Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syra

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The last few days have been filled with awkward moments for Florida Panthers interim coach Tom Rowe.First, there was the unfortunate scene where Gerard Gallant loaded his luggage into a taxi after getting fired as Floridas coach last week. Another moment of weirdness came Wednesday, when Rowe settled into Gallants former office for the first time. And on Thursday night, Rowe made his home debut behind the bench -- drawing boos from some in the crowd.It is not a happy time in Pantherland right now.Floridas 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday night was the teams fourth straight defeat, sixth in its last seven games and dropped the team to 12-12-4 through 28 games. That puts the Panthers on pace for 82 points, and its going to take a lot more than that to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs; 93 was the magic number in the East last season, 98 was what it took to get the No. 8 seed two seasons ago.Gallant got Florida to the playoffs last year. Rowe is going to need Florida to pick up the pace if a postseason return is in the cards.We took a chance with this, said Rowe, the Panthers general manager who never was an NHL head coach until the move to fire Gallant. But we just felt a change was needed, a little different direction, a little different voice, work on a few things when it comes to the details of the game. Ive been fired before, too. Its not a lot of fun.If theres a silver lining for Florida right now, its this: A year ago, the Panthers were basically in this same spot. After 28 games last season, they were 13-11-4; thats just two points more ahead of where this team is. And that club ended up winning 47 games, getting 103 points and a division title.But while that team was trending in the right direction, this one isnt. At least, not yet.Weve talked a little bit about that, Rowe said. I think it gives our guys a real good thing to shoot for. Weve got a long way to go here in the season. The biggest thing as a coaching staff, weve got to make sure the emotions are even-keeled, not getting too high when we do well, not getting too low when we hit a bump.The bumps have far outnumbered the good times for Florida this season.A team that thought of itself as a Stanley Cup contender coming into the season has been dealt one challenge after another. Forward Jonathan Huberdeau -- who excelled on a line with Jaromir Jagr last season -- is still weeks away from his season debut because of an Achilles issue. Jussi Jokinen missed time with an injury and has only two goals so far. Nick Bjugstad missed the first quarter of the season with a broken wrist and still hasnt scored.Jagr got his sixth goal of the season in Thursdays loss, but even he hasnt been the same as he was a year ago.Were kind of just waiting for those ugly goals, forward Reilly Smith said. You keep putting pucks on net, theyll come.Even the coaching change didnt exactly come at a good time, with Florida one game into a six-game road trip. The Panthers got five points out of the remainder of those games, falling twice in overtime -- then got behind 3-0 in the first eight minutes of Rowes home debut, on the way to the teams worst loss on home ice so far this season.Rowe still sees reason for hope.Its been a little odd, Rowe said. Same parking spot, just different office space. It was surreal, I guess. Put everything else aside -- Im a coach, Ive been a coach for the last 15 years and it really wasnt the plan to come in here and end up coaching. It turned out that way and Im going to embrace it. Football Jerseys Throwback Outlet . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Sale Football Jerseys Throwback . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. http://www.cheapfootballthrowback.com/ . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Wholesale Football Jerseys Throwback .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Clearance Football Jerseys Throwback .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. CHADRON, Neb. -- Preliminary autopsy results show an enlarged heart in the football player at a small college in western Nebraska who died following the teams practice Thursday.The Dawes County Attorneys office said Friday the enlarged heart likely contributed to the death of 20-year-old freshman defensive lineman Eric Goll of Haines City, Florida. Additional testing and toxicological screeening are being performed as part of the investigation.ddddddddddddGoll was taken from the Chadron State practice field to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Temperatures were in the mid-70s when the team was practicing. ' ' '