ORLANDO GM FEELING BLUE.Byline: Fred Goodall Frederick Robert Goodall (born 1938) was an international cricket umpire from New Zealand who officiated in 24 Tests and 15 one-day internationals between 1965 and 1988. His debut as one-day international umpire was at Christchurch in February 1973, in the first one-day cricket Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. John Gabriel's telephone began ringing at 4 a.m. and never seemed to stop. The only problem was the call he was waiting for didn't come until mid-afternoon. By the time Shaquille O'Neal's agent left a voice-mail message for the Orlando Magic's general manager, Gabriel and the rest of a disheartened dis·heart·en tr.v. dis·heart·ened, dis·heart·en·ing, dis·heart·ens To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. See Synonyms at discourage. front office were prepared for the news of their star center's defection to the Lakers. ``As I told the staff, I really couldn't tell between the nightmares I was having and the phone calls which were reality,'' Gabriel said Thursday after O'Neal announced he was leaving the team he helped to the NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association. The team winning the Eastern Conference Finals earns one of the two berths in the championship round, with the other going to the team that wins the Western Conference Finals. in 1995. ``It's just a disappointing end. We're just disappointed in general. He was part of our family. We lost a family member today. But we will regroup re·group v. re·grouped, re·group·ing, re·groups v.tr. To arrange in a new grouping. v.intr. 1. To come back together in a tactical formation, as after a dispersal in a retreat. .'' Gabriel said the Magic lost the bidding war despite presenting a superior offer to the Lakers' seven-year deal worth $120 million. ``Our job, from a management standpoint, was to put a fair-market deal on the table. I think we did that, clearly,'' Gabriel said. ``We understood, at least we heard, that for weeks we were his first choice. We felt if we put the best offer on the table . . . and if we were his first choice, that he would be here.'' The whopping contract even caught the attention of Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives (1958-1966), the Florida , who was asked about rising salaries in pro sports. ``I don't blame the players. But it shows you maybe where we are as a country, where we are willing to put our money,'' Chiles said. ``Obviously, some think they are making money paying $100 million salaries. But let's examine: What is a teacher worth; what is a policeman worth; what is a day-care worker worth?'' |
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