Tim helps Billy and Mindy welcome their child into the world.

Leave it to Tim Riggins to lend sage advice to a newborn.

“Keep your guard up,” he tells his new nephew. “Stay angry.”

Of course, in light of what happened to Tim at the end of the most recent “Friday Night Lights,” Steven Hannibal Riggins probably should ignore any advice from his uncle.

“Laboring” opens with Dillon coach Wade Aikman, Evil Joe McCoy and the conference director inspecting the East Dillon field, which will play host to the showdown between the Panthers and the Lions.

While the Dillon group expresses skepticism at the field’s condition, Stan defends the field. “We’ve been playing on this field all season and not one Lion has fallen from the pride.”

Stan … He tries so, so very hard …

Buddy points out that Dillon has to win Friday to make the playoffs and Evil Joe responds by asking “Did I hear the voice of a dead Panther?”

I actually felt some compassion for Evil Joe a few weeks back when he told Tami about the breakup of his marriage. Even considered dropping the “Evil” before his name, but with him back in fine form, he’ll keep the sobriquet …

Eric stays above the fray, promising the conference flak that the field will be ready for the game and dismisses his pals from Dillon with “Ya’all know where the parking lot is.”

At Riggins Rigs, Becky drops off Tim’s dog and Tim gets a call from Billy, telling him the baby’s coming. “She’s gonna pop out, or what?” Tim asks. A cute, funny scene although I found Billy’s nudity entirely unnecessary …

While Slammin’ Sammy is breathlessly touting the upcoming Panther-Lion showdown — “Four days from Thanksgiving, FIVE DAYS FROM ARMAGEDDON!!!!” — Dillon’s other crazies are coming out in force against Tami for the advice she gave Becky.

While the East Dillon field is resodded, Luke tells his coach he can gut it out and play Friday, but Eric tells him to gut it out by refilling the Gatorade jug. Luke, of course, does as he’s told, and Eric realizes he’s being an ass, and apologizes. A patented sweet, simple FNL scene showing why we’d all play for Eric, given the chance and not the verbally abusive butt-holes who, when I broke my hand during practice as a freshman, told me to “just tape it up,” and the basketball coach who sat me on the bench in my final game despite being the only senior on the team and the other—

Sorry. Back to the show …

At the hospital, Nurse Ratchet throws Billy out of the delivery for being “too enthusiastic,” which is something I can relate to. During the delivery of our first child, I was told by a nurse to sit down because “I was as white as a ghost.” With our beautiful daughter not budging, my wife underwent an emergency C-section which didn’t exactly help my nervousness …

With repair being done to the East Dillon field, the Lions have to practice in a park. To ensure the Panthers also don’t have a field to practice on either, Landry leads teammates in a toothpick prank.

Superintendent Paul shows up at the Taylor home and gives Tami a written apology that he urges her to read to the media so as to save her job. He tells her he has lined up a “friendly” reporter to write the story and the paper has promised to bury the story inside the paper on Thanksgiving day.

Those unethical journalists at the Dillon Gazette are giving us honest media hacks a bad name …

Back at the hospital, in a funny scene, a frustrated Billy, urged on by his brother, decides to storm the delivery room. “I’m the dad,” he shouts as he ignores a nurse’s instruction to stay out of the room. “I’m going in. You can’t stop me. I’m the dad!”

Minutes later, Steven Hannibal Riggins arrives with no explanation as to why he’s named after Anthony Hopkins. Also, unfortunately, no explanation as to why Tyra is AWOL during her nephew’s birth …

At school, Tami has to deal with demonstrators, and, at home, they have to deal with crank callers. Eric dismisses one caller by saying with a hearty laugh, “Hey, you know what? Go to hell!”

At Ray’s Bar-B-Q, Vince tells Landry that he’s a good dude. “Jess deserves the best and I’m glad you’re together,” Vince says to Landry, who, for once, is speechless.

Monster trucks break through the fence surrounding the East Dillon stadium and trash the field and goal posts.

At the hospital, Tim dispenses his timely advice to his nephew and later tells Becky how he thinks he’s finally figured it out with his land and the baby’s birth. Becky blurts out that she loves Tim, who, once again, shoots her down. I can understand his friendship with Becky, but why must he keep leading her on? Spare her her feelings and quit stringing her along already!

Jess goes to Vince and tries to talk him out of getting revenge. He pushes her away, saying “I’m a monster!”

On the way to gaining payback, Vince realizes he isn’t a monster and jumps out of the car and risks being shot before returning home, where Jess still is waiting. Landry, meanwhile, is waiting at Ray’s, where he hands Jess’ aunt a lock to the bike he had bought her.

In a recreation of the Last Supper — if it were held at a greasy spoon with maniacal football fans pressed up to the windows to get a peak at their idols — Panther and Lion coaches and the conference director discuss what they can do with the stadium problem. The director dares to say “it’s just a game,” which annoys Eric to no end. “My family’s been getting threatening phone calls. My home has been vandalized and my field’s been vandalized. Don’t patronize me by telling me this is just a game.”

At Riggins Rigs, with his whole life figured out, Tim celebrates with some brews and a little air guitar before the cops arrive and take him and Billy off to jail for that little chop-shop thing they had going.

After learning that his team has lost home-field advantage, a depressed Eric returns home to a depressed Tami. As they talk, the phone rings and Eric looks at his wife and realizes there is only one thing he can do to protect her and him — he busts the heck out of the phone.

After he quickly apologizes, the husband and wife sit in their living room and wonder just how exactly they will make it through the coming days.

“Labored” is one of the better episodes of a stellar fourth season. Last week, a reader pointed out how negative this season has been, which is a valid point, but I don’t necessarily view it as a criticism. Although sometimes it gets a little Hollywood-ized, “Friday Night Lights” is as true to real life as any show on television.

Life isn’t easy in Dillon, Texas, and Lights certainly doesn’t try to make it so.

So what did you think of the episode? What do you expect in next week’s finale? Will Tim and Billy go to prison? Will Tami apologize? Will the Lions beat the big, bad Panthers? Will Slammin’ Sammy survive “ARMAGEDDON”?