"That's why they play the games"

Duke University was built with tobacco money. It was named after a tobacco baron, and in my vision of hell it will be renamed Banzhaf University. It has a world renowned graduate school of business. It's in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the toughest basketball conference in the country, which provided 2 of the 4 teams in the Final 4. And it has perhaps the best basketball coach ever, Mike Krzyzewski

What could be wrong? Their fans. There is no more obnoxious SOB on the planet than a Duke fan. That alone is good reason for rooting against them.

Although I did feel a twinge watching a senior hit a 38 foot jump shot at the final buzzer, only to lose by one point. But only for a second, until I remembered that he'll probably be in the NBA next year making enough money to burn a wet mule.

I wasn't the only one affected by that last shot - from ESPN.com:

"When Duke senior Chris Duhon nailed a 38-foot three-point shot off one leg as time expired in the semifinal game against the University of Connecticut on Saturday night, the Blue Devils still lost the game. But to those who wagered on the blue and white, the fortuitous bank shot that made the final score 79-78 meant that the underdogs covered the spread, which was between two and three points.

Those who put money on the Huskies, who had a 12-point run late in the game to take the lead, suddenly had lost their bet. Those who put money on Duke to cover collected their winnings.

With approximately $100 million being bet on March Madness each year in Las Vegas and about $2.5 billion wagered online according to the FBI, the Duhon shot transferred anywhere from $30 million to $100 million from those who bet on UConn to cover the point spread to those who bet on Duke to cover, as estimated by those closely tied to the sports gambling business."