What a relief! All the concern about whether the regular officials would be ready to go once a deal was struck with the NFL was put the rest on Wednesday with news that Ed Hochuli was working behind the scenes.
According to Marc Sessler on NFL.com, Hochuli – the most famous veteran official – has been working with locked out officials to make sure they are ready to go at a moment's notice. Writes Sessler:
"The world's most popular burly armed official has been getting his men ready with regular Tuesday night rules-related conference calls. King was told by an officiating source that between 90 and 110 NFLRA members have attended these meetings. Hochuli then drops pop quizzes on the gang to ensure his men are prepared (this sounds terrifying)."
Terrifying indeed! But thank goodness!
The real refs could be in place as early as this weekend. Keep in mind the general membership still has to meet as a group and ratify the eventual agreement. NFL fans everywhere, including me, hope the deal gets done quickly.
