FOOTBALL: THE “REAL” REFEREES RETURN

After this year’s football season kicked off to more talk about the decisions of the substitute referees called in to replace the ones locked out by the NFL (there was a veritable national uproar over a missed call that gave the Green Bay Packers a win over the Seattle Seahawks Monday night), the league has apparently backed down and reached a new contract with the NFL Referees Association. The league, in fact, lifted the lockout even before the officials’ union votes on Saturday on the terms of the deal. A regular crew of officials will be on the field in Baltimore tonight (Thursday) for the Baltimore Ravens/Cleveland Browns game. In a statement on Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “The teams, players and fans want and deserve both consistency and quality in officiating. We look forward to having the finest officials in sports back on the field.” The agreement came none too soon as the NFL lockout became the topic of satirical sketches on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show and even South Park.