Larry Stewart of the LA Times reports that the Lakers have chosen the man they want to fill the shoes of legendary broadcaster Chick Hearn. Paul Sunderland has been offered a one-year contract to become their new play-by-play announcer, The Times learned Friday.

Sunderland?s work was well received when he filled in for Hearn who missed 56 games, first because of heart and then knee surgery but the length of the Lakers? offer may be a sticking point. Sources said Sunderland would prefer a longer-term contract, at least longer than one year.

Something needs to be worked out fairly soon. The Lakers will play their first exhibition game Oct. 8, against the Clippers at Bakersfield. That game will be televised by Channel 9 and broadcast on flagship radio station KLAC (570).

Tim Brown of the Los Angeles Times reports that Shaquille O'Neal woke up, stood up and walked away from surgery on his arthritic big toe.

Standing between buildings at UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Robert Mohr said surgeons encountered nothing unexpected in the 45-minute surgery that cleared bone spurs from the first joint of O'Neal's afflicted right toe. The range of motion in the joint improved immediately and significantly, Mohr said, and he predicted a recovery time of six to eight weeks.

"Everything went extremely well today," Mohr said. "Surgery went as scheduled, as planned. "Hopefully, with the passage of time, Mother Nature and active rehab, he should be back better than he was at the end of last season."

A six week recovery time would allow O'Neal to be ready a week before the regular season starts. An eith week recovery means that O'Neal would miss the first five games of the season.

Tim Brown of the Los Angeles Times reports that Shaquille O'Neal will finally undergo surgery on his toe today. Delayed by conflicting medical opinions and the hesitation they inflicted, O'Neal will have 47 days to recover if he is to be healthy for the regular season.

"Obviously, we're anxious about [today's surgery]," Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Tuesday. "We're confident with the doctor and the procedure. It was unfortunate he got ill a month ago, but we're comfortable with the prognosis."

The recovery, Kupchak said he was told, "could be anywhere from six to eight to 10 weeks, a normal recovery without complications. But we'll know more [today]."

As a precaution, the Lakers have invited veteran centers Ike Austin and Duane Causwell to a two-day tryout camp beginning today in El Segundo. "We can't anticipate Shaquille participating in training camp," Kupchak said.

Guards Jeff Trepagnier (USC) and Mitchell Butler (UCLA) also will compete for the next two days for a chance to come to training camp, with about a dozen others.

Tim Brown of the Los Angeles Times reports that Shaquille O?Neal is now free of the virus that has plagued his body for much of the last month. With a normal blood test, O?Neal has finally been cleared for surgery on his arthritic big toe.

Doctors told O'Neal's agent, Perry Rogers, that blood tests administered this week were normal. O'Neal had twice been admitted into an Orlando-area hospital to be treated for high body temperatures and other complications, including a swollen liver.

Dr. Robert Mohr will perform the cheilectomy, a procedure he expects will relieve O'Neal's pain and restore his mobility. The recovery is expected to take at least six weeks, and so there is a chance O'Neal would miss part of the regular season. The Lakers open Oct. 29 against San Antonio.

Shaquille O'Neal is not certain his toe surgery will happen Sept. 11 as scheduled because of an issue with his liver, the Los Angeles Lakers' center said Wednesday on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio.

O'Neal, who played last season using a combination of medication, orthotics and other treatments to ease the pain in his arthritic big toe, told Patrick he would undergo tests on the liver Monday before determining the next step.

He did not elaborate beyond that.