Fans can wave goodbye in these last few exhibition games to the replacement officials who will disappear quietly at the end of the week.The NBA's regular, locked-out referees will be back on the job for the start of the season Tuesday after a labor agreement was reached this week between the league and the union's executive committee.
It won't become official until Friday when the 57 tenured referees ratify the deal in a union meeting, but they all are making arrangements today to attend a training camp Saturday, Sunday and Monday in New Jersey.
"Yes, it's done,'' said one source very close to the negotiations who asked that his name not be used. "They're coming back to work. That was the goal all along.''
In case anyone has forgotten, the last time the NBA started a season using replacement officials -- 1995-96 -- it was not a pretty sight.
