I almost won $10 million. No, it wasn't because I was just a couple of numbers off in the Powerball. I really had a shot. My 15 minutes of fame, if you will. Up until Wednesday at noon, I was a semifinalist for tonight's episode of "Who Wants to be a Supermillionaire" on ABC. For the three of you unfamiliar with said show, you sit in a giant chair across from Regis Philbin, who asks you trivia questions increasing in difficulty until you either crack or win a fortune -- or just enough to pay for your cab fare back to the airport. To accomplish semifinalist status, I had to compete in the phone challenge. I was asked five questions and had to put the four answers for each question in order using the buttons on my phone. Up until Sunday, I couldn't get past question three. And then it happened. Here was my third question: Keep in mind, they get harder from here. "Put these elements on the periodic table in order by their atomic weights -- starting with the lowest: (a) hydrogen, (b) carbon, (c) radium, (d) copper." (answers in atomic weights: hydrogen, 1; carbon, 12; copper, 63; radium, 226). So after I got the last one right, I was informed that I was a semifinalist and needed to choose a tape date -- the show is on for about a week two or three times a year. I chose tonight, because it just popped into my head that I might get to spend the weekend in New York City -- all expenses paid. I was told that if I was chosen, I would be called on Wednesday between 9 a.m. and noon. The process whereby a potential contestant is picked is completely random after the questions are answered, and only about 3 percent will ever get that far. Needless to say, I was excited. I've been working on my Regis impersonation for years and couldn't wait to do it for him in person. (Can you believe I didn't make it• It's insane !) So when I tune in tonight, I can actually play along and think about what if. What if that phone rang on Wednesday• I can look at the person in the chair with extreme jealousy and complain about how it should be me. And somehow, I have to figure out how I'm going to afford that BMW I was planning on buying this weekend. Well, the Powerball's back up to $33 million. Sigh. Now where did I put that number for those "Fear Factor" auditions? Scott Kleinberg is editor of Pittsburgh Trib p.m. He can be reached at (412) 320-7890 or at skleinberg@tribweb.com .

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