New York Hockey and Basketball Part of Historic Day, Only 29th Time EVER!

Today, we, as sports fans, get the opportunity to witness history. Something is happening today that has only happened 28 times throughout the history of major sports, and a few New York sports teams will be part of this historic day.

Happy Sports Equinox Day, everyone!

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Today's Sports Equinox, The 29th Ever, Will Include New York Sports Teams

It's a really fun day for sports fans, and a day that can only happen if things fall perfectly into place. Think about it this way: for the majority of the NFL season, games only happen on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.

So, already, it is impossible for this to happen on four of seven days of the week.

Meanwhile, the MLB season ends, at the very latest, during the first week of October. That gives us roughly eight weeks out of the entire year in which baseball could be included in the equinox. Hockey season starts at the beginning of October, but basketball doesn't begin until late October.

When you condense all of that information down, it shows how very rare this phenomenon is.

A few notes from CBS Sports on today's equinox:

• The first ever Sports Equinox was recorded on Oct. 17, 1971, with 12 NFL games, three NBA games, six NHL games and one MLB game.
• There was a 16-year period from 1985-2001 without a single Sports Equinox. They have been happening more often in part because of the NFL's Thursday Night Football, which officially debuted in 2006.

A few New York teams will be part of history tonight, as the New York Rangers visit the Winnipeg Jets today at 7PM, while the Islanders host the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30PM. In the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets visit the New Orleans Pelicans tonight at 7PM.