Totally Random

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The traditional congratulatory phone call from the president comes after a major championship has been won. And what happens after a coach ends a 21-game conference losing streak?

If you’re Oregon State basketball coach Craig Robinson, you get a phone call from the president-elect.

Barack Obama phoned Robinson, his brother-in-law, after Robinson’s team defeated USC, 62-58, in overtime last weekend. ‘I figured this would be the one time he didn’t call, but sure enough,’ Robinson told the Associated Press. ‘My family always calls, but he calls on the bigger games, so this was pretty big.’

Oregon State’s last Pac-10 victory came against Washington on Feb. 22, 2007, which was shortly after Obama announced his candidacy for president. It took the Beavers an entire presidential campaign, and election, and a coaching change before they won again.

Trivia time

When did Oregon State last win at least a share of the Pac-10 regular-season basketball championship?

Wife knew best

Now it can be told: Mark Teixeira’s decision where to sign for next season came down to a call by his wife, Leigh.

At a Tuesday news conference to introduce him to the New York media, Teixeira said, ‘The whole process was confusing. Sometimes I’d tell [agent] Scott [Boras] to stop calling me, then I’d call him five times a day saying, ‘Tell me what you know!’ Two weeks before Christmas, I talked to Leigh about it again, and we kind of decided that, hey, the Yankees are where we want to be.

‘Cash [Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman] might want to give Leigh a hug, because when I asked her during the process, ‘Where should I go, where should I go?’ she’d always say, ‘I just want you to be happy.’ Finally she said, ‘I want you to be a Yankee,’ and it was a done deal. Once we got the contract figured out, it was a no-brainer for me.’

Metal detector needed

January 24 is the 15th anniversary of the lead-pipe attack on Nancy Kerrigan at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena. And how will Tonya Harding mark the occasion?

By participating in the Mixed Martial Arts Extreme Cage Fight War program at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Harding has tried her hand at boxing before, but according to the Detroit News, it could not be confirmed if this was her first venture into extreme boxing. And as the News noted, the rules do not allow lead pipes inside the cage.

Trivia answer

In 1989-90, Oregon State shared the conference title with Arizona.

And finally

From David Letterman’s top 10 signs you’re watching too much football:
• Only fresh air you’ve had this month is opening door for pizza guy.
• You refer to orange juice as ‘FedEx orange juice.’
• You schedule an appointment to talk to your doctor about Andy Reid’s cholesterol.
• Three words: Norv Turner tattoo.

-- Mike Penner