And, the show's executives say, NBC may have difficulty filling the hole, particularly when it is losing another of its top-rated shows.

Mr. Hill has difficulty filling the running time.

The council has difficulty filling its senior training fellowships and professorships, and so, other speakers confirmed, do the major medical charities.

The jury pool here is so small that the courts often have difficulty filling the seats for jury trials.

The worker-trainee program began in 1973, when the Government had difficulty filling clerical jobs.

"It's never easy losing somebody in a band, especially a drummer, and we had some difficulties filling the spot," said Mr. Alfano, 28.

"The writer was having difficulty getting her piece across, and the actors had difficulty filling the spaces," he said.

"And oftentimes we have difficulty filling a position because the apartment we're offering is not adequate," he said.

It was not a good day for Internet retailers, which slumped on concerns that difficulties filling holiday orders will not sit well with consumers.

The five boys who sang solos had understandable difficulties filling the space, and some of them lost pitch control in trying.