Here is the crazy thing about the resumption of the Heat/Atlanta game................

Well the whole protest was over the fact that Shaquille got called for his 6th foul of the game. This was a mistake as it was only his 5th foul.


Well Shaq Daddy is no longer even with the Heat. The Heat will be allowed to put in his whomever they want to fill his spot in the lineup. Of course it doesnt matter that much anyway.


But on a side note, you have to blame Miami assistant coaches a bit here as well. When they said that it was his 6th, you have to hold the game up however you can. Obviously, the coaches were not keeping the stats that closely. They were actually talked out their own stats.

NEW YORK, 01/11 – The NBA today granted a game protest filed by the Miami Heat after its 117-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on December 19 at Philips Arena, which will result in the replay of the final 51.9 seconds of the game’s overtime period with the Hawks leading 114-111. The replay will occur immediately prior to the next scheduled game between the two teams -- on March 8, 2008, also at Philips Arena.

The Heat protested the game because, with 51.9 seconds remaining in overtime, the Hawks' scoring table personnel incorrectly disqualified the Heat's Shaquille O’Neal – asserting that a foul committed by O'Neal was his sixth foul of the game, when in fact it was only his fifth. The error occurred because the Hawks’ Official Scorer mistakenly attributed to O’Neal a foul at 3:24 remaining in the fourth period that was actually called against the Heat’s Udonis Haslem.

NBA Commissioner David Stern found that the Hawks were grossly negligent in committing this scoring error, since they failed to follow league-mandated scoring procedures and failed to respond effectively when the members of the statisticians' crew noticed the mistake. Because of this conduct by Atlanta's personnel, Miami suffered a clear competitive disadvantage, as O’Neal – the Heat’s second leading scorer and rebounder that night – was removed from a one-point game with only 51.9 seconds remaining. Under this unprecedented set of circumstances, the Commissioner granted the Heat's protest, and fined the Hawks $50,000 for their violation of league rules.

The protest is the first granted by the NBA since December 14, 1982 when then-NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien upheld a protest by the San Antonio Spurs concerning their 137-132 double overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 30. The Spurs and Lakers finished the game on April 13 with San Antonio collecting a 117-114 win.

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By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA — Shaquille O'Neal is no longer around, but Mike Bibby and Shawn Marion will be able to suit up for the NBA's first replay since 1982.
The league set guidelines for Saturday's do-over between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat, who must complete the final 51.9 seconds of their Dec. 19 overtime game.
http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/08/85/31/image_6731858.jpg(enlarge photo)
Miami Heat coach Pat Riley directs his team against the Sacramento Kings during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Sunday, March 2, 2008. The Kings won 120-109. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)


The Hawks left the court that night with a 117-111 victory, but commissioner David Stern struck it from the books after the home team's stat crew mistakenly ruled that O'Neal, then playing for Miami, had fouled out with less than a minute to go in overtime.
O'Neal has since been traded to Phoenix, but the NBA said Monday that both teams can fill out any openings on their 12-man active roster with players acquired since the disputed game.
That means the Heat can dress Marion and Marcus Banks, who came from the Suns in the Shaq deal. Likewise, the Hawks will be able to use Bibby, who was picked up from Sacramento just ahead of the trade deadline.
Miami has 10 players who were active Dec. 19 still on its roster, leaving two openings for the makeup minute. The Heat's other options are Jason Williams, Smush Parker and Joel Anthony.
The Hawks, who gave up four players for Bibby, have nine active players still around from the disputed game. Also eligible to be added for the replay are Josh Childress, Jeremy Richardson and Speedy Claxton.
Miami will have the ball when the game resumes, trailing 114-111. After the replay is completed, the teams will get a 15-minute break, then return to the court for their regularly scheduled contest at Philips Arena.
The night is vitally important to the Hawks, who are battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and can hardly afford to squander an apparent win against hapless Miami, which has the NBA's worst record (11-46).
Stern also fined the Hawks $50,000, ruling they were "grossly negligent" in failing to address the mistake.
Miami's protest was the first granted by the NBA since December 1982, when then-NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien upheld a request for a replay by the San Antonio Spurs after their 137-132 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous month.
The Spurs and Lakers finally finished the game in April 1983, with San Antonio winning 117-114.
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March 3, 2008 - 6:44 p.m. Copyright 2008, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

I'm not sure if this is funny or sad. If they truly blew it(unlikely) and admitted it, I'd laugh my ass off.

If not, it's just more crooked shit trying to be pulled off in pro sports.