1.   Lastly, he would have to gain approval of Lakers officials, hardly a certainty given the messy end to last season.

2.   She left the negotiations with a messy end and, administration officials acknowledged, a significant loss of impetus in solving the conflict.

3.   The counterculture, which many baby boomers saw as a bright beginning, came to a messy end.

4.   The messy end of the assassination attempt, though, was only the beginning of four days of high-stakes diplomacy and arm-twisting.

5.   CGT head Louis Viannet and Force Ouvriere leader Marc Blondel, fearing a messy end to the strike, on Thursday called for early talks with Juppe.