21.   The Lakers toyed with the Blazers, never getting untracked in an unremarkable performance but never relinquishing the mental edge they hold over Portland.

22.   The Sonics may have lost again to the defending NBA champs, but they left this time knowing they gained a mental edge.

23.   The team that has had the mental edge coming off a loss has won the next game.

24.   The winner could have a slight mental edge should there be a fourth and final showdown in Atlanta three weeks hence.

25.   There was no yelling, no taunting, no pushing, pushing, pushing in search of a mental edge.

26.   They also give women a mental edge.

27.   This is a sport, after all, where the mental edge is as critical as the skating edge.

28.   This was a physical beating with a mental edge to it.

29.   This is a sport, after all, in which the mental edge is as critical as the skating edge.

30.   Those athletes enter the sport with a mental edge because they have long been accustomed to coping with their infirmities.