The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT June 22, 2011

On the first day of the summer, there's a lot of questions in the sports world.

Will the NFL lockout end before the Fourth of July?

Can the Mariners sneak into the playoffs?

Should the Dallas Mavericks get their respect for winning an NBA title instead of hearing why the Miami Heat lost it instead?

GOOD NEWS is coming from the NFL, or so it seems.

New England owner Robert Kraft said earlier on Tuesday that they were making progress in the negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement.

It's about time.

It is one thing to hold off a few weeks after the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl, but once the draft has come and gone, that should mean the owners and players want to get to work on the next season.

Regardless of when things get settled, expect a ton of chaos with free agency, rookie signings and most importantly, figuring out your Fantasy Football lineup.

Well, maybe the fantasy stuff can wait.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners have found themselves in the mix in the AL West race as they near the All-Star break in early July.

At the start of the season, they seemed destined to finish last in their division, but somehow have turned the tables despite a big lack of offense at times.

There is still time for the season to go either way, but with some struggling teams (Washington and Florida) on the schedule this week, maybe things are looking up.

Seattle can't win 89 straight, but the Mariners seem like they are at least headed in the right direction.

ONCE THE final buzzer sounded on the NBA season, there was a lot of talk about the finals and you know who.

And while that big three of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James made the finals in their first year together as a group, it was the Mavericks who found a way to win it all.

Even with a superstar (Dirk Nowitzki) who played injured and sick and didn’t have much scoring around him, the Mavs were able to upend Miami.

Chances are, the Mavericks won’t repeat as champions, no matter what happens this offseason.

Miami, trying everything they can to win next year, could trade one of those big three to move up in Thursday’s draft.

Imagine former Washington State standout Klay Thompson coming off the bench to hit a 3-pointer to lead the Heat to a win. Some experts have Thompson going to Milwaukee, but we’ll see.

Only one thing is for certain, the sun will be up today.

How long it hangs around, now that’s the question.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected].