My colleagues and I were discussing some of the finer moments in sports history yesterday, and something dawned on me:

I've missed some of the biggest and best moments in sports.

I'm from Los Angeles, but did I see Kirk Gibson's game-winning home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series? No. I was backpacking. Did I witness Orel Hershiser getting the final out to end the series and give the Dodgers a championship? No. I was driving home from a Boy Scout meeting.

At that moment, I vowed to never do anything during a major championship except sit at home, face glued to the set. But even with that pledge, I've missed some pretty exciting stuff this year from Arizona sports.

Remember Armon Williams' block of a Georgia Tech punt in the waning moments of UA's 20-19 comeback win on Sept. 7? At that moment, the entire stadium began to shake from the noise of an elated crowd. The only reason I felt the stadium shake though was because I was in an elevator riding down from the press box. I never saw the kick.

How about Jon Prashun's field goal to give the Wildcats a stunning 31-28 comeback victory over Arizona State? Or that same night, Arizona's 11-point victory over Georgetown in the preseason National Invitation Tournament? Sorry, I went to see "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls." I still have yet to see the highlight tape from the UA-ASU game that also includes Tedy Bruschi sacking Jake Plummer and emphatically pointing to the sky in memory of Damon Terrell, the Wildcat tight end who died the day of the victory over Georgia Tech.

I even missed Tommy Frazier's impossible touchdown run through just about the entire Florida defense in the Fiesta Bowl. The game was a blowout, so I changed the channel thinking nothing exciting could possibly happen.

Perhaps the only reason I can forgive myself is because of the one moment this year that I did see. I simply call it "The Shot." And I saw it live.

The day that I traveled to Phoenix to cover the 7-UP Shootout was a pretty normal day. I didn't expect anything exciting from a game between No. 5 Cincinnati and No. 19 Arizona. Frankly, I would have been excited if the Wildcats made a game of it.

I was sitting courtside on press row, directly parallel to the basket through which Simon drained a last-second 70-foot prayer to win the game. While the 11,000 or so people in attendance at Veterans Memorial Coliseum went certifiably insane, I sat in stunned silence. Maybe I was so unused to seeing exciting things that I didn't know how to react.

The instant before, I thought the game was headed into overtime. The crowd was deafening, but for the split second - the longest split-second of my life - the crowd hushed as the ball traveled towards the basket. Then, pandemonium.

The basket was good.

Game over.

Wow.

"The Shot" will live as the single greatest moment I've ever seen, in person or on tape. Nothing will ever top the feeling on the court that day.

Maybe next year will offer some moments that can compare. If there are, I hope I actually get to see them.

Craig Degel is assistant sports editor of the Arizona Daily Wildcat.