HBO

Crossword Puzzle
 

Some pro athletes decompress from competition by working crossword puzzles in the locker room. The Mets' clubhouse of the 80s was full of big personalities -- Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, Gary Carter, Ron Darling -- and Keith Hernandez was known as the guy who faithfully tackled the New York Times crossword puzzle in ink.

Now crosswords have become big-time competition themselves. The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament enjoyed one of its largest field of competitors this year, and its creator, Will Shortz, is being profiled in the latest edition of HBO's Real Sports.

Shortz has been the New York Times crossword editor since 1993. He founded the tournament in 1978 and according to the bio on his website, Shortz "wrote the riddles for the film Batman Forever and has guest-starred in episodes of The Simpsons and How I Met Your Mother, in each case playing himself." Check out a cut from the Real Sports segment that premieres May 22 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.