1.   Baseball officials should be praying they have about six of them this season, the more teams involved, the better.

2.   But the day after Nagano-area tourism officials prayed for snow at a local Shinto shrine last weekend, flakes began falling.

3.   Club officials pray.

4.   Government officials pray before council meetings, school board meetings and legislative sessions.

5.   In Stutterheim, local officials are praying for some kind of miracle.

6.   Government officials often pray at the shrine, despite protests by Asian nations, including China.

7.   Snow started to fall Sunday at Winter Olympic sites, a day after local tourism officials prayed at a Shinto shrine for snowfall.