CARY — As the games heat up, fans are falling victim to basketball fever. It's not fatal, but boy is it contagious!

You've seen it a million times-- people at a bar yelling. But you've got to wonder, don't these people have jobs? Well, yeah, they do. It's just that they've come up with elaborate ways to get out of them.

Chuck Carpenter knew his boss would never let him off to watch the game on TV, so he told him he had tickets to Greensboro. It worked. They game him all four days off.

Of course, some people are on even while they're off, while others are trying to lay low. No cameras please.

Others have the office covered. They're just worried about the domestic boss. One man told his wife he was going to Wal-Mart to buy a ladder. Some other men are just lucky. Warren Moore's boss took off for New Jersey today and left him in charge.

Some sneaky basketball fans took a really, really long lunch hour. It's been another tough day at the office.