1.   He benched his star for a six-minute stretch in the second half when it was clear he was pressing.

2.   He also benched each star for other minor infractions.

3.   He has already benched a star for the home opener.

4.   Piniella juggled his lineup, benched his stars at times, worked with them in the batting cage and had heart-to-heart chats.

5.   Coach Nolan Richardson, who angrily barked at his players during several first-half timeouts, was aggravated enough to bench his star forward for seven minutes.

6.   Croatia coach Mirko Jozic has benched stars Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker ahead of its second-round match against three-time champion Italy on Saturday.

7.   Sinden was especially supportive of Kasper during several clashes with players, notably when he unceremoniously benched underperforming stars Cam Neely and Kevin Stevens.