1.   As each game goes by, they appear closer to saying goodbye to the postseason.

2.   As Dole appears closer to nabbing the nomination, he has been retooling his campaign message.

3.   As the strike looms, it appears closer Todd Worrell is righting himself after a first half of struggles.

4.   Brad Otton finally threw in practice Thursday and appears closer to playing against Notre Dame on Saturday.

5.   A scientific dream as old as humanity -- to explain the origin of our solar system -- appears much closer to fulfillment.

6.   A prototype was shown this summer at the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles conference in Munich, and it appears closer to being accepted as the standard in Europe.

7.   Advocates for Medicaid patients said Sunday that the revised plan appears closer to the somewhat elusive estimates of how many primary care doctors were available for Medicaid patients.

8.   But both sides appeared closer to compromise than their rhetoric indicated.

9.   But in many respects, Germany appeared closer to Russia than to the United States on the question of missile defense.

10.   By then, the two sides appeared closer than ever to hammering out a compromise.