Sports Agenda For Friday (3/4/11)

Big Story:
Many times in sports, we're told something was an epic collapse. Some that come to mind are the New York Giants against the Philadelphia Eagles last season, the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Panthers, the Houston Oilers in a playoff game against the Buffalo Bills, the Yankees blowing a 3-0 playoff series lead against the Boston Red Sox, Bill Buckner…but the last two games for the Miami Heat are really EPIC Collapses.

So, I'd like to say the glass is half-full and the guys just need some time to get on the same page. But, there are more holes in this team than in Governor Scott's explanation about his past as a health care executive.

Here's what I saw last night: the Heat don't know how to drive a dagger into a good team, they were really confused as to who to guard down the stretch, and finally, Mario Chalmers….he just really s**ks. Seriously, I could have hit at least one of those wide-open three pointers he bricked last night. It's really pathetic to see him still out there night after night. He can't run the offense, he can't guard without fouling, and he's proving that he can't hit the wide-open shot. The Magic just quit guarding him at one point because they knew he couldn't do it.

Okay, more on the Heat in a bit, but there's also hope, albeit slim, that the NFL may avert a work stoppage, and the Marlins go 0 for their last two games. Go get 'em Tiger!!!

Heat: @ San Antonio Spurs (9:30 p.m., ESPN & Sun Sports)
Something is wrong with this team. I can't tell if it's coaching or the players. Last night in the fourth quarter I kept thinking about John McKay's line when he was asked about his team's execution and he replied, "I'm all for it."

We were sold that both Wade and LeBron would be slashers going to the basket and the other guys would fill in the gaps. Yeah, well, neither are slashing to the basket, the rest of the team throws up more bricks than the guys building the new Marlins stadium, and there isn't anyone left on the waiver wires to help out.

So we're going with what we've got. It's not going to be pretty if these guys don't get their heads together. They need to at least win their next two games against the Spurs and the Bulls, or the fans will be ready to riot.

Who can blame them. The ticket prices for the Heat make it impossible for everyday fans to get in and the fans that are down near the court are more interested in being seen than enjoying the game. Ah, professional sports at it's finest.

NFL Labor Update:
It's looking like the two sides are trying to walk back from the ledge before launching a full-fledged Armageddon in the labor battle. The league got cut off at the knees on Tuesday and now they are starting to move towards a settlement. When the union said they would decertify and sue the NFL in court, the league would be forced having to defend themselves in court and in the court of public opinion.

They would have lost both of them.

It's looking like Goodell and DeMaurice Smith were really taking the bull by the horns and whipping their respective sides into shape.

The terms of a deal are slim, but I'm guessing it will be somewhere between the amount the owners want and what the players were willing to give back.

I think the players will get a bigger share of the remaining revenue, there will be a rookie wage scale, but I'm not sure about the 18-game regular season.

Course this could all change by this afternoon, so no one really knows. But there's at least reason to hope.

Panthers:
Yknow, I almost wanted to call the Panthers game an epic collapse. But then I realized, it's the Panthers, there's always an epic collapse.

The Panthers are sinking fast in the Eastern Conference, down to 13th, and only two points out of 14th. They got blanked by the Montreal Candiens last night and since February 21, they have won only 1 game.

Does anyone even know they are playing anymore besides them?

Marlins:
Javier Vazquez takes to the mound today to take on the hated New York Mets.

Marlins fans better hope they can start to turn things around because so far, they're 0 for March. Still, there's still 25 games before the start of the regular season. Let's just hope no one stubs their toe on the way to the games though, cause that's enough to put a baseball player on the bench for 25 games.