Rejoice, NFL Fans: The Referees Are Coming Back This Weekend

After 48 regular season games that nearly brought the National Football League to its knees and turned the league's officiating into a recurring national joke, the NFL and the referees union have agreed to a new eight-year deal and the officials will be back on the job Thursday night in Baltimore.

There had been reports all day, first from ESPN's Chris Mortensen, that something was perhaps imminent. As Judy Battista of The New York Times indicated around 10 pm, the two sides were already close to a deal that would have the actual, locked-out NFL referees in place to work assignments for this weekend's slate of games. Now, it's a reality.

What are you most looking forward to? And do you think Monday night's shenanigans expedited this process at all? Tell us in the comments, because this is great news and we should celebrate.