(CNN) — Trailing the Red Sox three games to one in the World Series, the Dodgers are fighting to keep their season alive. But Game 5 of the World Series has taken on extra significance — and is far from the only major sporting event happening in Los Angeles on Sunday.
It marks a quirky bit of history in American sports. For the first time, all five major American men’s sports leagues — Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and the National Hockey League — are hosting games in the same metropolitan area on the same day.
That unusual scheduling alignment is called a sports equinox. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this has never happened previously in North American sports history.
A look at the Sunday sports schedule in Los Angeles County (all times are in Pacific):
NHL: New York Rangers at Los Angeles Kings, 12:30 p.m. at the Staples Center
NFL: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams, 1:25 p.m. at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
MLS: Houston Dynamo at Los Angeles Galaxy, 1:30 p.m. at StubHub Center
MLB: Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers, 5:15 p.m. at Dodger Stadium
NBA: Washington Wizards at Los Angeles Clippers, 6:30 p.m. at the Staples Center
Additionally, the NHL franchise Anaheim Ducks, based in nearby Orange County, host the San Jose Sharks at 5 p.m. PST.
There is one notable name missing. Perhaps ironically, the biggest sports star in the city — LeBron James — has an off day. The Los Angeles Lakers will be on the road Monday taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The NBA, NHL and NFL are in regular season action, and MLS has its final day of the regular season. What made this history possible was the World Series schedule and with the Dodgers in it.
There are 10 metropolitan areas with teams currently in each of the five major men’s leagues: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami (the MLS expansion franchise is scheduled to start playing in 2020), Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
The Elias Sports Bureau only considered regular season and postseason play for its research. No preseason games, exhibition games or All-Star Games were included.
