At 3:40 AM Saturday morning, the NBA and the NBA Players Association finished their Black Friday Shopping and settled on a tentative agreement to be ratified by the owners and the players on a new collective bargaining agreement.  The settlement of the 149 day lockout of the players will allow the season, an abbreviated 66 game season, to commence with a triple-header of action starting at noon with the Knicks hosting the Celtics at the renovated Madison Square Garden, the Heat at the defending champion Mavericks in a rematch of NBA finalists, and the Lakers hosting the Bulls.

There are still several issues to be settled, but the major hurdles have been climbed and Santa will now visit player and owner alike.