- Jan 1 66th Orange Bowl: #8 Michigan beats #5 Alabama, 35-34
- Jan 1 86th Rose Bowl: #4 Wisconsin beats #22 Stanford, 17-9
- Jan 1 Gisbourne, New Zealand population 32,754 is first city in the world to welcome in the new millennium
Santa Maria Maggiore
Jan 1 Opening of Santa Maria Maggiore holy doors by Pope John Paul II in Rome to mark the Millennium
Belichick Rejects NY Jets
Jan 4 A day after accepting the head coaching position at the New York Jets, Bill Belichick resigns and moves to the New England Patriots
- Jan 4 After 2 months, Catherine Hartley and Fiona Thornewill, reach the South Poll, the same day as Edmund Hillary 48 years before
- Jan 4 American businessman and investor Mark Cuban purchases a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise for $285m from H. Ross Perot, Jr.
- Jan 4 College Football, 2nd BCS National Championship, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans: #1 Florida State beats #2 Virginia Tech, 46-29, at 66th Sugar Bowl
- Jan 6 The flu outbreak in Britain puts pressure on NHS
- Jan 6 The last Pyrenean ibex is found dead after being crushed by a tree
- Jan 7 Former UK Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken released from prison after 9 months of a 18-month sentence
- Jan 8 "Music City Miracle", in AFC Wild Card Playoff, Tennessee Titans defeat Buffalo Bills 22-16 in last 16 seconds with Kevin Dyson, running length of the field for a game-winning touchdown
- Jan 8 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Amanda Coetzer & Wayne Ferreira wrap up South Africa's first title (3-0) with an abbreviated 8-1 mixed doubles win over Tamarine Tanasugarn & Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand
26th People's Choice Awards
Jan 9 26th People's Choice Awards: Harrison Ford & Julia Roberts win (Motion Picture) and Drew Carey & Calista Flockhart win (TV)
Marino's Last Game
Jan 9 Miami Dolphin QB Dan Marino wins his last career NFL game (20-17 vs Seattle)
Gates Steps Aside
Jan 13 Microsoft chairman Bill Gates steps aside as chief executive and promotes company president Steve Ballmer to the position
- Jan 14 A United Nations tribunal sentences five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years for the 1993 killing of over 100 Muslims in a Bosnian village.
Sports History
Jan 15 Utah's Jerry Sloan becomes 12th coach in NBA history to reach the 700-victory plateau when the Jazz defeat the LA Clippers, 112-75 at the Delta Center, Salt Lake City
27th American Music Awards
Jan 17 27th American Music Awards: Shania Twain & Will Smith win
- Jan 18 The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth.
Jordan Wizard's Part Owner
Jan 19 Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships as a player, returns to the NBA, joining the Washington Wizards as part owner and President of Basketball Operations
57th Golden Globes
Jan 23 57th Golden Globes: American Beauty, Denzel Washington, & Hilary Swank win
- Jan 23 AFC Championship, Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville: Tennessee Titans beat Jacksonville Jaguars, 33-14
- Jan 23 Dallas' Don Nelson becomes the 6th coach in NBA history to win 900 career games when the Mavericks defeat the Detroit Pistons, 99-91 at The Palace of Auburn Hills
- Jan 23 NFC Championship, Trans World Dome, St. Louis: St. Louis Rams beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 11-6
Davenport Defeats Hingis
Jan 29 Australian Open Women's Tennis: American Lindsay Davenport claims her 3rd and final career Grand Slam title; beats Martina Hingis 6-1, 7-5
Malone 3rd to Score 30,000
Jan 29 Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz becomes the 3rd player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points; finishes with 35 in a 96-94 loss to Minnesota; behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419)
- Jan 30 16th Sundance Film Festival: "Girlfight" and "You Can Count on Me" (tie) win Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Agassi's 4th Consecutive Final
Jan 30 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi beats defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; Agassi makes 4 consecutive Grand Slam finals, 1st since Rod Laver (1969)
- Jan 30 Off the coast of Ivory Coast, Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 169.
- Jan 30 Super Bowl XXXIV, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA: St. Louis Rams beat Tennessee Titans, 23-16; MVP: Kurt Warner, St. Louis, QB
- Jan 31 Alaska Airlines flight 261 MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 persons aboard.
- Jan 31 Family GP Dr Harold Shipman is jailed for life for murdering 15 of his patients, making him Britain's most prolific convicted serial killer
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