a ENJOYThat new network smellBaseball's 24/7 cable home, the MLB Network, launches at 6 p.m on Jan. 1. Leading off: Hot Stove Live, an hourlong breakdown hosted by main studio personality Matt Vasgersian. Batting second: a replay of Don Larsen's 1956 perfect game. If you miss them, fear not. The shows will be rerun through the night. Hey, you try programming a baseball channel in January.

a WATCHNHL Winter ClassicLet's see you go shirtless for this one, Bleacher Bums. On New Year's Day, Wrigley Field hosts the NHL's outdoor game, Red Wings versus Blackhawks. The ice will stretch from third base to first; goalies Chris Osgood and Nikolai Khabibulin will wield the coldest gloves in those spots since Steve Ontiveros and Pete LaCock. It's more than a curiosity. The rivals are fighting for first place.

a WATCHThe Rose BowlPenn State and USC meet in the Granddaddy for the first time since 1923, when the Trojans won 14--3 and the head coaches almost got into a pregame fight over the Nittany Lions' late arrival. (No, Joe Paterno wasn't there.) Paterno and Pete Carroll will be more respectful of each other, but the result could be similar; USC is a heavy favorite. As New Year's Day bowls go these days, this is a good one.

a RING IN2009 ...with Robbie Maddison (below) and Rhys Millen. The racers and stunt riders will make spectacles of themselves?no small feat?in Vegas on New Year's Eve on ESPN's Red Bull: New Year. No Limits show. Maddison will try to jump and land his bike atop the Paris hotel's 96-foot-high replica of the Arc de Triomph. Over at the Rio, Millen will try to be the first to land a backflip in an off-road truck.

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