31.   A pennant race, any pennant race, has a roller-coaster, unpredictable, O. Henry quality.

32.   A team in a pennant race playing one of the least talented teams in baseball.

33.   A time when the pennant races heat up and the upcoming All-Star game sparks excitement.

34.   A sweep in Atlanta would have turned Shea Stadium into the home for a pennant race next week.

35.   A time when the pennant races heat up and the upcoming All-Star game stirs excitement.

36.   After all, this is Bobby Bo, still smiling, back in a pennant race and about to come home once more.

37.   All pennant races have their preliminaries, and then right around this time of the season, the real stuff begins.

38.   Almost a year later the Dodgers find themselves in another pennant race with Nomo taking the mound against the Rockies.

39.   All of which set the stage for this weekend, in which a cap issue overshadows a pennant race.

40.   All we had in those days was a pennant race and a World Series.