1.   And it did not merit a place in a recent exhibition of the Cobbe collection.

2.   Both of these paperback collections, which are very different indeed, merit a place of honor on the essential Northwest bookshelf.

3.   But the interstates in those three states did not merit a place on the best list, either.

4.   While Gonzalez may indeed merit a place in the starting outfield, it would surely not be ahead of Griffey or Ramirez.

5.   The Americans have the unenviable task of trying to convince a sceptical public that football or soccer as they know it merits a place in the national sporting psyche.