THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: They keep keeping score in sports, too

There have been times in sports when fans of a certain team may have have wished they would "Stop the Count" on the score.

Especially after all of the points were in.

Gonzaga 65, North Carolina 63, late in 2017 NCAA championship game: The Zags were less than 2 minutes from their first national title when Nigel Williams-Goss made a jumper with 1:55 left for a two-point lead.

But the Zags never scored again, and Tar Heels scored the game's final eight points en route to their seventh national title.

Zag boosters will say the refs stole this one from them, but Gonzaga's mediocre shooting from the field (33.9 percent) gave a rather ordinary (by North Carolina standards) Tar Heels team a chance to steal one at the end.

Aftermath: While this was a disappointing one for the Zag faithful, the Bulldogs are still national title contenders. They would have been in 2020, had COVID-19 not canceled the NCAA Tournament, and they should be in the national title hunt again this year. So it might be just a matter of time — though nothing's a given.

San Francisco 20, Kansas City 10, early fourth quarter, Super Bowl 54: This is a particularly painful one to remember for some.

The 49ers had a 10-point lead AND the ball with 11:57 left. But S.F. managed just one first down on its next two drives, and allowed Patrick Mahomes to do Patrick Mahomes things, and the Chiefs scored three times in the fourth quarter to win 31-20.

Aftermath: Much like their brethren in the Bay, the Golden State Warriors, the 49ers are taking a "gap" year this year, whether they wanted to or not. That's due to a combination of a massive amount of injuries to key players, as well as inconsistent play by some of those key players while they've been on the field.

Kansas City, meanwhile, has picked up this season where it left off in Miami — mostly avoiding injuries.

Of course.

Green Bay 16, Seattle 0, halftime, 2014 NFC title game: Seattle fans, of course, look at this game in a different way — as a marvelous comeback in the second half and overtime that put the Seahawks on the cusp of a second straight Super Bowl title (we won't mention what happened two weeks later).

But Green Bay was on its way to pulling off the near-impossible — winning in Seattle, against that Legion of Boom defense. But the Packers got conservative (scared?) with the lead in the second half. Green Bay kicked five field goals, and if any of those would have been touchdowns instead ...

Still, the Pack would have won, had it not bungled an onside kick with 2 minutes left and a five-point lead.

But the Packers did, and Russell Wilson did his thing — and still does his thing, years later.

Aftermath: Green Bay will still be a championship threat as long as Aaron Rodgers is QB, but the Pack has not won an NFC title since, playing in two NFC title games.

Atlanta 28, New England 3, second quarter, Super Bowl 51: "28-3" has been a meme ever since, as the Patriots chipped away the rest of the way, and won 34-28 in overtime for their fifth Super Bowl title since 2000.

Aftermath: New England won again two years later, but is now going through its own "gap" year with Tom Brady now in Tampa Bay.

Atlanta has pretty much been in a downward spiral since. After going 10-6 the following season, the Falcons sputtered to back-to-back 7-9 campaigns, and fired its head coach this season after an 0-5 start.

Coeur d'Alene 42, Rigby 27, 4:17 left, 2019 state 5A high school football championship game: We normally wouldn't mention a high school game in this context, not wanting to trample on anyone's feelings.

But Coeur d'Alene has won before and will likely win again, so while this was a disappointing loss for the Vikings, perhaps it can also be remembered for being a terrific high school football game.

Rigby, as many of you well know, tied the game on a touchdown and two-point conversion on the final play of regulation, then won it, 57-56, on a two-point conversion after the Trojans matched the Vikings' second TD of overtime.

Aftermath: Neither team has lost this season. And if both win their semifinal matchups this Friday, there will be a rematch in the state title game.

Colorado State 28, Boise State 3, early second quarter, 2017: Boise State supporters remember this comeback with glee.

Brett Rypien threw four touchdown passes as the Broncos rallied, then won 59-52 in overtime in Fort Collins.

Aftermath: Boise State is still Boise State, though the Broncos probably wished they'd stopped the count as BYU was running up a 51-17 beatdown of the Broncos on Friday night in Boise.

The loss dropped Colorado State to 0-7 all time vs. Boise State. The Rams are now 0-9 vs. the Broncos.

Texas leads St. Louis 3 games to 2, 2011 World Series: Probably not a game that comes quickly to mind in this exercise. But like the Falcons, Texas has not been the same since this near-miss.

And it's at least memorable around here because Texas is (was?) the parent club of the Spokane Indians.

Texas had a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6 before St. Louis won in extra innings, then won Game 7 to deny the Rangers their first Series crown.

Aftermath: Texas has had three 90-win seasons and three playoff appearances since. But 2020 marked the Rangers' fourth straight losing season.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.