The Front Row with MARK NELKE March 11, 2012

On TV they were talking about a new book detailing Duke's epic 104-103 overtime victory over Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional finals in Philadelphia - the one where Christian Laettner caught the long pass from Grant Hill, turned and buried a jumper at the buzzer.

"2.1 seconds that changed basketball," it claims on the cover.

Be that as it may, I fell asleep on my coach during that game. I was bummed over the outcome of the regional final played before that. Can you remember which game that was? If not, check below.

Peyton's next place: Sounds like the Arena Football League players have voted to play instead of strike over claims they should be paid more than a measly $400 per game (which begs the question - if AFL players went on strike and the games were played with replacement players, would anyone really notice the difference?).

Anyway, that would rule out one possible landing spot for Peyton Manning - though I'm sure Shock fans wouldn't have minded seeing him fling the ball around the Spokane Arena on Monday night.

It's funny to listen and read Seahawk fans practically begging Manning to come save their franchise. What, do they have a problem with their current quarterback? As a 49ers fan, I'm perfectly fine with Tarvaris Jackson running the show for Seattle.

Sure, if he ended up in our division, we'd have to watch him shred our defense twice a year.

But, I would also be concerned that Aldon Smith would beat his man on the outside on the pass rush and drill Manning from the blind side, driving the man coming off four neck surgeries into the CenturyLink Field turf, never to throw a pass again.

While that might be nice for the 49ers in the short run, it would be bad for the NFL in the long run - and not the way we'd like to see him wrap up his Hall of Fame career.

Sort of trivia answer: The game preceding the epic Duke-Kentucky contest was the West Regional final in Albuquerque, N.M., where UCLA played Indiana. Going in, I thought it was UCLA’s best chance to make it back to the Final Four for the first time since 1980, but Indiana, led by Calbert Cheaney and Damon Bailey, clobbered the Bruins 106-79.

But all was not lost for UCLA. Two of the Bruins’ starters in that game, center George Zidek and point guard Tyus Edney, helped UCLA win the national title three years later, in 1995 at the Kingdome in Seattle. And a guy who came off the bench in that 1992 game, Ed O’Bannon, was the Most Outstanding Player in the ’95 Final Four.

Speaking of the NCAAs, where will the Zags be sent today? Did losing in the finals of the West Coast Conference tournament cost them being sent to nearby Portland, or even to Albuquerque?

ESPN has Gonzaga, as a No. 7 seed, playing No. 10 Harvard in its opener at Pittsburgh.

The bigger questions today might be, will the Huskies be selected for the NCAAs? Will BYU?

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected].