After 132 excruciating days, the NFL Lockout is over. Today, the NFLPA agreed to a the CBA that was voted on by the owners last week, effectively ending the NFL Lockout.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith held a joint press conference in Washington earlier today, announcing the new 10-year agreement. “It’s been a long time coming,” Goodell said. “Football is back and that’s the good news.”

I have to apologize for the lack of activity over the past few months, but I didn’t want to write posts about the lawsuits, the 8th Circuit Courts, mediators, and DeMaurice Smith’s hats. I could go on about the absurdness of the NFL Lockout, but I’ll save that for another time.

The NFL Is back and it’s time to celebrate. I assembled a bunch of links to get you educated on the new NFL CBA and what is going to happen in the coming days, plus celebrate the return of the NFL. (Come back everyday for new and fresh material. I’ll keep you up to date on the frenzy that is about to take place starting tomorrow.)

This is a good article that sums up the new NFL CBA in a nutshell.

This is a handy calendar outlining the key dates and events for the abridged NFL offseason.

The Evolution of the Touchdown Dance:

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Find out when your favorite team kicks off training camp.

Great gesture by Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, individually thanking New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

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In case you wanted to relive the NFL Lockout, a timeline of how we got here.

Don’t forget that Madden NFL 12 is coming out soon:

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And finally … ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??????????

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In the past two days alone 3 starters went down with season ending injuries.

It doesn’t get much worse than losing a valued member of the team just as the summer starts and in some cases before full pads are even on.

For the Eagles, Panthers, and Bengals who were the teams to suffer these injuries and now have to deal with them we feel your pain.

Kemoeatu (torn Achilles tendon) was one of three players to suffer season ending injuries recently

Let’s start with Stewart Bradley, middle linebacker of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bradley tor his ACL in practice on Sunday but actually walked off the field under his own power but the injury proved to be much more serious.

Bradley led the Eagles in tackles last season in only his first year as a starter.  Many expected a breakout season from Bradley but that will have to wait a year.  He wore the defensive headset and his leadership will be missed.

The Eagles will replace him with Omar Gaither, who actually started in the middle in 2007 but is not the same caliber player that Bradley is.  The Eagles also just signed former Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm for depth.

Next to bite the injury bug was Reggie Kelly, tight end of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kelly went down with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon on Sunday and will be placed on injured reserved shortly.

Just looking at Kelly’s numbers doesn’t tell you the whole story.  His value extends much further than the box score.

His blocking is invaluable and something the Bengals mainly Carson Palmer will miss.

The Bengals have a handful of replacements though, who will need to step up.  Ben Utecht and rookie Chase Coffman will handle the receiving duties as neither is much of a blocker.  That duty will fall to Daniel Coats.  Coats played some fullback last year but that should change now with Kelly out.

The last starter to get injured was Ma’ake Kemoeatu, defensive tackle of the Carolina Panthers.

Ma’ake Kemoeatu went down on Monday after tearing his Achilles tendon.  The team has not yet decided whether to put him on I.R. but they likely will.

Kemoeatu is a beast in the middle clogging up the running lanes at 345 pounds.  No one will miss Kemoeatu more than Jon Beason.  Kemoeatu took on double teams allowing Beason to roam and do his thing.  Now more lineman will  get up to the second level and block Beason limiting his play making ability.

The loss is crippling for the Panthers who don’t have a lot of depth on the defensive line.  His current backup is Marlon Favorite, a undrafted free agent from LSU where he wasn;t a full time starter.  To make matters worse the Panther are strapped up against the cap and have little wiggle room.

Who will it be for the Jets? Sanchez or Clemens?

With some NFL training camps already beginning we’re that much closer to the NFL season.  Before we get there training camp has to play out and in these long summer days players will be battling to see the field come the regular season.  Here are some of the most intriguing battles with predicted opening day starters.

Jets Quarterback: Mark Sanchez vs. Kellen Clemens

Sanchez is clearly the future for the Jets but is he the present? The two enter training camp on equal footing but Clemens will have to severely outplay Sanchez to get the job. Coach Rex Ryan wants Sanchez to play but the fours years in the system will certainly help Clemens. Expect preseason game perfomance to be key in this battle.

Opening Day Starter: Sanchez- The Jets want to play smash mouth football and won’t make Sanchez do a lot in his rookie year.

Giants Receivers: Domenik Hixon vs. Steve Smith vs. Hakeem Nicks vs. Sinorce Moss

The Gimats offense floundered late last season without Plaxico Burress and replacing him wont be easy.  That being said the Giants have a number of candidates for the job.   Smith is a solid possession receiver who lead the Giants in catches last year but doesn’t have the talent to be a go to guy.  Nicks is a talented rookie whose time will come but it’s tough for rookie wide receivers to produce right away.  Moss has great speed and would be best utilized in the slot but he can’t manage to stay on the field.  Hixon filled in for Burress last season and did an admirable job but struggled with consistency.

Opening Day Starters: Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon- Smith is all but guaranteed one spot and Hixon should claim the other.  Projecting Hixon’s last six games over a full season he would have finished with 74 catches and 936 yards.  With another year of experience I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hixon put up numbers comparable to those.

Jaguars Left Tackle: Tra Thomas vs. Eugene Monroe

This battle pits the aging veteran against the talented rookie.  Thomas signed with Jacksonville after 11 seasons in Philly expecting to start at left tackle.              Then Monroe fell to the Jaguars in the draft and they couldn’t resist taking him.  Had they known Monroe would fall to them the Jaguars probably never would have signed Thomas.

Opening Day Starter: Monroe- Thomas isn’t the same player he once was and Monroe could be special.  Thomas will be the swing tackle backing up at both left and right tackle.

It won't be easy for Wells to overtake Hightower for the starting job.

Cardinals RB: Tim Hightower vs. Chris Wells

The Cardinals were lucky to have Chris Wells fall to them at 31 on draft day.  Wells is a big powerful back similar to Hightower but he has more speed and talent.  Hightower didn’t impress in his stint as a starter last year only averaging 2.8 yards per carry but he did manage to score ten touchdowns.  Wells missed most of OTA’s due to Ohio State’s late graduation and is a little behind Hightower at the moment.

Opening Day Starter- Hightower- I expect Hightower to start early in the season as they ease Wells in.  But by the time the bye week is over (week 4) expect Wells to be the lead back.

Dolphins #2 Receiver: Greg Camarllo vs. Davone Bess

Camarillo was quietly having a good season last year before tearing his ACL against the Patriots in late November.  Then undrafted free agent Davone Bess replaced him in the starting line up and flourished.  Bess was a nice possession receiver for the Phins complimenting the speedy Ted Ginn Jr and finished third among rookies in receptions.  But Camrillo is recovering ahead of schedule and will challenge Bess for the starting gig.

Opening Day Starter: Camarillo- Barring any injury setback except to see Camarillo in the starting lineup.  That would be ideal allowing Bess to play in the slot where his skill set fits best.