(image: New York Magazine – Mario and Andrew Cuomo during the 1982 campaign for Governor)

Former three-time Governor of New York Mario Cuomo passed away on Thursday at the age of 82, just hours after his son Andrew was sworn in for a second term in the same office.

In an inaugural speech in Manhattan, the younger Cuomo acknowledged his father’s absence and influence, saying:

“He couldn’t be here physically today, my father. But my father is in this room. He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here and he is here, and his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point. So let’s give him a round of applause.”

At the New Yorker, Ken Auletta remembers the Pittsburgh Pirates prospect who went on to become a star player in Democratic politics, yet chose not to pursue the highest office.

After a memorable speech at the 1984 Democratic convention made him a leading potential presidential candidate for the following cycle, his decision not to seek the 1988 nomination led cartoonist Garry Trudeau to create one of his personal favorite Doonesbury strips.

* POLITICS * Positioning himself in the Republican field ahead of the 2016 presidential contest, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush resigned all his board memberships and paid advisor positions.

* MEDIA * This year marks The Nation‘s 150th anniversary and the magazine is planning a series of events across the country, beginning later this month.

* SPORTS * In an exciting conclusion to the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State beat Alabama 42-35   to set up the first-ever playoff championship game against Oregon, who beat Florida State 59-20 in the Rose Bowl. The playoff final will be on January 12 in Arlington, Texas, and the new system is potentially seen as “wildly successful” commercially, compared with the BCS system it partially replaces.

In soccer, as the Frank Lampard situation continues to develop into a potentially damaging PR scenario for both NYCFC and Manchester City, the possibility of another of England’s midfield titans, Steven Gerrard, leaving Liverpool for the MLS this summer could prove a marketing windfall for whichever team picks him up and pits him against the “bad guys” at NYC.

Already fuming about the outcome are fans of Lampard’s former club Chelsea, who are jostling with the midfielder’s current employers at the top of the English Premier League. The two teams are separated only by alphabetical order as a result of Chelsea’s defeat at Tottenham on Thursday in a fixture list that saw the most goals ever scored on new year’s day games in the Premiership era.

(image: TalkSport – Tottenham’s Harry Kane celebrates the first of his two goals in the 5-3 defeat of Chelsea)