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We have completely lost the plot at this point.

This is a professional athlete by any definition you would like to use.

I could go on a 10 paragraph rant, but this was the obvious and inevitable result of the "NCAA always bad, we just need to start paying players and let it sort itself out" line of thinking.

This is BS

It's anything you want it to be.

What is even college athletics anymore

In a situation where the other team is fouling you the final minute, if you give up 5 second layup possessions and they foul immediately on inbounds you are talking 7 seconds of time for 8-9 back and forths (we will call it they have 9 possession and we have 8) ..... that is 18 points for the other team while you shoot 16 foul shots, making 70% of them you will have 11 points to their 18 for a 7 point come back. If you make 50% of your FTs you give up a 10 point comeback. This assumes you don't have any turnovers.

The answer is PLAY FUCKING DEFENSE AND CONTEST SHOTS AND DRIVES. These last games we have given up so many uncontested layups where tough defense would use more time / prevent uncontested shots or a foul would use the same amount of time and reduce the amount of points they score.

The math says that our current strategy is never going to work, even if perfectly executed.

A friend of mine had seats behind the VT bench at a game I cannot remember and which coach it was is also lost in the fog of time, but it was several decades ago. The coach drew up a play during a late game time out, quizzed all five of the players on their role and was assured they knew exactly what to do. My friend heard all of the dialogue and instruction, and then watched as the team went out and didn't do one bit of what the coach drew up for them.
Can't always blame the coach.

Solid post. Interesting that you talked about the heavy stringers of white bass, it was the same at the top of Claytor. Locals whine and say the disappearance of the whites was because the fisheries guys were shocking up all the breeders for hybrid propagation, while ignoring the wholesale slaughter of the run by those locals. Probably, the change was in the forage more than anything else, but nobody has explained it that I'm aware of.
Doll flies on a bobber is a great bait for whites and crappie alike, with or without minnows. Should work from shore.

my wife and I yelled in unison at the TV...NOOOO!

Living in far SWVA near the TN line all my life and having fished this area a lot, let me offer the following:

1) For Boone, my sister and her husband have a condo on the lake and we fish it occasionally. I don't have a great deal of striper experience there, however it is well known for that species. Most of my experience catching stripers on TVA lakes involves down rigging and trolling umbrella rigs (only three lures allowed) or vertical jigging in the summer months. The bite can be pretty good if you can find bait in the deeper and cooler water towards the dams, and generation schedules can play a factor. Most people this time of year are fishing up in the creek arms with live bait (shad or alewives - sometimes bluegill and when it matters it matters) chasing schools of fish and bait with electronics. You don't see a lot of bank fisherman, however you might have some luck if you can get some bait from a shop or cast net and luck upon some fish feeding by. I have several friends that are avid striper fisherman and I'll see if I can get some additional information and reports from them. I have one in particular that would probably welcome you to tag along in his boat, however he almost exclusively fishes Cherokee. That's all he fishes for with some hybrid sprinkled in as bycatch.

2) White bass. Some of my fondest memories of growing up and fishing are from chasing white's near the steam plant in Rogersville as VTlam describes below. I can remember carrying stringers out so heavy that they cut into my hands, and I can vividly remember people pushing wheelbarrows all the way to the discharge and hauling out huge paddlefish. I don't believe the steam plant is generating any more, and they have modified the access to this area significantly. It's been 20 years since I fished there, so take that with a grain of salt. I do know that this area is really known for the walleye run which is coming up in a few weeks, and I have a very good friend that fishes this religiously. The fact that you don't hear much about the white bass run makes me think that they have indeed quit generating and the run has subsided due to the J. Sevier dam and lack of warm water discharge.

I do know that the white bass still make a heck of a run in the upper arms of Douglas Lake. There are two rivers that feed this, one being the Nolichucky and the other being the French Broad (there are no coincidences). The confluence of these two rivers is upstream from a train trestle in an area they call Leadvale south of the town of White Pines, and when the run is on the fishing can be unreal. I've sat on the bank and caught spawning fish every cast until my arms got too tired to fish. Panther martins, rooster tails, and little cleo's would get bit as soon as you could get the blades to turn. A favorite method would be to tie two doll flies, about 12"-18" apart, and pop these below a bobber. If the bite is slow, tip with a minnow. Sometimes the fish can be unbelievably picky and I've seen one color of eye or thread with the same head or feather outfish another 10:1. I've also seen fish being pulled in two at a time when the run is on, with the occasional hybrid testing ultralight gear.

Be warned, this is the type of fishing where the old timers always say "shoulda been here yesterday" or it'll be next week, but when it's hot it's on fire. Truly some of my best fishing memories. The big runs tend to happen late March and early April.

Hope this helps, and hope you get to do some fishing to ease your soul. I'll talk with my more informed fishing friends and see if I can get some current tips and reports. In the meantime go buy the rest of the bread and milk that might be left on the shelf before this storm hits.

Tight lines my friend.

They are learning slowly. The entire team and coaches screaming at Neo "NOOOO, don't shoot it" worked this game.

Multnomah Falls is a nice, not too difficult a hike from what I remember, I haven't really been to the Oregon coast, but I guess Cannon Beach isn't too far away, and know it's pretty popular. Not sure of wineries, but Portland does have a lot of breweries within city limits.

Glad they got the win. Hoping that overcoming the last minute collapse, prevents them from having a "hear we go again" feeling the first time something negative happens down the stretch going forward.