Maybe there won’t be a football work stoppage after all. (Yeah right.)

U.S. District Judge David Doty ruled in favor of the Players Union in the so-called “war chest” case. The judge decried that league executives didn’t do what was best for both the league and the players when negotiating the last round of television contracts, instead taking less money to ensure they would be paid in case of a work stoppage.

The NFL, of course, isn’t worried.

“Today’s ruling will have no effect on our efforts to negotiate a new, balanced labor agreement,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the Associated Press. Which, of course, is exactly what you would say if your side just received a crushing blow.

There are less than two days left before the CBA expires. Then things will start to get really interesting.

In a related story, Darren Rovell promised to shave his head if there’s a deal before Thursday at 11:59 p.m. So there’s that.