship, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat New York Jets, 24-19
- Jan 23 NFC Championship, Soldier Field, Chicago: Green Bay Packers beat Chicago Bears, 21-14
Clijsters Defeats Li
Jan 29 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Kim Clijsters wins her 4th and final Grand Slam title; beats Li Na of China 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
- Jan 30 58th NHL All-Star Game, RBC Centre, Raleigh, NC: Team Lidstrom beats Team Staal, 11-10; MVP: Patrick Sharp, Chicago, LW
Đoković Defeats Murray
Jan 30 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Novak Đoković wins his 2nd Australian title; beats Scotsman Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
- Jan 30 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 55-41; MVP: DeAngelo Hall, Washington Redskins, DB