1.   And even though the reigning CART champion seems to have control of the points race, he knows from experience how quickly a big points lead can shrink.

2.   And it was Green who, each time his lead shrank to near-zero, turned to the pettiest and nastiest tactics.

3.   But its lead has been shrinking every year.

4.   But that lead would shrink.

5.   Gooden stayed on the fence as the lead shrank, but he never fell off.

6.   He never trailed during any of it, though the lead shrank to one at times.

7.   His lead has shrunk the last few weeks, but that will probably change in the aftermath of his announcement.

8.   Slowly, and steadily, that double-digit Terp lead shrank.

9.   Sometimes the lead does shrink dramatically after the conventions.

10.   Still, Torre is confident, because his players did not succumb to the Orioles when their lead shrank like a cheap T-shirt.