THIS IS BREAKING NEWS... The days of replacement referees have officially come to an end, just before the 2009-10 NBA regular season. The NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association announced late Friday that they have entered into a new two-year labor agreement.  The agreement, which will cover the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, ends the lockout of referees that commenced on September 18. “We are pleased to reach this agreement,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said.  “The negotiations extended further than either side had hoped, but when our regular season tips off on Tuesday we’ll have the best referees in the world officiating our games.  We appreciate the job done by our replacement officials during the preseason.” Per league policy, terms of the agreement will not be disclosed. The NBA referees will begin a three-day training camp this weekend in order to prepare for the start of the regular season on Tuesday. As reported on just prior to the lockout, the league’s referees voted 57-0 in Chicago to reject the latest proposal by the NBA, and stayed “locked themselves in”, staying overnight to hammer out their counterproposal which had another $1 million in concessions. Lamell McMorris, the referees union spokesmanclaimed at the time that the NBRA agreed to $2.5 million of the $3.2 million in concessions the league was seeking at the time of the lockout. OTHER NEWS FROM THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK (THE BIZ OF BASEBALL) With Record-Tying 12th One-Run Game, MLB Postseason Ratings Up 18% Contents Under Pressure: The Los Angeles Dodgers Ozfest: Ozzie Guillen to Cover World Series for FOX TBS Quotes and Interviews from NLCS Game 5 Mets Made $48 Million in Profits Through Bernie Madoff Donald Fehr to Receive $11 Million Compensation Package As He Leaves MLBPA Who Will Be the Mystery Interview? Upcoming Interview: MLB Network’s Victor Rojas MLB Sees Overall Ratings Up 13% for 2009 Postseason Dodgers Sign GM Ned Colletti to Long-Term Contract Columns Griping About Postseason Schedule Due to Chilly Weather Miss the Mark Snatching the Memories: The Tale of Ryan Howard's 200th Home Run Ball Dewey Beats Truman? MLB.com Runs Graphic Showing Dodgers Win Game 4 of NLCS NLCS Game 3 Viewership Up Nearly 12% From Last Year LWIB: Updates on Reforming the Amatuer Draft, and Revenue Sharing (THE BIZ OF FOOTBALL) Gov. Schwarzenegger Approves Bill for NFL Stadium in Los Angeles Area NFL on CBS Sees Ratings Up 6% Compared to Last Season Roger Goodell's Comments Likely To Further Drive Wedge Between NFLPA and Retired Players (THE BIZ OF HOCKEY) Overturned Call? NHL Players Vote to Investigate Paul Kelly Firing Easton Hockey Signs All-Stars Zdeno Chara, Ryan Gettlaf to Multi-Year Extensions Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided). Follow Maury Brown on Twitter Follow The Biz of Basketball on Twitter Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook