January 1998 in Sports History

Jan 7 Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal blocks 3 shots in a 114-102 win over Milwaukee to bring his career total to 1,002

Jan 9 Anatoly Karpov defeats Viswanathan Anand to retain chess title

Jan 9 Hockey News selects Wayne Gretzky as the best NHL player ever

Jan 10 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Karina Habšudová & Karol Kučera beat French pair Mary Pierce & Cédric Pioline 6-3, 6-4 for a 2-1 win, and Slovakia's first title

Jan 10 Vancouver Canucks veteran center Mark Messier becomes the 6th player in NHL history to record 1,000 assists in a 2-2 tie against the Florida Panthers at General Motors Place

Jan 11 AFC Championship Game: Denver Broncos beat Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21

Jan 14 Charles Barkley pleads not guilty to an assault charge

Jan 15 Future Hockey Hall of Fame right wing Dino Ciccarelli finds his 5th NHL club; traded from Tampa Bay Lightning to Florida Panthers

Jan 18 Larry Bird returns to Boston as head coach of the Indiana Pacers for the first time, as former Celtics center Robert Parish is honoured by having his No. 00 raised to the Fleet Center rafters

Jan 22 Rickey Henderson, rejoins Oakland A's for 4th time

Jan 23 Michael Jordan scores in double figures for 800th consecutive game in a 100-98 OT win over New Jersey; adds 40 more double-figure scoring games to his NBA record before retiring for the second time (1998)

Jan 25 Spice Girl Victoria Beckham (Posh) and soccer player David Beckham get engaged

Jan 31 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Switzerland's Martina Hingis retains her title; beats Conchita Martinez of Spain 6-3, 6-3 for 5th Grand Slam title