Howard Hughes is one of those American figures that will always live on in folklore. He was known to be everything from a little eccentric to full-blown crazy. People who got to know the rarely seen off-again-on-again billionaire described him as a tortured genius with no sense for the value of money.

However, Hughes managed to create a gigantic fortune in his time and he single handedly lifted the aviation industry to a higher stratosphere. Hughes was also a film producer/director, a sporadic socialite during his early years, and a renowned philanthropist. In 1958 at the height of his fortune, Hughes was worth around $13-billion – which is around $43-billion today.

Howard Robard Hughes was born December 24, 1905 in Houston, Texas. He was the only son of Alene and Howard – who was a millionaire inventor specializing in machinery for the oil industry. Hughes' parents both died two years apart and he was an orphan at 18. He was left an estate worth $871k and a patent for a drill bit. Hughes seized control of his father's company and used the revenue to finance his movie business. He produced such classics as Scarface, The Outlaw, and Hell's Angels.

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The Pittsburgh Panthers will not be going to the Final Four in Detroit, but the Villanova Wildcats sure as heck are. I don’t know what I was thinking when I picked the Panthers to win the National Championship. Oh I know…I was thinking, “Now here’s a sure thing.” Once again people, there is no such thing as a sure thing.

North Carolina 72, Oklahoma 60
Ty Lawson finished with 19 points and Danny Green put in 18 points and just like that the Tar Heels are off to the Final Four. For the Tar Heels, this is their 100th NCAA tourney win, the most ever by any college team, and their 18th trip to the Final Four. The Tar Heels were a 7-point favorite in the game and were able to cover the spread. The combined score fell UNDER the posted over/under total (163.5).

Michigan State 64, Louisville 52
Goran Suton scored 19 points and added 10 rebounds Sunday, to lead the Michigan State Spartans past the Louisville Cardinals 64-52. The Spartans were a 7-point underdog in the game. The combined score fell UNDER the posted over/under total (137.5).

Villanova 78, Pittsburgh 76
Dwayne Anderson had 17 points and Scottie Reynolds had 15 points — including the game winning 2 points with 0.5 seconds left on the board — as the Villanova Wildcats moved past the Pittsburgh Panthers (who led the game 67-63 score with just over 3 minutes to go) and are now headed to the Final Four.

Missouri 75, Connecticut 82
Kemba Walker put up 23 points and Hasheem Thabeet had 13 rebounds as the Connecticut Huskies beat the Missouri Tigers and have punched their ticket to the Final Four.

Here are your 2009 NCAA Tournament Final Four matchups:

• Connecticut (31-4) vs. Michigan State (30-6)
• Villanova (30-7) vs. North Carolina (32-4)

Ready to win? Get all your NCAA Tournament odds at the Bodog Sportsbook

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