NFL officials on the verge of approving a new contract say they are excited to get back to work.
Officials arrived Friday at a Dallas-area hotel to discuss and vote on an eight-year agreement reached with the league late Wednesday.
They were meeting Friday with a vote on the contact expected this morning. Some planned to take flights after the vote directly to their assigned cities for games Sunday.
Some said they thought Monday night’s Packers- Seahawks game, which ended in chaos after a call in the end zone gave the Seahawks the winning touchdown instead of giving the Packers a game-saving interception, provided the final impetus to settlement.
“It’s all history now,” head linesman Tom Stabile said. “For us, it was a benefit. It may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
One crew returned to work Thursday night in Baltimore. Cheered from the moment they walked onto the field, the men in stripes ran a smooth and efficient game as the NFL’s lockout of officials came to an end with the Ravens’ 23-16 win over the Browns.
In an open letter released by the league Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told fans “you deserve better” than games worked by replacement officials.
PANTIES AND FOOTBALL
How ’bout them undies?
Victoria’s Secret on Monday will open a store at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington featuring lingerie and other clothing promoting the NFL’s most valuable team.
EXTRA POINTS
Ravens safety Ed Reed, Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch and Steelers safety Ryan Mundy each have been fined $21,000 by the NFL for flagrant hits. … The architectural firm that designed stadiums for the Cowboys and Colts beat out four competitors to draw up plans for a $975 million stadium for the Vikings to be built in downtown Minneapolis.
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