With the test cricket series finished, A-League football takes centre stage in Australia this weekend.
There's plenty going on elsewhere in the world too, with the FA Cup third round putting the minnows up against the big guns and the continental football leagues are also back in full swing after their northern Winter break.
Add in the Dakar Rally and the various tennis tournaments taking place in the lead-up to the Australian Open, and there's plenty to look forward to.
John Baldock has this report.
The A-League kicks off tonight when the defending champions Melbourne Victory take on the Central Coast Mariners in a game being held in Geelong under an agreement between the local council and Victory.
Last season, Perth Glory played against Victory in front of over 21,000 fans in Geelong and it's hoped a similar crowd will be in attendance tonight.
Victoria's second largest city is hosting what's officially a Central Coast home game, and Victory Coach Kevin Muscat knows just how much matches in Geelong mean to the local fans.
"You know they love their football down there and they've turned out in droves. And I dare say it'll be close to selling out, so we look forward to it and embrace it and we really enjoy going down and performing in front of the Geelong public."
The Mariners have been hit by an 8 game ban for striker Roy O'Donovan's infamous headbutt on Manny Muscat in the last round.
The club is poised to enter the transfer market to cover O'Donovan's absence and the rumoured departure of Anthony Caceras, who's been linked with a move to Manchester City or a top Japanese side.
Coach Tony Walmsley has assured Mariners fans that replacements will be found quickly.
"We've got several negotiations underway, both overseas and domestically, there will be signings in the front third. I'm hopeful of at least two more signings in the front third in the next week."
You'll be able to follow the action on SBS 2 tonight with coverage getting underway from 7.30pm Eastern Daylight time.
In European football, Italy's leading side Inter Milan is at home to Sassuolo, while second placed Fiorentina welcomes Napoli.
In Spain, leaders Atletico Madrid travel to play Celta Vigo, and Barcelona will look to keep pace with the leaders when it plays Granada.
The world's oldest knock-out football tournament, the FA cup, has its third round this weekend.
It's the round where all the leading clubs join the competition and the excitement amongst some of the smaller teams is growing.
While the Liverpool Legends match against a Socceroos legends XI made waves here in Australia during the week, the current Liverpool side is gearing up to play at League Two side Exeter - three divisions below the mighty Reds and the match will be the biggest of their careers for many of the Exeter players.
The clash is the first of 32 third round ties and will be shown on the BBC.
The network has launched a television and online campaign to rekindle some of the popularity the tournament has lost in recent years due to the huge success of the Champions League and Premier League.
There's no need to sell the Australian Open tennis to fans here and around the world.
The season's first Grand Slam tournament gets underway in Melbourne on January 18.
There have been good signs amongst some of Australia's leading players recently, with Nick Kyrgios beating men's world number-two Andy Murray at the Hopman Cup, while Bernard Tomic knocked out experienced journeyman Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic to set up a meeting with Japan's world number-eight, Kei Nishikori, at the Brisbane International tonight.
Nishikori beat Tomic in straight sets at the same stage last year and the Australian is well aware of the threat he poses.
"We played here last year in the quarter finals and it's a very difficult match he's at the position in his career when he's playing some of his best tennis. And it's a very tough player for me to play so I need to recover well, do the right things and come back fresh on Friday."
The Dakar Rally will leave Argentina and spend two days in Bolivia before a rest day on Monday.
The opening stages were tougher than usual with heavy rain causing competitors in all three categories of Car, Motorbike and Truck plenty of problems.
Nine time former World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb of France is making a good debut in the race, leading the car division going into the weekend.
And back home in Australia, the National Road Cycling Championships will be decided on Sunday with the Men's and Women's Road races taking place in Ballarat, Victoria.
All the big names such as Rohan Dennis, Jack Bobridge, Rachel Neilan and two time National champion Gracie Elvin will be in action.
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