31.   But not as hard as the one Griffey smacked in the first inning on the first pitch.

32.   But Person can talk with him, a job almost as hard as trying to one-up Payton.

33.   But there are complications that make this process as hard as doing a jigsaw puzzle.

34.   Convincing consumers to try a gum with the name of a toothpaste could be as hard as convincing the dentists to endorse it.

35.   Cows accustomed to the warmth of a barn stumble over manure turned hard as rock by the cold.

36.   David N. Cicilline is running hard as the anti-Buddy.

37.   El Salvador, never a wealthy country, is struggling every bit as hard as its people.

38.   Elster is back in the major leagues and working as hard as ever.

39.   Even where Catholic-school teachers are nonunion, firing bad teachers is almost as hard as in public schools.

40.   Employers were often as hard up as the travelers.