April 8, 2013: Rick Pitino's Corrupt Second Act

In 1932, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote an essay, "My Lost City," saying, "I once thought that there were not second acts in American lives, but there was certainly to be a second act to New York's boom days." The quote has been misinterpreted -- indeed, contradicted -- as, "There are no second acts in American lives."

Many people have proven that to be untrue. And some have done so unfairly.

April 8, 2013: The University of Louisville wins college basketball's National Championship. It was their 3rd title, and the 2nd title for their coach, Rick Pitino.

The union of UL and Pitino seemed to be a match made in Heaven. It turned out to be a deal with the Devil.

Pitino was born on September 18, 1952 in Manhattan. He was a point guard at the University of Massachusetts. Not good enough to be drafted by a team in either the NBA or the ABA, he went into coaching.

He was head coach at Hawaii in 1976, an assistant to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, head coach at Boston University from 1978 to 1983, an assistant to Hubie Brown on the New York Knicks in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons, then was named head coach at Providence College, which he took to the Final Four in 1987. He was immediately hired to coach the Knicks, but left after 2 seasons, in 1989, because couldn't resist the chance to rebuild the scandal-ridden program at the University of Kentucky. He led them to the National Championship in 1996, and back to the NCAA Tournament Final the next year.

Then he got another offer he couldn't refuse, coaching the NBA's most successful franchise, the Boston Celtics. But he failed there, because management wouldn't bring better players there. Fans complained, and he said, "Larry Bird's not walking through that door," and naming some other team legends that weren't walking through the door. He was fired in 2001.

But Louisville offered him a lifeline, and the chance to be the head coach of Kentucky's arch-rivals was yet another offer he couldn't refuse. He got them to the Final Four in 2005, his 4th season there. He got them to the Elite Eight in 2008 and '09. In 2010, their new downtown arena, the KFC Yum! Center, opened, replacing the aging Freedom Hall, and giving them an arena more modern and up-to-date than UK's Rupp Arena in Lexngton.

In 2012, he got them to the Final Four, at the Superdome in New Orleans. But they lost to Kentucky in the Semifinal, 69-61. Kentucky then beat Kansas in the Final. It was the biggest disgrace in UL basketball history. Little did they know that worse was yet to come.

In 2012-13, Pitino guided Louisville to a 26-5 regular season, with All-American Russ Smith, Big East Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Peyton Siva, and Big East Defensive Player of the Year Gorgui Dieng. They lost to Number 5 Duke by 5 in an early-season tournament in the Bahamas; then 3 straight in January, by 2 at home to Number 6 Syracuse, by 9 to Villanova in Philadelphia, and by 2 to Georgetown in Washington; and finally by 3 in overtime, away to Notre Dame.

They breezed through the Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York, avenging their defeats to Villanova, Notre Dame and Syracuse. They marched through the NCAA Tournament, beating North Carolina A&T and Colorado State, on Kentucky's floor at Rupp Arena, no less; then beat Number 25 Oregon and avenged their defeat to Duke, now Number 6, in Indianapolis to reach the Final Four, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Cinderella-minded Wichita State gave them a scare in the Semifinal, but the Cardinals won, 72-68.

That set up a Final against Number 10 Michigan, a team with 2 sons of NBA stars, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III. Trey Burke of Michigan scored the game's 1st 7 points, but then picked up 2 fouls and had to sit some time out, to preserve his eligibility. Louisville closed to within 38-37 at the half. Luke Hancock came off the bench to score 22 points, including 5 3-pointers, to become the only non-starter ever to be named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. Louisville went on to win, 82-76.

This gave Louisville a 3-0 record in NCAA Tournament Finals, and Michigan a record of 1-5, and that 1 win coming in overtime. For the Cardinals, and for Pitino, it was a very sweet moment: The man that Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post and ESPN's Pardon the Interruption had dubbed a "preening schmo" became the 1st man to coach college basketball National Champions at two different schools. Each other's arch-rivals, no less.

He became America's answer to Brian Clough, the manager who won English Football League titles with both Derby County and their arch-rivals, Nottingham Forest, in the 1970s. Minus the drinking (as far as we know), and plus a lot of hair-care products and a bit more ego. Clough, himself possessor of a considerable ego, had he ever met Pitino, would have said he isn't the most egotistical man he's ever met, but he's "in the top one."

Over the next few years, for Louisville and Pitino, the sweet moment soured. In 2015, Katina Powell published a book titled Breaking Cardinal Rules, in which she described how she was used as a prostitute to encourage high school stars to come to UL from 2010 to 2014. This reminded people of Pitino's own sex scandal, in which a woman he'd fooled around with in 2003, and paid for an abortion for her, was convicted in 2010 of trying to extort him.

The University tried in inoculate itself from serious penalties from the NCAA, by willingly withdrawing from consideration for the 2016 NCAA Tournament. But further allegations came out, and UL had to fire Pitino in 2017. It wasn't enough: On June 25 of that year, the NCAA vacated all of Louisville's wins in the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, including both Final Four berths and the 2013 National Championship. Officially, there is no National Champion for 2012-13: They did not award it to defeated Michigan.

Many college sports scandals have resulted in the stripping of titles, but the 2012-13 University of Louisville basketball team remains the only team ever to be stripped of an NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament Championship.

Louisville have not won a Conference title, either regular-season or Tournament, or reached the Sweet Sixteen since. In 2018, Pitino was hired by Panathinaikos of Athens, Greece, one of the top sport clubs in Europe, known for its soccer and basketball teams. He led them to 2 titles in Greece's basketball league. In 2020, he was hired as head coach at Iona University, a Catholic school in New Rochelle, New York.

In 2012, his son, Richard Pitino, got his 1st head coaching job, at Florida International University. After 1 year there, he went to the University of Minnesota, winning the 2014 NIT. In 2021, he was hired at the University of New Mexico.

UPDATE: In 2023, Rick Pitino was hired at another Catholic school, St. John's University of Queens. He led them to the Big East Conference title in 2025 and '26. In 2025, Richard Pitino left New Mexico to become the head coach at yet another Catholic school, Xavier University in Cincinnati.

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April 9, 2013, as the day of the NCAA Tournament Final tends to be, was a Monday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-6 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Hiroki Kuroda was the winning pitcher. The Yankees got 2 home runs from Robinson Canó, and 1 from former Cleveland star Travis Hafner.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Matt Harvey outpitched Roy Halladay. John Buck hit a home run.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. David Ortiz did not play. I guess his steroid delivery didn't come in that day.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins, 2-0 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami. How many Brave pitchers does it take to pitch a 2-hit shutout? This time, 2: Paul Maholm (1 hit and 3 walks over 7 innings), Eric O'Flaherty (a perfect 8th) and Craig Kimbrel (a hit and a walk in the 9th).

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 7-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 13-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4 at Rangers Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-3 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-2 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros, 3-0 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. How many Mariner pitchers does it take to pitch a 7-hit shutout? This time, 4: Joe Saunders (6 hits over 6 1/3rd innings), Carter Capps (1 over 1 1/3rd), Charlie Furbush (1 batter, a strikeout) and Tom Wilhelmsen (a perfect 9th).

* And the Chicago White Sox, the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Oakland Athletics, the San Diego Padres, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Washington Nationals were not scheduled.

Football was out of season. No games were scheduled for the NBA. There were 9 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-3 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators, 1-0 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-0 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild, 1-0 at the Xcel Energy Center (now the Grand Casino Arena) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1 at the MTS Centre (now the Canada Life Centre) in Winnipeg.

April 1, 1996: Kentucky Basketball's Redemption

April 1, 1996: The University of Kentucky defeats Syracuse University, 76-67 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and wins the National Championship.

It is the Wildcats' 1st NCAA Tournament title in 18 years, their 6th overall. They would win again in 1998 and 2012 -- the latter breaking a pattern that had held since 1949: Whenever Kentucky won the NCAA title, the Yankees won the World Series: 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996 and 1998. And years with noted Kentucky flops also had noted Yankee flops: 1954, 1966, 1975, 1997 and 2015.

The title was also the last Final Four held at a venue with a seating capacity under 40,000. It was also the 1st for Kentucky coach Rick Pitino, who had previously taken Rhode Island’s Providence College to the Final Four. Today, he coaches Kentucky’s arch-rivals, the University of Louisville.

Kentucky had been put on probation in 1989, for the kind of scandal that some people suggested would have led to a suspension of the program, "the death penalty," if the team involved wasn't one of college basketball's "blue bloods." Eddie Sutton was fired, and Pitino, who had been coaching the New York Knicks, was brought in to stabilize things.

UK had fallen to 13-19 in 1989, and, in his 1st 2 seasons, Pitino got them to 14-14 and 22-6 -- in 1991, having the best record in the Southeastern Conference, but, as a result of the probation, ineligible for the SEC Championship and the NCAA Tournament. He got them to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1992 and the Final Four with a 30-4 record in 1993. They lost in the 1st round in 1994, but made the Elite Eight in 1995, and won the National Championship in 1996, going 34-2.

Pitino coached 1 more season, and in 1997, got the Wildcats back into the NCAA Tournament Final, losing to Arizona. He then got an offer he couldn't refuse, returning to the NBA to coach the Boston Celtics. His assistant, Tubby Smith, led Kentucky to the 1998 National Championship.

With the Celtics, missed the Playoffs 3 straight seasons and quit early in his 4th. Late in the 3rd season, he explained that great players of the past, like Larry Bird, were "not walking through that door." After that, he never had a chance with Celtic fans.

Later, he coached at Kentucky's arch-rivals, the University of Louisville, and led them to the 2013 National Championship. It came a year after a man often compared to Pitino, John Calipari, led Kentucky to a National Championship. But UL were stripped of the 2013 title and put on probation, for a scandal even more sordid than the one that brought him to Lexington.

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April 1, 1996 was a Sunday. It was also Opening Day for Major League Baseball, but it was touched by tragedy: Umpire John McSherry died of a heart attack while officiating at the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Montreal Expos, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The game was called, restarted the next day, and the Reds won, 4-1.

These other MLB games were played that day:

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Shea Stadium. Todd Hundley and Bernard Gilkey hit home runs for the Mets; John Mabry and Willie McGee for the Cards.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-8 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins, 4-0 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. It took the Pirates 3 pitchers, starting with 6 2/3rds innings from Paul Wagner, to pitch a 3-hit shutout against a weak Marlin team.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Mark Grace singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. For the Padres, Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4 with a walk, and Rickey Henderson went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-6 at... Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The extra stands that the Raiders demanded at the Oakland Coliseum, known as "Mount Davis" for their owner, Al Davis, weren't quite finished, so the A's had to play their 1st 6 "home games" of the season on the road, at the 9,000-seat Cashman Field, home to a Class AAA team.

* The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians were snowed out at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The game was made up the next day, and the Yankees won, 7-1. Making his debut as the Yankees' regular shortstop, Derek Jeter hit his 1st major league home run, and made a fancy defensive play. Bernie Williams also hit a home run, and David Cone was the winning pitcher.

* The Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals were rained out at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The game was made up the next day, and the Orioles won, 4-2. Cal Ripken went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

* The Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies opened the season against each other at Coors Field in Denver the next day, as scheduled, and the Rockies won, 5-3.

* The California Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers opened the season against each other at Milwaukee County Stadium the next day, as scheduled, and the Brewers won, 15-9.

* One game was played the night before, as ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball season-opener. The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4, but did draw 2 walks. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-6, his single driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning. Randy Johnson struck out 14 batters in 7 innings, but was not involved in the decision.

Football was out of season. No games were scheduled in the NBA, but there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Hartford Whalers, 3-2 at the Miami Arena.

* The Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators played to a tie, 1-1 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario. (The town was absorbed into Ottawa proper in 2001.)

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.