Kettman, a California native who grew up as a fan of the San Francisco Giants, was a sports reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and cultivated a fondness for Fenway Park and the Red Sox while covering the Oakland A's for four years in the 1990s.

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Back at the Park Avenue hotel I felt more like a historic exhibit than a reporter given that the events of 15 years ago are stuck so clearly in my mind.

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According to the Washington Post, it was here that he learned counter-intelligence tricks that became part of his relationship with their reporters: a flowerpot on Mr Woodward's balcony would indicate that the reporter required a meeting, while a clock face inked on the reporter's daily New York Times would reveal the time Mr Felt would be waiting in the car park.

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