"Understandably, Miami Heat president Pat Riley is a restless man these days.

You can see it in his face. Literally. With the contentious NBA labor dispute reaching the 11th hour, Riley now sports a five o'clock shadow of a solid gray goatee he's grown in recent weeks. His eyes are jumpy. It's hard to stand still. And he looked thrilled to see and speak to the media.

As the NBA lockout drags on, Riley's days are filled with things he wishes he could say but can't because the league prohibits team officials from addressing players and negotiation specifics. There are also things Riley would rather be doing but can't, such as preparing to evaluate his Heat in what would have been a home game Friday night against the New Jersey Nets.

And, of course, there are matters Riley is free to address but chooses not to, such as the future of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra beyond what stands to be the final season of his contract once the lockout ends.

But one things clear: the waiting game is wearing thin.

"There's a biological clock that we all have in this industry," Riley said Friday while attending a Heat-sponsored Veterans Day youth basketball camp at the U.S. Southern Command center in suburban Miami. "We all understand we have to wait. And we will. But all summer long (we've) been in the office ready to hit the ground running when we can. We're ready to roll when everybody else is."

Considering where negotiations between the NBA and the players' union stand, the wait time could be a matter of days, months or even well into next year. With Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh at the core of a team that advanced to the NBA Finals last summer in their first season together, perhaps no team stands more to lose from a lost season than the Heat."