A high-ranking NFL referee hasn't yet received any notification from his union regarding the end of the lockout, but he and his co-workers are continuing to "keep our fingers crossed," he told NFL.com at 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
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The referee didn't want to be named because he didn't want to jeopardize the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
He added that the officials are prepared to immediately begin work, noting he and many others have gotten access to all of the videos from the last three weeks of games that were distributed to the replacement officials.
While the referee says his colleagues would have liked to work a few preseason games, he says it isn't necessary to do their job.
In other words, the referee said, they'll be "better than they (the replacement refs) were last week."
Follow Jeff Darlington on Twitter @jeffdarlington.
