here's the reply I just got from officefootballpools.com. He's got a point, but he's charging for a simulation... that's pretty weak in my opinion.
"I'm not embarrassed. You're using our service that hasn't been free for 20 years. Why did you assume that it would suddenly be free? We put a lot of work into the site leading up the tournament. And then we put a lot of work into making a fun simulation, which I think is working great. And besides the few loyal customers who tried the simulation or just paid us anyway, we lost nearly all of our revenue for march madness. It's a big hit. There are 3 of us here. We're real people. And you're whining about the normal fee, which is a whopping $1 each, and calling me lame. How about I give you a refund, you can finish your pool, pay nothing, and then you can leave our site forever?"