1.   Fought low, can this ageing black man rise and escape the curse of his anger?

2.   The younger brother of former Red Sox shortstop Glenn Hoffman had hoped to escape the curse that seems to follow anyone remotely connected to Boston.

3.   Singapore, however, has escaped the curse, thanks to a program that fights smog and snarls traffic.

4.   Yet even as Singapore has matched their growth, it has escaped the curse of their traffic congestion.