October 28, 2018: Los Angeles Hosts All 5 Sports In 1 Day

October 28, 2018: Los Angeles becomes the 1st metropolitan area to host games in all 5 of North American sports' major leagues on the same day.

In the National Football League: The Los Angeles Rams beat the Green Bay Packers, 29-27 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, to move to 8-0. The following week, the Rams fell from the ranks of the undefeated, losing to the New Orleans Saints. The other team in the area, the Los Angeles Chargers, had a bye week, and did not play.

In the National Basketball Association: At the Staples Center (renamed the Crypto.com Arena a year later), the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Washington Wizards, 136-104. The city's main NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers, were not scheduled.

In the National Hockey League: Later in the day, also at the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers, 4-3. The area's other NHL team, the Anaheim Ducks, were also at home, at the Honda Center, but lost to the San Jose Sharks, 4-3. Timo Meier scored the winning goal with 2:48 left in overtime.

In Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy lost to the Houston Dynamo 3-2 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The city's other MLS team, Los Angeles FC, were on the road, losing 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City.

Most importantly, in Major League Baseball: Game 5 of the World Series was held at Dodger Stadium. Andrew Bentinendi hit a 2-run home run for the Boston Red Sox in the top of the 1st inning, while David Freese hit a solo homer for the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning. That 2-1 score held until the 7th, when J.D. Martinez homered to make it 4-1, extending Clayton Kershaw's poor postseason record. Steve Pearce hit a home run in the 8th, cementing his status as the Series' Most Valuable Player.

The Red Sox won, 5-1, taking the Series in 5 games, their 4th World Championship since 2004 -- and their 4th since 1918. There was no steroid-using David Ortiz this time, but they found a new way to cheat: Apple Watches. A little more than 3 months later, Boston would beat Los Angeles for another World Championship, as the New England Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have a team Hall of Fame. From the 2018 World Champions, they have inducted 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, pitcher Jon Lester; executive Elaine Weddington Steward, guest relations director Al Green, broadcasters Jerry Remy and Joe Castiglione, and longtime vendor Arthur D'Angelo.

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October 28, 2018 was a Sunday. This was the only baseball game played that day. Aside from the Rams, these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 20-13 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Chicago Bears, 24-10 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-18 at the new Wembley Stadium in London. Officially, it was a home game for the Jaguars, who willingly gave up a home game because they weren't drawing well at home.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 36-21 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 33-18 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-34 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions, 28-14 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings, 30-23 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 30-23 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. It would almost make sense geographically for these teams to be each other's arch-rivals, but both teams have a bigger rivalry with the Raiders, whatever city they're in.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers, 18-15 at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, California.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Oakland Raiders, 42-28 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* In the week's Thursday night game, the Houston Texans beat the Miami Dolphins, 42-23 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston.

* The following night, on Monday Night Foot ball, the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 25-6 at New Era Field (formerly Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium)in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* And the Atlanta Falcons, the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans had a bye week.

In addition to the Clippers' game, there were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Golden State Warriors, 120-114 at the Barclays Center. Steph Curry scored 35 points.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns, 117-110 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City.

* And the Utah Jazz beat the Dallas Mavericks, 113-104 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

In addition to the Kings' and Ducks' games, there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars, 4-2 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago. Connor McDavid scored the winning goal, 53 seconds into overtime.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Jonathan Marchessault scored the winning goal, with 2:36 in overtime.

In addition to the 2 L.A.-area teams, there were 9 games in Major League Soccer:

* The New York Red Bulls beat Orlando City, 1-0 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

* New York City FC beat the Philadelphia Union, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.

* The New England Revolution beat the Montreal Impact, 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* Toronto FC beat Atlanta United, 4-1 at BMO Field in Toronto.

* The Columbus Crew beat Minnesota United, 3-2 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Chicago Fire and D.C. United played to a draw, 0-0 at SeatGeek Stadium in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois.

* The Colorado Rapids beat FC Dallas, 2-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado.

* The Seattle Sounders beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1 at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Portland Timbers, 2-1 at BC Place in Vancouver.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to South London, but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

June 6, 2007: The Niedermayer Brothers Win Anaheim the Cup

Rob (left) and Scott Niederymayer

June 6, 2007: The Anaheim Ducks win the Stanley Cup, in their 14th season of play. The Los Angeles Kings had been playing for 40 years, and hadn't won one.

The NHL granted Anaheim an expansion franchise for the 1993-94 season, giving the Los Angeles metropolitan area 2 teams in each of the "Big Four" sports, although the 1995-2015 NFL interregnum messed that up. Given how few people really supported the Los Angeles Kings, a 2nd L.A.-area team was probably a bad idea. Naming them after the Disney film The Mighty Ducks was definitely a bad idea. Officially naming them "The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" was an even worse one.

But Disney promoted them well enough that they drew well. It took them 4 seasons to reach the Playoffs, and to win a Playoff series. In 2003, they won the Western Conference title, but lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the New Jersey Devils in 7 games.

For the 2005-06 season, they acquired Scott Niedermayer, an All-Star defenseman who had won 3 Cups with the Devils, and named him Captain. He joined his younger brother, center Rob Niedermayer, who had been on the other side of the 2003 Finals, and was a rookie on the Florida Panthers when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996. They already had right wing Teemu Selänne, "The Finnish Flash"; and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the 2003 Playoffs, despite losing the Finals. In 2006, they reached the Conference Finals again, losing to the Edmonton Oilers.

For the 2006-07 season, they were rebranded as simply "The Anaheim Ducks." Their arena, the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, was renamed the Honda Center. They dropped the stupid duckbill goalie mask logo. They changed team colors. And they signed All-Star defenseman Chris Pronger. Under head coach Randy Carlyle, a former defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Winnipeg Jets, they beat the Minnesota Wild, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Detroit Red Wings to reach the Finals.

Honda Center

Their opponents would be the Ottawa Senators. Although the original Senators had won 9 Stanley Cups between 1903 and 1927, they went out of business in 1934, and the new team, starting in 1992, was the losing Eastern Conference Finalist in 2003. This would be their 1st Stanley Cup Finals. Ironically, given that their home was the capital of Canada, the Ducks had more Canadians on their roster; and the Senators' Captain, Daniel Alfredsson, was from Sweden, making him the 1st non-North American to captain a Finals team.

While some other Canadian teams' Finals defeats seem suspicious, part of the belief that NHL Commissioner won't let another Canadian team win the Cup, this series was no contest, and not suspicious at all. The Ducks led 2-1 after 2 periods in Game 1 in Anaheim, but Travis Moen scored with 2:51 left in regulation to give the Ducks a 3-2 win. Samuel Pahlsson scored the only goal of Game 2, with 4:44 left in regulation.

Game 3 was held at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa. The Senators won, 5-3. But Dustin Penner scored in the 3rd period to give the Ducks Game 4, 3-2. The Ducks won the clinching Game 5, 6-2 in Anaheim, getting goals from 6 different players: Andy McDonald, Rob Niedermayer, Traivs Moen, Francois Beauchemin, Moen and Corey Perry.

Bettman handed first the Conn Smythe Trophy, then the Cup, to Scott Niedermayer. It was his 4th Cup. Over the course of the Playoffs, Scott had 3 goals, 8 assists, and a plus/minus of +11; while Rob had 5 goals, 5 assists, and a +9 -- but also a Playoff-leading 39 penalty minutes.

The Ducks thus became the 1st West Coast team to win the Stanley Cup since the 1925 Victoria Cougars, and beat the Kings to L.A.'s 1st Cup by, as it turned out, 5 years. It made Los Angeles only the 6th metro area to win World Championships in all of the "Big Four" sports: New York had achieved it with the 1970 Knicks, Philadelphia with the 1974 Flyers, Detroit with the 1989 Pistons, Chicago with the 1991 Bulls, and Boston with the 2002 New England Patriots. (UPDATE: From 2007 through 2025, it has also been achieved by Washington, St. Louis, Dallas and Miami.)

Scott Niedermayer's 27 and Teemu Selanne's 8 have been retired by the Ducks. So has the 9 of Paul Kariya, who was on their 2003 Stanley Cup Finalists, but not the 2007 team. The franchise does not yet have a team Hall of Fame. Scott Niedermayer, Selanne and Pronger were named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players in 2007. So was Adam Oates, who played for the Ducks on their 2003 Finalists.

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June 6, 2007 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Chien-Ming Wang outpitched the once and future Yankee Javier Vázquez. Bobby Abreu hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Shea Stadium. Former Yankee Orlando "El Duque" Hernández started for the Mets, and pitched 6 shutout innings. But Aaron Heilman blew it in the 7th. Adam Eaton was the winning pitcher. Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and 3 RBIs.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their nearby rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 10-0 at Ameriquest Field in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Justin Verlander pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Bobby Seay and Todd Jones completed the 5-hit shutout.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros, 8-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants, 1-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Brandon Webb pitched 7 innings of 6-hit shutout ball. Brandon Lyon allowed a hit in the 8th, and José Valverde pitched a hitless 9th, preserving the 7-hit shutout. Barry Bonds drew a walk as a pinch-hitter.

* The San Diego Padres beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-5 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at the McAfee Coliseum (as the Oakland Coliseum was then known). David Ortiz went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* And the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-5 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

Football was out of season. Game 3 of the NBA Finals was played at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Utah Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls, 104-93. Karl Malone scored 37 points. But the Bulls would win the title in 6 games.