After watching it again, it was not as abrasive as I thought it was originally. I think the general idea that he was trying to express was correct, he just went about it in a very bad way. He was basically telling the fans and media to refocus. What I think he was trying to say was:
1) He made a huge mistake morally and personally and he has to deal with those repurcussions every day of his life and how it has tormented his family.
2) BUT that the issue now was on Karen Sypher’s extortion and blackmail. Yes he was morally wrong but he is not the one on trial, she is. And he wants this to go to trial b/c he believes that everything she is saying (besides what he has already confessed to) is completely false and this falsity has already been verified by the US Attorney and FBI when they said her allegations were not credible. Therefore he wants the media to wait for the trial where the actual truth will be revealed and not print old information (Sypher’s allegation tapes which have already been discredited) and try to pass them along in the media as being “breaking news” and possibly the truth.

Again I love this man as a coach and even though I can’t stand here and agree with what he has done with his personal life, as a professional, I stand by him and understand why he wanted to sound off today even though it wasn;t the best way to go about it. Hopefully he just wanted to lblowoff some steam and that will be the end of it and we can focus on Teague and other recruits until the trial actually occurs. And that’s what the point was today: let’s refocus on UL basketball moving forward and recruiting and put all the bs allegations to rest until the trial date.

On a side note, I still have no clue what he was referring to when he says he was standing up for all those who have passed away.

But I still haven’t completely digested it, or reached a conclusion about the final consequence.

Ordinarily, Pitino manipulates press conferences so skillfully that you can basically pick out who is the target audience for every statement he makes. “That one is for the big man recruit coming to campus next week.” “This one is to get Derrick Caracter off his butt.” “That one is to keep TWill grounded, etc.” He has a purpose for everything.

And then today happened. And I can’t tell if this was a message or a skillful ploy or just what it seemed — a mad rant. It could be a message to his wife, and this seems most probable based upon the report that Joanne was upset by a “breaking news” story at noon about the released tapes. “I’m willing to stand up for you and to tell everyone off for offending you.” Being married, I can certainly appreciate that sometimes you accept the public scorn to make sure your wife knows you are still on her team (although I’ve been able to avoid having to call press conferences).

Or it could have been a message to Teague and other recruits. Perhaps he was tired of negative recruiting and reassuring recruits over and over that he actually did intend to be here for next season. It’s clear that the Willard rumor won’t go away, and I’m sure recruits and families are asking about it. And I think today might just have cleared that one up for good (while perhaps creating some other questions). But in this regard, it could be an effective conference.

But it may just be what it appears to be — Pitino uncharacteristically flew off the handle and decided he wanted to gather everyone around so he could lecture them on paying too much attention to him. That’s certainly how it appeared, and it is safe to say he wasn’t relying upon acting to reveal his anger and disgust at the reports released today. And \this aspect of the conference is certainly going to be what is remembered from today when the articles are written. And it’s not likely to engraciate him with the press who generally likes and respects him. On the other hand, it appears that he actually earned the respect of no less than Greg Doyel for his ranting. Perhaps others will have the same reaction. I must admit that I was of a mixed mind during the conference — “What the hell is going one?” followed by “Give ’em hell, Rick.”

Ultimately, I don’t think we’ll know whether this was a good or a bad move for a while. But if I had to guess, it will lead to some good consequences for him personally and with respect to recruiting, while increasing the target on his chest when it comes to the media. It’s tough to score that as a win or a loss.

of all the sites i visited on the pitino rant, this is the only place that is saying “Its not that bad, i dont blame him”. “The media deserved it”… are you serious? Is he so wonderful that youd sell your sports soul to defend him? This is just insane. I can tell you really love your coach, no matter what he does and how bad he makes your school look.