1.   And they should be prepared to pay for a major upgrade in a year or two, or maybe a brand-new modem.

2.   Any of them would be a major upgrade . . . Many have long believed Al Davis will settle on offensive coordinator Bill Callahan as his head coach in Oakland.

3.   A major upgrade was needed on the post, or at the point.

4.   A major upgrade in medical personnel and plans for outside review by medical experts.

5.   Carl Everett gives the Red Sox a major upgrade in center field over Damon Buford and Darren Lewis.

6.   Compaq and Hewlett-Packard, the two leaders in that market, have now gone more than a year without announcing major upgrades.

7.   Earlier this week, Melbourne casino operator Crown Ltd. unveiled plans for a major upgrade of its casino site.

8.   Fermilab recently completed a major upgrade of its Tevatron proton-antiproton accelerator that will pump far more colliding particles into its beams than was possible before.

9.   Fox is a major defensive upgrade from Glen Rice.

10.   Hitachi has given the stone writing tablet a major upgrade.