re: Rick Pitino flipping the bird after the UK vs UL game.

Somebody take the shovel out of his hands. He’s trying to dig himself out of a hole, but it’s only getting deeper and deeper.

At this point, most of you have seen Pitino telling UK fans “We R #1” with his middle finger while walking into the locker rooms at Rupp Arena. The funny part is, that’s the exact cop-out he used for an excuse.

“No I didn’t flip off the fans. I was in the tunnel. People were yelling ugly crude things that I didn’t like. The 1-8 comment [Pitino’s record against Kentucky coach John Calipari] was fine. But the other comments I didn’t like.”

Asked whether he gestured in any way toward the crowd, Pitino said, “My recollection was a, ‘we r #1.‘”

The middle school excuse was shared with Dana O’Neil via text message after the game. He could have defended himself to the media at Rupp Arena, but Rick refused to talk after the loss. Instead, he pulled the same move he used after their first loss of the season to Michigan State – he sent out Ralph Willard.

Hiding from the media only pissed them off. It did not discriminate either. Pat Forde has taken plenty of heat from us for being a right-hand man of Ricks, but Forde showed no mercy for Pitino, calling his postgame behavior “graceless.”

Pitino always has been one of the world’s worst losers, which is a significant reason why he loses so rarely. It clearly eats away at his innards and tends to make him an incredibly hard guy to be around in the hours and days after a loss.

And nothing brings out the sore-loser demon in Pitino more than being defeated by Kentucky. Especially Kentucky coached by John Calipari. Regardless of the pregame grip-and-grin they annually stage, the two men detest each other.

I hate to have joy over somebody else’s misery, but I can make an exception for Rick Pitino, especially when he has no one to blame but himself.