NBA lockout is over; play to resume on Christmas Day

Looks like it is back to work for the NBA.

It is being reported that a new collective bargaining agreement between NBA players and owners has been reached and the NBA season will begin on Christmas Day.

“Well, we’ve reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we’re optimistic that will all come to pass, and that the NBA season will begin on Dec. 25,” Commissioner David Stern said at a press conference that began at 3:40 a.m. Saturday.

“We’re very pleased to come this far. There is still a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of places with a lot of committees and player groups and the like, but we’re optimistic that it will hold, and we’ll have ourselves an NBA season.”

The final deal appears to split all basketball related income 50/50 between players and owners, whereas the players were previously receiving 57 percent, a difference of about $300 million a year.