21.   Both Scelzi and Toliver were paired against defending series champions Tony Schumacher and John Force, and that made all the difference in the world.

22.   A year ago, they came into the America East tournament as defending champions, a favorite to repeat.

23.   After he was chauffeured by defending Busch champion Randy LaJoie on a fact-finding tour of the track, Atwood qualified second fastest in his NHIS debut.

24.   All of that frustration was released Saturday night at the Springfield Civic Center when UCLA got revenge on defending champion Penn State.

25.   All it took was a date with the Spurs to make the Lakers play like defending champions again.

26.   But Christophe Auguin of France, defending champion of the BOC round-the-world race, recently did the unthinkable.

27.   But at their current pace, the Sooners would return as defending national champions, with all the recruiting advantages and perception-related perks that entails.

28.   But many hockey observers are predicting the series between defending champion Detroit and newcomer Washington may be short and not-so-sweet.

29.   But Michalak got the start and he had the memories of taming the three-time defending champions in their back yard.