"We faced a team today that probably, if we had faced any other team in America, we might have been better off, except for Michigan State, " Keady said that day.

WSJ: Marquette-Syracuse means Big East in Final Four

Except that just about the whole world saw stock market falls that day.

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The roads were empty except for a black Mercedes that would whiz by once or twice a day and an equally infrequent Bedouin on a camel.

WSJ: Magic-Carpet-Ride Chermoula