The buzz around the Beltway has barely dimmed. Even with George Mason's astoundingly predictable loss to Florida in the national semifinals, folks in the D.C. area are still wearing their recently-acquired greenwear proudly.

And there's really no downside to this story. While the Washington Post has spent the last two months reporting on the frightening spectre of "basketball prep schools" and the connection of many local teams (especially George Washington) to such academically-deficient enterprises, George Mason's guys generally hail from public high schools in the area (particularly the Maryland suburbs). It appears that this Cinderella actually succeeded by doing things right.

Back in my old town, the Duke men's lacrosse team is still suspended. And will be for the foreseeable future. You'd think well-heeled kids like that would have seen enough episodes of "The Sopranos" to know the rules about strippers: look, don't touch. And definitely don't rape.

Apparently, some don't.

Apart from a few over-broad generalizations, the basic facts reported in the national media about the relationship between Durham and Duke are accurate. Duke has played patron in Durham since the Duke brothers bought Trinity College and moved it about 80 miles east, and thus the school often goes about its business in the city in a patronizing manner. But when privileged young white men rape a black woman, there's no need to explain the symbolism. It's hard to argue with the obvious allegory, except to say that the lacrosse team is hardly the master of the plantation. Still...

I've haven't paid attention to many other stories this week. The George Mason one has been far too fun to ignore. And when Mason coach Jim Larranaga again reiterated that his players were winners even in defeat, he reminded everyone the true value of sports: try your hardest, do your best and you never have to look back and say "what if?" The George Mason run has been a wonderful antidote to the win at all costs mentality that pervades sports and, unfortunately, American life at all levels.

And then there's what's happening in Durham. I know scores of Duke employees (staff, faculty, hospital workers, etc.) and a good number of grad students (we even sold our house to a grad student and his wife). All of these people I know are involved in the community and spend a good amount of their time making Durham a better place. They're not the problem. The undergrads who see Duke and, by extension, Durham as their playground are the folks who need a swift kick in the ass. The school and the city have been working on this problem for some time, but this horrific incident underscores the need for them to work much harder.

In the end, after all the big-time reporters leave, after all the shouting subsides and all the miscreants are prosecuted and the guilty are expelled, that's what will happen. Everyone will work harder and slowly, but surely, the situation will continue to improve. Because Durham needs Duke, and Duke needs Durham. Both give each other credibility. Together, both are much more than they would be apart. When the spotlight is extinguished, the good people within the university and the city will come together and move ahead. There is no other option.

As for George Mason, the players will graduate, maybe play a couple years in Europe and then get on with their lives. And they'll know that if you put in the effort when no one is looking, you can build something wonderful. And the rest of us in the D.C. area can look upon that unfamiliar green sweatshirt in our closets and remember a week when it seemed anything was possible, even peace on earth.

Jon Worley is still rooting for Coach G and the Duke women, who face Maryland on Tuesday night in the national championship game.