61.   Being denied a playoff berth last year keeps the team focused no matter how well things seem to be going.

62.   A few things seem to be missing from the leisurely proceedings.

63.   After Patrick Ewing had rejected Hakeem Olajuwon for the fourth time and the Rockets looked completely discombobulated in the fourth quarter, one thing seemed clear.

64.   After spending an afternoon at Gallivan Center, things do not seem as sure.

65.   After that, he said, things seemed in slow motion.

66.   Again, things seemed to start smoothly.

67.   Again, things seemed to work fine for a while and then freeze up.

68.   All things Mexican seem to be funny, too, in the way Letterman targets Arabs.

69.   All things seem possible in a handsome statehouse where statues of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and Alben Barclay co-mingle.

70.   Brown felt better, but still things never seemed to click.