And he was obviously very aware of the Garden's Byzantine affairs as the parent company seeks to sell it, as all the executives scramble for havens and high ground.

As corporate executives scrambled to get in touch with employees who lived in Katrina's path, most said they had seen little overall effect on their businesses.

With other bidders possibly in the wings, executives from Time Warner and Turner scrambled yesterday to button up the details of their deal.

In recent weeks, Mr. Tilton and fellow executives have been scrambling to put together a reorganization plan.

Now executives at these and other brands, as well as the racing teams they support, are scrambling to put together marketing strategies for the next season, which begins in March.

Meanwhile, lawyers and executives at the companies scrambled feverishly in Manhattan to reach an accord.

In both cases, the chief executives were scrambling to streamline their companies in the face of withering global competition.

At Morgan Stanley, the chief executive, John J. Mack, has scrambled to rebuild the private-equity business that the firm spun off not long ago.

Both chief executives have scrambled in recent years to catch up with something that Sun understood first: that the market for powerful and reliable server computers is the backbone of e-commerce growth.

Around the globe, the ripple effect of higher energy prices continues to spread like a troubling oil slick, and politicians and corporate executives are scrambling to contain the damage.