1.   And until the Blues came back on Phoenix, this last week was spent preparing for another physical and mental showdown against the Coyotes.

2.   Companies and public institutions have spent billions preparing for the changeover, and most of the transition in bookkeeping terms has already occurred.

3.   His daughters grudgingly attend a weekly family dinner, an extravaganza that Chu sometimes spends days preparing.

4.   Molten Metal president William Haney and other company executives said they had spent weeks preparing to testify.

5.   Netscape is spending to prepare for more intensive competition from Microsoft.

6.   Whatever the attorneys say, it is likely they have spent hours preparing their arguments, starting before the first witnesses were called.

7.   While funding went to prevent an assault whose likelihood was always remote, they said, more could have been spent to prepare for a more conventional assault.

8.   Both Zwamborn and Boonstra expect much of the day will be spent preparing food.

9.   But the France and other European countries have been plagued by strikes and protests as governments cut spending to prepare for the euro.

10.   He said thousands of hours have been spent preparing for possible contingencies.