On Dec. 19, 2007 the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat played a game that was on for the record books. Er, scratch that. It was one for the history books. Because of a scoring table mistake which erroneously had Miami's Shaquille O'Neal fouling out. As a result NBA Commissioner David Stern negated the Hawks' 117-111 win and order the final 51.9 seconds be replayed on March 8.

As you know, Shaq is no longer with the Heat as each of the rosters have undergone changes since the game in question. However each team will be able to play with all the players on their current roster.

While the entire situation is virtually unheard of in the NBA, there was a similar maybe even slightly more bizarre scenario, when the Nets and 76ers engaged in a partial redo. As a result of a trade between the two teams the boxscore featured several players on both teams' rosters.

With the 2008 Hawks-Heat rematch approaching, here are two articles from 1979 by the Washington Post's Byron Rosen that provide a blast from past, explaining how and why the 1979 mini-doubleheader occured.

Sharpen scissors, box-score freaks, for clipping from your Saturday morning paper a genuine collector's item: an NBA game in which several players will appear in both lineups!

It's New Jersey versus Philadelphia in the Spectrum resuming their Nov. 8 game with 5:50 to go in the third quarter; Sixers ahead, 84-81. That was the night the 76ers outpointed the Nets, 137-133, in double overtime, despite 37 points by Jersey guard Eric Money -- but, hold everything, Coach Kevin Loughery and his losers won a protest of as-sessment of an illegal ration of technicals on the Nets; Commissioner Larry O'Brien ordered a replay from the moment of infraction.

Some time later the teams swung a trade: Money and Al Skinner for Harvey Catchings and Ralph Simpson.

Now for the resumption making a minidoubleheader with regularly scheduled Jersey-Philly tonight, all active players are eligible to perform for their current team.

Picking up the suspended box, we find Simpson 4-0 -- 8, Catchings 0-0 -- 0 for Philadelphia; Skinner DNP (so don't worry about him) and Money 11-1 -- 23 for N.J.

Now, as the commissioner instructs, scratch any personal fouls on the switchees (one on Simpson was all) and away we go all switch! Money has been idled lately nursing a sore foot, but reportedly aims to play; not only can he try to get back the 14 points he lost when the protest was upheld, he can apply them on the other side of the ledger. And make history.

Spectacular Bid has drawn the outside post seven rivals and joint highweight with Sir Ivor Again for the next step along the Kentucky Derby trail, the $149,000 Flamingo Stakes for 3-year-olds at Hialeah Saturday... Ronnie Frank-lin keeps the mount but come what may aboard the 1-10 choice he is in hot water again -- starts on Monday a five-day suspension imposed by Hialeah's stewards for a careless ride in the 10th race Wednesday... LeRoy Jolley, trainer of Sir Ivor Again, had been expected to enter well-regarded General Assembly but shipped that Secretariat colt to New York, unpersuaded that he'd beat big Spec on third try.

Heavy date Next Friday, March 30, at K of C Hall, Forestville; as Joe Ahern puts it, "a large group of old sand-lot (and up) baseballers are having a night for Irving (Shoey) Shoemaker, umpire emeritus, who spent 40 years umpiring on the D.C. sandlots -- sort of man bites dog." Check Joe or Eddie Ahern or Reds Vernon...

Atlantic Coast Conference basketball loses again, and Commissioner Bob James investigates. Seems the 6-foot-7 star of Washington, N.C's two-time Class 3-A champs, Dominique Wilkins, had been saying lately he'd narrowed his choice of colleges to North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest -- then, goodbye ACC, signed with Georgia. James says his probe "would have taken place no matter where Mr. Wilkins decided to go."

Cap Centre tallies going on 8,000 tickets sold for Capital Classic allstar basketball next Thursday -- 575 of them in distant Harrisonburg, Va. Y'all know why. Ralph! ... Tickets for Bullets' first two play-off games (tentatively April 17 and 20) will go on sale at the Centre starting by halftime of Tuesday's Sixer-Bullet game. Seats are $12, $9 and $6.50, and mind the 25-cent service charge for buying in advance at the arena...

The hockey Capitals find curious the $1 million suit filed in Duluth, Minn., against the Caps, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Attorney General Griffin Bell and Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall. Plaintiff is Bobby Collyard, onetime Colorado College All-America who charges he has been illegally kept out of the NHL. Collyard, taken by Washington from St. Louis in the 1974 expansion draft, was released early on and has been in the minors since (currently, with AHL's Philly Firebirds). Collyard, a native of Hibbing, Minn., charges that pro teams employ many Canadians less talented than he -- that he was excluded from employment because he is American!

Hmmm. American-born talent is supposed to be in big demand in U.S. cities of the NHL. Whatever, Cap spokesman Pierce Gardner reckons Collyard's case, not to prejudge it, to be "on pretty thin ice -- that first year, we would have played a guy from Mars if he could play."

76ers Swing Trade for Eric Money

The Philadelphia 76ers, making a move ere the speeding Bullets drive out of sight, swung a trade yesterday that brings Eric Money across the Delaware to make the plays in the Spectrum.

Harvey Catchings, the third-string center; Ralph Simpson, the old ABA big shot who was only fourth Sixer guard, and future considerations go to the New Jersey Nets for Money and sub guard Al Skinner.

Money averaged 16.6 points, five assists a game for the Nets and qualifies as Philly's hope to help close an At-lantic Division gap of 5 1/2 games behind Washington -- which gets an early look at the new-look Sixers, up their way, on Sunday. Money is also the four-year Piston traded last offseason by Detroit for Kevin Porter -- and wouldn't it have been nice for Piston fans in Pontiac and Coach Dick Motta's East All-Stars to have had K.P., the former Bullet who, as usual, leads the league in assists, directing traffic from the point last Sunday?

The Boston Celtics don't want him, any other NBA club can have him for $1,000 (plus fat salary), he's too in-dependent for them -- Marvin Barnes, put on waivers yesterday. The enigmatic, frequently AWOL forward was ex-pected to find stability this season after getting married last summer and, at his own urging, having his contract rewrit-ten in the club's favor to give him incentive, but it never happened. Says Celt President Red Auerbach: "Barnes has failed to live up to his contractual obligations... hasn't contributed competitively... has not maintained himself in first-class condition to play and has materially breached his contract?...

The 6-9 collegian the Celts envision doing for them next year what 6-9 ex-convict Barnes didn't, meanwhile keeps building a big contract case: Larry Bird's 33 points for unbeaten Indiana State against Drake Tuesday night moved him into 10th place among all-time NCAA major-college scorers -- passing Elgin Baylor and Bill Bradley in one swoop. With 2,513 career, Bird is within 25 of Frank Selvy, 35 of Calvin Murphy, 47 of Austin Carr, 74 of Dickie Hemric. To eclipse Elvin Hayes and Oscar Robertson for third place (Pete Maravich and Freeman Williams out of reach), Bird needs only to lead his Sycamores to the NCAA finals, giving him 13 more games in which to average 35.4 points -- or score even more in fewer outings.

Kelly Kent, 21, of Cisco, Tex., Abilene Christian's star fullback as the school won the 1977 NAIA football championship, died yesterday of a heart attack; after an intramural basketball game. He rushed 1,184 yards, 16 TDs in '77, gained 743 more yards last season despite shoulder hurts; recently qualified for four events at an upcoming regional track meet; was 3.42 academically...

Allen Harvin, who set the U. of Cincinnati single-season rushing record of 1,283 yards last fall as a freshman, is accused with a teammate of receiving a $500 stereo receiver stolen from a campus dormitory, also last fall. Bad year for the Bearcats: basketball program put on probation, two hoop players booted for allegedly rifling a St. Louis hotel gift shop, and what-not. Oh for the days of Big O and Brig O!

Wayne Yates directed Memphis State to 20-7, 21-9, 20-9 and 19-9 basketball campaigns after moving up to succeed boss Gene Bartow. But the Tigers have fallen on such hard times -- 11-11, plagued by injuries and suspensions -- that the 6-foot-8 Yates, once a Memphis State player himself, moved last week into the athletic dormitory to try to build better rapport with his players. Alas, the student/alumni drumbeat of criticism didn't let up and Yates said yester-day they can give the job to somebody else the end of the season...

Out in Malibu, Calif., even though things are going well (7-1 in the WCAC, 17-6 overall) in his 11th season making Waves winners, Pepperdine Coach Gary Colson says he, too, is quitting after the season -- or the NCAA tour-nament.

Tim O'Hare, Maryland's graduating quarterback majoring in drama, switches from Sun Bowl to footlights: ap-pears starting tonight in the University Theatre production of William Wycherley's "The Country Wife" at Tawes Thea-ter on the College Park campus...

The Naval Academy athletic fund, it develops, came out of the Holiday Bowl triumph in San Diego with $217,000 (soundly beating the $150,000 guarantee). Succeeding cocaptains Phil McConkey and Nick Mygas in an ef-fort to lead the '79 Mids to gold and glory: fullback Larry Klawinski of Bay City, Mich., and linebacker Tom Paulk from Sarasota, Fla.