31.   Hunger said professional sports leagues had been receptive to Justice Department efforts to purge cigarette advertising and logos from stadiums and arenas.

32.   I noted that this was the first time a pro sports league addressed the issue of race at such a forum.

33.   If the league votes to cancel the season, the NBA will become the first major professional sports league to lose an entire season to a labor dispute.

34.   It announced later that day that it would be the first sports league to release its master schedule on the Internet.

35.   It is an exemption enjoyed by no other sports league in America, and it prevents the players union from taking their grievances to court.

36.   It is supported by state attorneys general, major professional and collegiate sports leagues, family organizations and the Nevada gambling industry.

37.   It is the dominant sports league in our culture, and they want in.

38.   It also brought baseball and Fleet Financial Group together in a deal that made Fleet the first bank to be a national sponsor of a sports league.

39.   It is by far the most lucrative of the pro sports leagues, but it is also the most socialistic.

40.   It is perceived as the least-efficiently run of the pro sports leagues for good reason.