The eminent baseball philosopher and mystic Lawrence Peter (Yogi) Berra had another sport in mind when he uttered his immortal catchphrase "It ain't over till it's over," but never was the apopthegm more apt than last Sunday evening, when a collection of New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins were trotted out in an empty Foxboro Stadium to replay the last three seconds of the last game of the NFL regular season, some 35 minutes after the "final" whistle had blown.

The television and radio crews had long since packed up their equipment and departed the premises. Some 55,000 New England fans, who had braved the icy chill on Christmas eve, were halfway home by the time referee Johnny Grier ordered both teams out to complete the last play.

If the bizarre episode could only have taken place in the age of televised replays, it is probably also safe to say it could only have taken place in Foxboro, a venue with a rich tradition of the arcane.

"This," grumbled Miami tight-end Hunter Goodwin "is like the bleeping recount!"

The Patriots, a team just four years removed from their last Super Bowl appearance, won just five games this season, while Miami appeared to have locked up the AFC's Eastern Division title when Olindo Mare's field goal gave them a 27-24 lead with just nine seconds remaining.

The Patriots had time for one last play, and appeared to have blown it when Dolphin defensive end Jason Taylor chopped quarterback Drew Bledsoe's arm as he threw his final pass. The ball bounced in the dirt, after which Bledsoe picked it up and tried to run with it, eventually throwing it forward in a futile last-gasp.

Grier ruled the latter an illegal forward pass and declared the game over.

Current NFL rules require officials to consult television replays upon challenge from either team - except during the last two minutes of a game, when only the league's designated "replay official" stationed in the press box can order a review.

Grier, followed by his herd of zebras, had nearly reached the sanctity of the officials' dressing room when the buzzer went off in his pocket. Bill Reynolds, the replay official, and Jack Reader, the NFL observer, wanted him to take another look at the last play.

As soon as he did, Grier realised he had erred. Now the question became what to do about it.

"We were in our locker room when the officials came in and said there were three seconds left," said New England Coach Bill Belichick. "So I got the team together, and we walked back out on to the field." But there were no Dolphins in sight.

"They really didn't want to come back on the field," Grier recalled his first visit to the Miami locker room. "I could understand that."

"My guys were undressed, untaped, dressed in their street clothes," said Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt. "I was concerned about the safety of my people."

Grier was clearly prepared to buy this argument and send everyone home for Christmas. The baleful Patriots were herded together and sent back to their locker room again.

Grier had been contacted by the league office in New York, and directed in no uncertain terms to finish the game and get the job done right.

Faced with the prospect of a forfeit that might have cost them the divisional championship they thought they had just won, this time the Dolphins reluctantly complied.

Eleven freshly-showered Dolphins got back in uniform and took the field for the last play. A couple of players, tight-end Jed Weaver and guard Kevin Donnally, paced the sidelines in shower clogs, towels draped around their waists. Centre Ruddy had managed to pull on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, but he had a large ice bag wrapped around his right knee. In terms of witnesses, there were more media types assembled on the field than there were fans left in the stands. "This is like being back in high school," said one Dolphin as he surveyed the empty stadium.

After Grier ordered the three seconds restored to the stadium clock, the ball was snapped, and there ensued a decidedly anti-climatic sequence. Michael Bishop ran around a bit as he waited for his receivers find some running room before he unloaded the ball.

Bishop is the Patriots' designated "Hail Mary" tosser, but might have been the worst pass he has ever thrown, a wobbly ruptured duck that came off the side of his hand and floated harmlessly back to earth no more than 30 yards downfield. It was never in danger of being caught by a player of either team.

"Shoot," said Miami guard Heath Irwin. "I could have thrown it farther than that! "

The Dolphins who weren't outraged about the whole exercise found themselves mildly amused. "After that whole presidential scandal, anything can come out of Florida, I guess," said Ruddy.

And how about Johnny Grier? Wasn't he at least embarrassed? "A little," admitted the referee. "You hope it never comes to this, but we did the right thing."

Bledsoe was asked if he'd ever seen such a strange ending.

"Not even close," he replied.