
Whether or not it was because of the public outrage after the Monday Night Football fiasco earlier this week — and you can be sure the NFL will never admit it, if it was — it looks like the NFL referee lockout may be over. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen says an agreement in principle has been reached, with just a few hardline owners holding out. They might not matter, though; the old refs are already being briefed on rule changes in the off-season. The NFL itself will surely be just fine, but this has undoubtedly left a considerable mark on commissioner Roger Goodell’s reputation … and in many ways, his reputation is all that he had. But regardless: The regular refs are (probably) back next week, which means we can all go back to never being angry at bad calls again. Huzzah!