Tag: sports equinox

A sports fan’s guide to the ‘Sports Equinox’: Ranking what to watch on a packed Thursday

So many sports to watch!

IT’S A SPORTS EQUINOX EVERYONE THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

Wait, you may have a question about that: What the heck is a sports equinox and why is everyone talking about it?

This is the nickname for a day and night when so many sports leagues — NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL play. Add in a college football game on Thursday and you’ve got … I dunno, a superequinox? The only issue, as USA TODAY Sports’ Chris Bumbaca smartly points out: “The ‘sports equinox’ does not account for any major professional women’s sports leagues,” and that really needs to change.

With that in mind, I’m here to help. Because that’s a lot of sports, perhaps too much for one person to handle, so I’m going to rank some of the notable games by how much you should watch them (yes, I’m aware you might not be able to get some of the local games, but if you’ve got League Pass, you might!).

Let’s go:

A complete list of the 12 games making up the most epic sports equinox

OMG ALL THE SPORTS

It’s been a rough year. But at least sports fans will have Thursday, right?

For the first time in the hellscape that is 2020, a sports equinox is converging. What’s a sports equinox? Well, it’s when all four major sports — NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL — play on the same day. There have been 20 instances in recorded history, per FiveThirtyEight.

As MLB playoffs trickled deeper into the fall, there have been more equinoxes than ever. There’s been one each of the last six years after occurring just three times from 2001 to 2010.

But Thursday is different. With pandemic postponements and pushbacks, a mega-equinox (if such a thing exists) is before us. The four major sports, the MLS, WNBA, college football, US Open and PGA Tour all have events scheduled.

Starting at 2:15 p.m. EST with 12 MLB games, there’s a slew of playoff and high-stakes tournament games in the nightcap. Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams both have semifinals matches. Lebron James and the Lakers face the Rockets. And the NHL Western Conference finals feature a pivotal third game between the Las Vegas Knights and the Dallas Stars.

Thursday’s main event, well, you know, the NFL is back!

So grab a seat on the couch, you’re probably used to that from the last few months anyway. Get ready for some channel surfing and enjoy what could be one of the only days with a full slate of pro sports.

National TV schedule: 

(all times in EST) 

Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Cardinals, 2:15 p.m, MLB Network

US Open Men’s Doubles Final, 3 p.m., ESPN2

Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals, 6:05 p.m., MLB Network

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians, 6:10 p.m., MLB Network

US Open Women’s Singles Semifinals, 7 p.m., ESPN

Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, 7 p.m., TNT

New York Liberty at Indiana Fever, 7 p.m., CBSSN

UAB at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network

Las Vegas Aces at Minnesota Lynx, 8 p.m., ESPN2

Las Vegas Knights at Dallas Stars, 8 p.m., NBCSN

Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:20 p.m., NBC

Seattle Sounders at San Jose Earthquakes, 10 p.m., ESPN+

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