That's a significant drop-off, but of the players who have hit 50 or more home runs in a season, eight other players experienced steeper falls the following season.

Only about 20 to 30 universities can charge the highest fees without a significant drop-off in demand.

No, there's a significant drop-off," Mr. Littlefield said.

That's usually the case with young players - once it starts happening in practice, to get to the stadium and do it without any significant drop-off.

At first, there was a "significant drop-off," Mr. Ford said, and since then there has been a modest decline.

Despite the emotional devastation, Hendrick Motorsports has avoided a significant drop-off on the racetrack.

He discovered "a significant drop-off" in sales of new books and best sellers just as the online stores reduced their discounts.

His 73 runs scored was also a significant drop-off from the 134 runs he scored in his outstanding 1999 season with Toronto.

"There has been anticipation of a significant drop-off in spending," Mr. Priebe said.

"That's a pretty significant drop-off," said Jerome Kramer, editor in chief of The Book Standard, an online publishing industry report.