Great news to wake up to: The NHL lockout may be over.

Image from cbs.com

In the New York Daily News this morning:

“The NHL and its players’ union reached an accord on the framework of a 10-year collective bargaining agreement just after 5 am EST Sunday to save the 2013 hockey season – the culmination of a marathon, 16-plus-hour bargaining session at Hotel Sofitel in Midtown Manhattan.

Image from cbs.com

Commissioner Gary Bettman and union executive director Don Fehr did not announce a start date for the shortened regular season, which will include either 50 or 48 games.Lawyers still must put the agreement on paper, and then it must be ratified by the NHL’s Board of Governors (at least 16 of 30 votes), the union’s executive committee (two-thirds vote), and the union’s membership (at least 51% of all players) before becoming official.

But Sunday morning was cause for celebration. It marked the end of a bitter bargaining process on the 113th day of the lockout, just five days prior to the date Bettman had threatened to cancel the entire season.”

Understatement of the year, from CNN: “Sports Illustrated has tracked the intricacies of the talks and flashpoint issues, and argued that the NHL is ‘in dire need’ of a new way of handling labor relations.”

And one more time for accuracy: The players did not strike. The owners locked them out.

So it’s time for a little Stompin’ Tom Connors: