31.   The fans understand what is happening far better than baseball itself.

32.   The fans understood.

33.   The fringe fan buys only a winner, but the good fan understands the development of Carter this season is more important than what the final record will be.

34.   The kind of numbers that fans can understand and debate, unlike snoozers like the salary cap and luxury tax.

35.   The no-shows indicate at least some discerning fans understand how inferior baggy-pants theater is this season.

36.   The owner of Songandaprayer, the former Duke basketball star Bobby Hurley, put it in terms many sports fans could understand.

37.   These are the Yankees, they are the Red Sox, and every baseball fan who cares understands the difference.

38.   Tostitos and ABC officials say they think most fans understand the commercial marriage of the sponsors, networks and bowls.

39.   What fans must understand is that the Boston Celtics they knew and loved do not exist anymore.

40.   When the interview ended, he went back to signing autographs, hoping the British fans understood that his past absences were nothing personal.