From staff reports

DURHAM -- Some may frown upon sports wagers, but Google this: Mayor Bill Bell's Final Four gamble on Duke could 'wire' the Bull City.

As a result of Bell's April 3 wager with Morgantown, W.Va., counterpart, Mayor Bill Byrne -- he picked West Virginia against Duke in the NCAA Tournament semifinal won by Duke, Durham now has official support from Morgantown for its application to Google for the company's proposed ultra high-speed fiber optic network installation project, Google Fiber.

The competition between the Mountaineers and the Blue Devils in this year's Final Four didn't stop on the basketball court since both teams are also home to cities that are competing to become a test site for Google's project. The mayors of Morgantown and Durham bet that the mayor of the losing team's home city must write a letter endorsing the other city's pitch for Google.

Since West Virginia lost to Duke, Byrne has made good on his bet and written a letter endorsing Durham's application to become a test site for Google.

Bell has received a copy of the letter of endorsement sent to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, csupporting Durham's application. The letter cites Byrne's "...enthusiastic endorsement of Durham's Google application." Byrne goes on to write, "Having made a pact with the Devils themselves, I willingly express this sentiment."

The tongue-in-check letter, which extols Durham's perfect fit for Google's experiment, goes on to remind Schmidt of the "substantial creative planks" of Morgantown's application and a sly promise that when the Mountaineers win against Duke in next year's championship, the game ball would ultimately land in the hands of Google.

Google plans to pick one or more locations across the country, promising Internet service that's more than 100 times faster than what most Americans now have. Google will announce its decision by year's end.

To learn more about Durham's efforts to bring Google to town or to view Byrne's letter in its entirety, visit www.hifiberdurham.com or contact Sam Poley, director of Marketing and Communications with the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, at (919) 680-8320 or via e-mail at sam@durham-cvb.com.