1.   Late-season enthusiasm remained higher for more teams when there were two possible routes into postseason play rather than one.

2.   The only current team in the majors never to have appeared in postseason play Decided to do something about it.

3.   Among the minor-league prospects hoping to be called up once Class AAA Norfolk finishes postseason play is outfielder Jay Payton.

4.   And for all anybody knows, that might be enough to get the Dodgers into postseason play, if there is any.

5.   And no team in the Western Conference can afford an extended slump, especially one that has qualified for postseason play only once in the last six seasons.

6.   And the audience for postseason play is different than the crowd that tunes in for the regular season.

7.   And not to sound a cliche, but I would trade it for another chance at postseason play and a conference championship.

8.   And thus did ASU break down the bowl barrier that had kept it out of postseason play despite impeccable credentials.

9.   Another possibility could be North Carolina State, where Herb Sendek is feeling some heat after again missing postseason play.

10.   Baseball and the born-yesterday blare of the network tend to confuse postseason play with that separate entity called the World Series.