1.   And they were about to head home all alone in first after making their first Western swing of the season a smashing success.

2.   As the girls take their first swings, we seem like natives performing spring rites in the cold, doing the ceremonies that will make spring appear.

3.   A legend before his first official swing.

4.   After taking his first swings in batting practice Saturday since pulling his hamstring Wednesday, Ryan Klesko took a step back on Sunday, feeling soreness in his leg.

5.   All was forgotten, however, from the moment Ramirez hit a home run on his first swing in Fenway Park in the Sox home opener.

6.   Chuck Knoblauch tested his badly bruised left elbow for the first time in two days, his first swings tentative.

7.   Days before his first campaign swing through Georgia, Republican presidential frontrunner George W. Bush increased his backing in the state to include a majority of GOP legislators.

8.   Dylan watched tentatively as other amputees took their first swings.

9.   Each player found the fairway, but then Thorpe made his first bad swing of the week.

10.   Eddie Perez was set to take his first swings in a batting cage Thursday since he had surgery on his nonthrowing shoulder in December.