If a toss-up is contested, time is stopped and the player proves his contention at that time.

There are those, often Southern and conservative, who say the 1988 election proves their contention that the party must go in a new, more conservative direction.

"I have here a dissertation which I shall read from beginning to end to prove my contention beyond all argument."

Dr. Speth contends that he has photographs of the tissue to prove his contention.

That will matter less to a jury than whether the government can prove its contention, one lawyer not involved in the case said.

To prove his contention, he motioned toward a microscope that was already set up with a slide on it holding a halved jelly bean.

Now more than ever the women's sections strove to prove their original contention that they had "no tasks separate from the tasks of the party."

"The government had the burden of proving its contention to the court by clear, convincing and unequivocal evidence," the judge wrote in a supplemental opinion.

And neither of us can prove our contention, so what does it matter?

The exhibition proves Mr. Parkinson's contention that he has taken "a big bite out of the 20th century."