31.   I protected the lead.

32.   If the Rockets have yet to master protecting a lead, Tomjanovich was ready to settle for the hope that the concept might be about to take hold.

33.   In hockey, is there anything duller than a winning team icing the puck to protect a lead?

34.   Instead they were chomping on their cuticles, because Ramiro Mendoza, Mike Stanton and Jeff Nelson could not protect the lead.

35.   In the second half, the Cyclones did what a home team is supposed to do to protect a lead.

36.   Instead of coming out to protect their lead, the Nets missed their first six shots and turned the ball over four times in the first five minutes.

37.   It gave the Red Sox their third straight win as they protect their lead in the American League wild-card race.

38.   Islanders Coach Lorne Henning said his team was laying back a little in the final period, trying to protect the lead, and it showed.

39.   Italy is known for perfecting many modern cultural forms, among them the art of defending and protecting the lead in a soccer game.

40.   Kerry Lacy, Chris Hammond, and Heathcliff Slocumb combined to protect the lead through the late innings.