Mr. Obuchi's comments, and the widespread criticism that followed them, have fueled a mushrooming debate over what many see as a crisis of public accountability in Japan.

His comments and feelings about the fans fueled his larger verbal attack that he extended to many other segments of society in an interview in Sports Illustrated.

The comment further fueled the religious animosity between the two teams.

Pryor knocked out Arguello, but Lewis' comments fueled rumors that the bottle contained stimulants.

Indeed, they said such comments only fueled the competitive pugnaciousness that has helped drive the network's success.

At the time, those comments fueled some low-level grumbling from hard-line defenders of the proposed tax cuts.

Some observers suggested that the controversial comments fueled Sen. Ted Kennedy's decision to endorse Sen. Obama for the Presidency.

Mr. Jagmetti's cable marked the second time in less than a month that a senior Swiss official's comments have fueled the fire that the country insists it is trying to douse.

Such comments, and the subsequent stinginess of federal law enforcement and health officials in releasing information, fueled fears.

Leach's comments fueled debate concerning division within the Michigan football community over the hiring of Rich Rodriguez as head football coach.