Good morning, New York-area sports fans! Today's headline really has nothing to do with New York sports -- it's more about what I am dealing with myself this morning. Yep, loads of sloppy, wet fun? Anyway, let's get on with talking about what we are here for -- sports.
↵BIG EAST TOURNAMENT: St. John's tournament title hopes sank Thursday with a 79-73 loss to Syracuse. The Red Storm's hopes of making a deep run in the upcoming NCAA Tournament also took on water when guard D.J. Kennedy was lost with a serious knee injury. For Syracuse, the most surprising thing about the victory was that often-ignored freshman Fab Melo was a big reason for it. Syracuse faces UConn today in one semifinal game (7 p.m., ESPN) and Notre Dame faces Louisville (9 p.m., ESPN) in the other semifinal.
↵NBA: The New York Knicks, fresh off an exciting victory over Memphis on Wednesday, sprung a leak of their own Thursday in a mostly non-competitive 127-109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
↵NFL: NFL owners and the NFLPA face the end of their extended deadline for reaching a labor agreement today. If no deal is reached, or another extension not agreed to, the players are likely to decertify their union and owners are expected to begin enforcing a lockout.
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