11.   Neader said Sheffield no longer is seeking a lifetime contract from the Dodgers, and that he would only enter talks if the Dodgers initiated them.

12.   No lifetime contract?

13.   Not even a lifetime contract with the Patriots.

14.   Sheffield has said he felt disrespected when the Dodgers did not give him a lifetime contract.

15.   So he demanded to be traded -- or, given a lifetime contract that measures alongside those of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Manny Ramirez.

16.   The Hendrick organization, with whom Gordon signed a lifetime contract after Evernham left, has the resources to replace people.

17.   The most serious distraction came last spring, when he demanded a trade or a lifetime contract with the Dodgers.

18.   The Mets tried to get Sheffield last spring, when he asked the Dodgers to trade him because they would not give him the lifetime contract he wanted.

19.   When I signed that deal, I was signing a lifetime contract at a place I love, a place with tremendous potential.

20.   Chief among them was Ronaldo, who has a lifetime contract with the company.