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The Los Angeles Lakers play 41 regular-season home games each year at the Staples Center (left), and so do theLos Angeles Clippers. Arash Markazi, who covers both NBA teams as a writer for ESPN.com, attends nearly all of them. “I grew up as a Los Angeles sports fan,” says Markazi, 34, “and I got into this profession because I have a passion for sports. And don’t get me wrong—I appreciate being at the games. But really, I just want to write a good story.” On this night, the Lakers are hosting the Sacramento Kings, but Markazi’s day begins long before the 7:30 p . m . tip- off. At 9:30 a . m ., he heads to the team’s practice facility in El Segundo, California, to watch the pregame shootaround. The shootaround is an informal practice that basketball teams hold on the mornings of game days. “The shootaround isn’t a big deal normally,” says Markazi, “but when you are covering a team, and especially at the speed with which news travels these days, you can’t afford to not be there if something big does occur. Also, coaches and players tend to respect you more when they see that you are working as hard at your job as they are at theirs.” In South Bend, Indiana, photographer Matt Cashore’s game-day preparation to shoot Saturday afternoon’s Notre

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