1.  Any problems between Gretzky and Robitaille will be smoothed out by Messier, whom Smith called "a father figure" on the team.

2.  Any rapprochement between moderate Taliban leaders and the royalists could constitute a breakthrough in the quest for a new government.

3.  Any real compromise between the latest proposals, splitting the differences on big issues like taxes and Medicare, would require larger cuts than Clinton put on the table.

4.  Defensive Player of the Year: Take your pick between Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning.

5.  Defensively, you want to keep him between the tackles.

6.  Deputy Mayor Fran Reiter said the operation might be divided between several sites or even privatized, with cars dispersed to commercial parking lots.

7.  Deputy Mayor John Dyson later had to apologize after being quoted as saying "the comptroller ought to know the difference between a bid and a watermelon."

8.  Dennis Rodman and his temporary wife, Carmen Electra, did stay at the Sir Francis Drake on Saturday night, in the moment between their wedding and annulment.

9.  Dennis Walcott, president of the New York Urban League, set up two meetings between Giuliani and some black teenagers.

10.  Defiant crowds chanted "assassins, assassins, assassins," making the scenes of anarchy reminiscent of the turbulent days of military rule between 1976 and 1983.