A look at the top names in the news in '13:
Australia Paralympics Committee's Sport Operations Senior Manager KATE MCLOUGHLIN became the first female Australian to be the chef de mission for the Australian Paralympic team at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
North Korean leader KIM JONG UN and former NBA player DENNIS RODMAN sat together and watched a basketball game between the U.S. and North Korea in Pyongyang.
Industry-renowned TV director HAMISH HAMILTON received the Bafta Special Award at the British Academy of Television Craft Awards for his direction of the broadcast of the London 2012 Opening and Closing ceremonies and BEYONCÈ's Super Bowl halftime show performance in February.
Chinese tennis player LI NA, the first Asian woman to win a Grand Slam title, was named among Time magazine's most influential people in the world, along with NBA player LEBRON JAMES and Italian football player MARIO BALOTELLI.
Women's Chinese Basketball Association team Zhejiang Chouzhou signed U.S. basketball standout BRITTNEY GRINER for the '13-14 season.
China showed its tribute to Spanish former IOC President JUAN ANTONIO SAMARANCH with a circular-shaped, 144,000-square-meter building. Samaranch brought the Olympics to Beijing in '08.
FIFA named LYDIA NSEKERA to its exec committee. MOYA DODD and SONIA BIEN-AIME joined FIFA's top table as co-opted members.
Cricketer SACHIN TENDULKAR announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League.
Britain's KATHERINE LEGGE and PIPPA MANN and Brazilian ANA BEATRIZ joined Swiss racer SIMONA DE SILVESTRO at the Indianapolis 500 starting grid to match a race record of four women starters in the field.
Serie A Juventus coach ANTONIO CONTE and captain GIANLUIGI BUFFON led a club delegation to meet POPE FRANCIS at the Vatican.
THOMAS BACH was elected IOC President, replacing JACQUES ROGGE.
Russian footballer ANDREY ARSHAVIN became the highest-paid player of all time, based on monthly salary, after signing a contract with Azerbaijan club Khazar Lankaran for €4M ($5.2M) for two months.
Indian cricket captain MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI received the Int'l Cricket Council Shield for finishing as the No. 1 ODI team in the Championship table.
Chinese music website top100.cn, co-founded by retired NBA player YAO MING, was shut down following Google’s suspension of music search services in China.
Former Rugby Football League CEO DAVID OXLEY was elected president of the RFL.
A foundation created by Ivory Coast footballer DIDIER DROGBA invested £2.5M ($3.8M) to build hospitals in the west African nation.
Cricketer SHANE WARNE was inducted into the Int'l Cricket Council Hall of Fame during the second Ashes Test between England and Australia.
ANDY MURRAY was named the Sports Personality of the Year at the BBC Sports Personality Awards in London.
ManU Manager ALEX FERGUSON retired. His autobiography became the U.K.'s quickest-selling non-fiction book since records began in ’98.
Real Madrid and Portugal's CRISTIANO RONALDO opened a museum in his honor in his birthplace of Madeira.
F1 driver LEWIS HAMILTON became a global ambassador for Education for Save the Children. Hamilton will support the charity’s efforts on a visit to West Bengal.
MARIA SHARAPOVA topped the Forbes list of best-paid female athletes for the ninth-straight year, raking in $29M.
