Pitino has finally put his cheating scandal behind him after a trail in which the woman was convicted of trying to extort him.

The head coach vehemently denied accusations that he ever raped the woman, saying everything was consensual.

Pitino has apologized for his behavior and made it clear that the first step to moving on is admitting his mistake.

Louisville can’t be happy with all of the negative attention that has been brought on by Pitino’s trial, but it looks like this is the end of the hoopla.

The Cardinals have given Pitino an extension through the 2017 season despite a disappointing 2009-2010.

The head coach is happy about the extension and is hopeful that it quells rumors he will go elsewhere.

Pitino said that his moving days are long over and he intends to finish out his coaching career at Louisville.

The school said that the contract was more about trying to show their public support for the head coach.

The start was absolutely a nightmare for the Louisville Cardinals. And despite a big surge toward the finish, the hole proved too deep from which to emerge.

The Cardinals, viewed by many as a potential sleeper in the NCAA Tournament, instead looked asleep for the opening minutes of their first-round game Friday against California in Jacksonville, Fla. Falling behind 22-4, Louisville made it back to within four points before eventually falling 77-62.

For the Cardinals (20-13), the loss marked the end of an up-and-down season. And much like the campaign that would finish on this night, this game was marked by wild swings both good and bad.

The start was horrible. Louisville fell behind by the big deficit, pulled to within 41-30 at halftime, fell back behind by 14, pulled within 62-58 with 6:55 left, then ran out of gas at the end as the Bears finished the game on a 15-4 run.

Rakeem Buckles led the Cardinals with 20 points. Samardo Samuels added 16 points. Cal finished by shooting 51 percent from the floor and 53 percent from 3-point range, as the Cardinals had no answer for the Bears’ offense.

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The Cardinals fell behind big from the opening whistle, but they kept their composure and rallied back to take control of the game.

They then nearly blew it in the final minute thanks to missed free throws and turnovers, but were able to eventually put it away.

Head coach Rick Pitino has to be frustrated with how inconsistent his team is, but at least they are showing some progress.

The win gives the Cardinals a key road victory over a very highly ranked opponent, which should help give their NCAA tournament hopes a big boost.

Pitino vehemently disputes the rumors and says that he has been there and done that with regard to coaching professional basketball.

Pitino has already had two stints in the NBA, coaching the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks for a few seasons before he was fired by both teams.

The head coach had made it clear in the past that he was not interested in returning to the NBA, but the attention that has been given to the allegations of infedelity have rocked his family.

He has made it clear that the allegations have been hell for him and his family, and some believe that a move to the NBA would help to ease some of that pain.

It also hasn’t helped that Louisville’s play has been uneven this year while rival Kentucky is roaring with the arrival of head coach John Calipari and top recruit John Wall.

Reginald Delk had a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Louisville found itself down as many as 11 in the first half but rallied back to take a three-point halftime lead.

The Cardinals never trailed in the second half, and shot well from both the three-point and foul lines.

Samardo Samuels and Edgar Sosa led Louisville with 14 points a piece, and Peyton Siva added 10.

Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy visited the team yesterday, giving the team a pep talk about dealing with tough times and overcoming adversity. Dungy is known for his ability to motivate and connect with players, as evidenced by his work with the recently-reinstated Michael Vick.

“You have to dig deep and stay focused,” Dungy said. “My team in 1996, we lost our first game and eight of our first nine, but really that’s where the groundwork lay for that 2002 Super Bowl team. Those guys stayed determined, they stayed the course and they stayed focus. At the end we got it going, we won some games and developed some momentum for the following year.”

It’ll take more than a pep talk to overcome the host Mountaineers, but don’t be surprised if Louisville comes out and plays inspired football on Saturday in Morgantown.