These Are The Emails Jim Tressel Sent While Being Really Serious

So, remember that thing we just told you about Jim Tressel's incredible concern when confronted with news of possible Buckeye crimes and/or NCAA violations?

He has a funny way of showing it. Football coaches might not be the tech-savviest guys, but generally, one does not punctuate sentences with double exclamation points in serious written communication. One probably also doesn't write that he "will keep pounding these kids hoping they grow up," nor would one use the phrase "hold some collateral if you know what I mean." Or maybe George Kennan used all of them in the Long Telegram. The history's fuzzy now.

So, here are the silliest gems from Tressel's emails, which Ohio State released to the media, accompanied by some serious quotes from his press conference earlier tonight.

The complete news release and email chain is available for download in PDF format here, courtesy of NBC4 in Cleveland Columbus.

"The tenor, as I read them, perhaps because of my emotion, was that it was serious and that confidentiality was critical."

"Quite honestly, I was scared. Especially the fact that two of our current players were mentioned in the emails, and as we sit in homes, we talk about how we're gonna take care of these young people, and we're gonna treat them like they're our own."

"With the seriousness of what was discussed in the emails, and also the confidentiality component, we worked very hard to make it a teachable moment, and as time went on, in my mind what was most important was that we didn't interfere with a federal investigation."

"[The email] was pretty graphically outlining some of the parties involved and was obviously of tremendous concern to me … It elicited obviously a different emotion than you typically get from someone who needs a hospital call or a visit."