PLAY BALL! (MAYBE)

Pro baseball players today ended theirnearly eight-month strikeafter a federal judge issued an injunction against team owners. Players union head Donald Fehr said the strike was halted when federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor ordered owners to revert to 1994 work rules. The ruling appears to have set the stage for getting pros back onto the field. "We're calling every player that's out right now," said Kansas City Royals pitcher David Cone, "and telling them to be ready to come back." Owners, who are expected to meet tomorrow, seem to lack the 21 votes they would need to lock out the players in order to hold out for new contract mechanisms that would drive down salaries. If the pros are permitted to play, opening day probably will be pushed back from Sunday to late April, to allow for training time. "I think the owners pretty much have to accept the fact that the players are coming back," says TIME sportswriter Steve Wulf, who notes labor problems will persist no matter what happens. "They haven't come to an agreement. It's more like a truce."