By Alex Trickett BBC Sport Online

The teams:

Baseball: Dodgers and Anaheim Angels
American Football: None
Basketball: Lakers and Clippers
Ice Hockey: Kings and Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Los Angeles has a special love for basketball.

The city's flair for glitz and glamour fits well with the razzmatazz of the NBA, and film stars like Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks are regulars at the Lakers' Staples Center.

Shining light: Nicholson is a keen Lakers fan

Celebrity support is of less benefit to LA's other franchises.

The Clippers, who share the Staples Center, have always struggled financially, while baseball success had been scarce until the Angels made their shock run to the World Series.

The Kings ruffled a few NHL feathers in 1988, when they lured Wayne Gretzky away from Edmonton.

In 1995, however the "city of angels" suffered huge losses of its own.

The Rams and the Raiders skipped town that year, leaving LA without an NFL team.

The venue:

California's best-known sporting venue sits in a baking-hot valley on the outskirts of LA.

Rose Bowl hosted 1994 World Cup final

Popular home to major rock concerts and fairs, the Pasadena Rose Bowl also hosted football's 1994 World Cup final between Italy and Brazil.

After a disappointing stalemate, 90,000 fans were treated to a memorable penalty shoot-out, which ended when Italy's pony-tailed star, Roberto Baggio, missed to hand the cup to Brazil.

Stateside, the Rose Bowl is better known for its American football.

It stages one of the sport's showcase games every January, when the top two college sides square off for the national championship.

On that day, a capacity crowd is joined by many millions of domestic TV viewers to watch 20-year-old students play for their future NFL careers.

The legend:

Earvin Johnson brought "showtime" to Los Angeles at a time when basketball's popularity was in decline.

Magic smile: Johnson is an LA star

"Magic" was the first player to excel at every position on the court, combining his height - 6ft 9in - with amazing speed of hand.

Johnson led the Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s and hooked the public on his electrifying rivalry with Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird.

The pair shared six league MVP awards and the affection of the nation.

In 1991, Magic announced that he was HIV positive, instantly heightening American awareness of a virus many thought confined to homosexuals and drug users.

He remains a very public and revered LA icon and has set up a number of local projects in his name.

Men about town:

Joint heirs to Johnson's lofty throne, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal are the deadliest double act in basketball and have just won LA a third straight NBA crown.

Friends and rivals: Shaq (left) and Kobe (right)

Quick, strong and creative, Bryant could be cut from the Magic mould.

He likes to drive at the basket and comes up with sensational plays that keep the showtime reels ticking over.

At 7ft 1in and 23st, O'Neal is a dominator who commands triple teams but still scores heavily.

As well as they gel on the court, Kobe and Shaq have personal problems off it, sometimes fighting for attention.

LA may have a knack for massaging large egos, but it may not be big enough to keep both men happy forever.