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LOS ANGELES -- During free agency last summer, the hotly pursued Josh Hamilton received a few texts from a certain former teammate: C.J. Wilson of the Los Angeles Angels. "I couldn't really text him back," Hamilton told Playbook last week, "becaus...

The Sweet 16 is set, primarily with big schools from bigger conferences. But it's also got a few outsiders. So, as we did last week, Playbook continues to profile the little guys, looking at their exploits inside sports -- and far away from the field...

The 68-team field is set, the bracket is out, and the NCAA tournament soon will begin. Before the final 64 take the court on Thursday and Friday, Playbook has chosen a few small schools to examine a bit closer, taking a look at their exploits inside ...

The 68-team field is set, the bracket is out, and the NCAA tournament soon will begin. Before the final 64 take the court on Thursday and Friday, Playbook has chosen a few small schools to examine a bit closer, taking a look at their exploits inside ...

The 68-team field is set, the bracket is out, and the NCAA tournament soon will begin. Before the final 64 take the court on Thursday and Friday, Playbook has chosen a few small schools to examine a bit closer, taking a look at their exploits inside ...

The 68-team field is set, the bracket is out, and the NCAA tournament soon will begin. Before the final 64 take the court on Thursday and Friday, Playbook has chosen a few small schools to examine a bit closer, taking a look at their exploits inside ...

Some have hosted special speeches. Others? Major milestones. All of them: great games. And they're no longer with us. So, as we celebrate the biggest noncompetition moments in North American stadium history with the Playbook Stadium 50, and as ...

Here's what stinks about lists with endpoints: They end. Thus was our problem with Playbook's Stadium 50, which highlighted a huge selection -- 50, to be exact -- of North America's greatest non-competition stadium moments ... but still had to lea...

Chris Hardwick -- comedian, TV host, podcaster, the Nerdist himself -- quickly admits it: He's no sports fan. At least not like his mom and dad. "Both my parents are fanatical," Hardwick told Playbook by phone this week. "My mom calls into spor...

Every February, sports artist Opie Otterstad hunkers down in a hotel room. Sometimes in it's Florida, others Arizona -- it all depends on where the reigning World Series champion trains. There Otterstad grinds for two to three weeks, 16 to 18 hours a...

The 85th Academy Award nominations are in! And it's official: "Silver Linings Playbook," with its eight nods, is the new "Raging Bull." OK, OK, calm down "Bull" fans -- it's true that the David O. Russell written/directed film about a group of err...

After the Los Angeles Lakers' home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant -- he of 34 years on this planet -- called the Lakers "an old damn team." And although some will say you're only as old as you feel, in real-age numbers i...

Dec. 23, 1982: In November, a small Hawaii-based school named Chaminade -- which plays in Division II -- beat the Texas Longhorns 86-73 at the Maui Invitational. It happened not quite 30 years after the Silverswords pulled off one of the most shoc...

Dec. 22, 1946: It's common practice to mock the Cleveland Browns these days. But once upon six decades ago, this team was almost unstoppable. Take this date 66 years back, when the Browns -- a charter franchise in the All-America Football Conferen...

Christmas is fast approaching. Kwanzaa, too. And Hanukkah... hey! It's already gone! Luckily, there's still time (ever heard of a belated gift?). And double-luckily, Playbook's Holiday Gift Guide. Yes, once again, we have some ideas for your loved...

Dec. 21, 1891: If the world ends today, it will occur on a date that another world -- a sports world, anyway -- began. Yes, on this date 121 years ago, Dr. James Naismith penned the rules of the game, showed them to his Springfield, Mass., YMCA gy...