What they say vs. what they're thinking

Rick Pitino, at left, above, on his facing up to his little “indiscretion”:

“(Like I tell my players) When you have a problem, if you tell the truth, the problem becomes part of your past. If you lie it becomes part of your future.”

Don’t think about what I did — think about how brave and wonderful I am for telling the truth at the point where I have absolutely no choice in the matter.

“When 9/11 hit, you needed a community to get you over it. In New York City, it was easy because everybody knew the devastation of that and they got each other over it. In Louisville, the impact wasn't felt like New York City, but I needed this community to help me get over it.”

Raising the specter of 9/11 might not be the classiest thing I can do but hey, it worked for the Bush administration for years …

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich, third from left, above: “Coach Pitino has been truthful with us about this matter all along and we stand by him and his family during this process.”

More to the point, we stand behind Pitino’s 553 collegiate wins, his national championship and his five Final Four appearances.

Louisville president Dr. James Ramsey, second from left, above: “Regardless of the truth or falsehood of specific actions that have been attributed to the coach, he's clearly made errors in judgment that have come under intense public scrutiny. We can't ignore these errors in judgment …”

But we will, just the same.