21.   Then Sampras broke a string as his first serve sailed awry.

22.   This race for governor will not break the string.

23.   With one out in the fifth, Jose Guillen broke the string with a single, but Ortiz struck out Bubba Trammell for the second out of the inning.

24.   With retail sales breaking a string of three consecutive monthly declines in June and July, they know that consumers have returned to shopping malls and auto lots.

25.   Yet it did break a string of three consecutive declines that averaged a similar amount and it was broadly based.

26.   But the Bank of Scotland is hoping to break its string of bad luck in past efforts to consolidate.

27.   Failing to win gold this time would break the string.

28.   Failing this time would break the string.

29.   Germany, which won four medals at the world championships last year, broke a string of bad luck at Osrblie and earned its first medal.

30.   He stood on the same street corner as Ortiz on a recent morning, hoping to break his string of bad luck.