21.   First come the division races, then comes the wild-card competition and finally there is the dash for home-field advantage.

22.   For the most part, both teams have not been factors in recent division races.

23.   Four great division races helped that year.

24.   Gooden, having pitched in division races with the Mets as well as two league championship series and one World Series, should be sufficiently immune to such pressure.

25.   He said basically that the club will, if necessary, burn up much of the minor league system to stay in the division race.

26.   He said this watered-down division race has made the team listless.

27.   He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays and to the Yankees during division races.

28.   If the Knicks are still close to Miami when they return, then maybe the division race will go down to the final week.

29.   If proving their worth in a division race and sending a message to Arizona was the objective, the Los Angeles Dodgers went about it all wrong Friday.

30.   If the Rangers can make up two to three games in the standings during this time, the division race could get interesting.