31.   On Friday, Joe Garagiola Jr. sealed the deal that may save the season.

32.   On the bright side, this weekend could be the busiest shopping period of the year, and it offers hope for saving a season now in doubt.

33.   On Saturday, Jeter saved the season with a sensational pickup of a loose ball.

34.   Or should he sit out and save a season of eligibility now that the prospects of a winning season are slim?

35.   Pettitte and Sterling Hitchcock could help save a season.

36.   Robinson was asked a question about whether this victory somehow saved the season.

37.   Saving the season was difficult.

38.   Should a season be saved, Stern said, it is probably inevitable that teams would play games on three consecutive nights, a no-no for years.

39.   So proprietors like Rolf Hammer, owner of the Homestead Inn in New Milford, Conn., are scrambling to save the season.

40.   The desperate Knicks grabbed onto John Starks like a life preserver and held on to save their season at raucous Madison Square Garden.