The 2012 NFL regular season began with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants hosting the Dallas Cowboys, and the Cowboys beat the Giants 24–17.

Márta Károlyi, the U.S. team coordinator, questioned the age of some of China’s athletes, while the media reported online records showing two of the Chinese gymnasts were younger than the 16-year-old age requirement necessary to compete.

Carnell "Cadillac" Williams of the Tampa Bay Bucs rushed for 158 yards to become the first NFL player in history to begin his career with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games.

At the FIG Congress in Antalya, gold medalist Nellie Kim was elected President of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Technical Committee.

John Elway, Super Bowl MVP and two-time Super Bowl Champion with the Denver Broncos, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, 2004

Dallas running back Emmitt Smith rushed for 109 yards to pass the Bears Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time rushing leader.

Wide receiver Jerry Rice gets 151 yards from scrimmage, bringing his total to 21,281 to pass Walter Payton as the all-time leader in total yards from scrimmage.

Corey Dillon rushed for 278 yards on 22 carries in a Cincinnati victory over Denver to break Walter Payton's single-game rushing record.

The Miami Dolphins retire the uniform number 13 for Dan Marino, the quarterback led the Dolphins for 17 NFL seasons.

MFL quarterback Brett Favre, re-signs with Green Bay Packers for a reported $50M for seven years.