Wake-up Call: Barack Obama, Dennis Green, Luc Robitaille
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First things first: History came alive this morning.
In his honor: Because of the inauguration, here is a little Obama trivia to close out the morning: In the 2005 ALCS, then-Sen. Barack Obama threw out the first pitch of Game 2. Name the teams. He dressed in the jersey of one of the teams. Want a hint? Click here for the photo of the pitch. Click here for the rest of the answer. And for full coverage of the inauguration go to latimes.com and our ‘Top of the Ticket’ blog.
The man behind it all? Former Cardinals head coach Dennis Green talked about Arizona’s success on Dan Patrick’s radio show. Remember the postgame news conference in 2006, when Green had a meltdown -- ‘The Bears are who we thought they were’ -- in front of the media? But it was Green who drafted Larry Fitzgerald in 2004. It was Green who brought in Kurt Warner, who many thought was washed up. So what did Green see in Warner? Green said Bill Walsh taught him: ‘Don’t worry about what the guy can’t do. Analyze what he does do, how he’s able to do it, and help him to duplicate it.’
All-Star memories: With the NHL All-Star game set for this weekend, Dan Rosen of NHL.com talked with the legendary Luc Robitaille, now president of business operations for the Kings, who is in Montreal for the game. And Robitaille has plenty of memories of visiting the old Montreal Forum when he was a youngster. ‘One time we got to play in the afternoon and then it was the Washington Capitals playing that night,’ he told Rosen. ‘I went to see Vancouver when Tiger Williams was with them. When I was 15 years old, I bought a pair of tickets to sit in the last row. My last year in junior we went to see Edmonton and I went to see the Kings with my uncle.’ Yes, he remembers each one.
No comparison: SI.com in its ‘Tale of the Tape’ compares newest Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson to The Fonz, holder of a a different kind of fame. It’s a hoot.
-- Debbie Goffa
Top photo: Barack Obama takes the oath of office, accompanied by his family. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times
First pop-up photo: The Democrat from Illinois throws out the first pitch on Oct. 12, 2005. Credit: Ann Heisenfelt / Associated Press
Second pop-up photo: Angel first baseman Darin Erstad celebrates after scoring the Angels’ first run in game four of the 2005 ALCS. Credit: Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times