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Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve took a moment from her busy schedule of plotting revenge against the referees to express her exasperation after her team’s grand adventure in the WNBA championship ended in overtime, courtesy of the New York Liberty’s surprising ability to score more points than the Lynx. Who knew?

In a gripping Game 5 showdown, the excitement reached a fever pitch when a dubious foul was called against Lynx forward Alanna Smith with just 5.2 seconds left in regulation—because why let a good game end without a dash of controversy? This particular moment allowed Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart to calmly tie the game by sinking two free throws like she was simply ordering coffee at Starbucks. And as fairy tales typically go, the Liberty then marched confidently over the corpse of the Lynx, winning 67-62 and leaving Reeve contemplating a second career as a WWE manager for her dramatic postgame remarks.

“I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve cries foul.’ … Bring it on, because this s— was stolen from us,” she declared, clearly ready for her audition as the next big reality TV star.

Over in Liberty-land, head coach Sheryl Brondello was serving up sarcastic comments like they were hors d’oeuvres at a fancy party, casually scoffing at Reeve’s claims. “I thought the officiating was ‘pretty fair,'” she quipped, perhaps while secretly plotting a themed ‘Referees Appreciation Night’ party for the next game broadcast.

Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty takes a shot as Alanna Smith of the Minnesota Lynx defends during game five of the WNBA finals
Breanna Stewart barely takes a shot at a title as Alanna Smith valiantly defends with a completely legal hand wave.Elsa / Getty Images

As the game progressed, Brondello, in a moment of rare humanity, expressed her admiration for Reeve and the Lynx, callously acknowledging they were, indeed, hard-fought. “But in the end, we came together and found a way to win, which wasn’t cheating, just really great luck.”

Interestingly enough, for the Liberty’s previous outing, Brondello had reached the threshold of Coach Decency with a similar complaint—this time directing her ire toward the officiating gods. “If we’re getting hit, that’s a foul,” she said, with all the confidence of a clinically optimistic sports philosopher. “You know, I’m one of the nicest bloody coaches in this league, but this pisses me off. Just be fair.” Gosh, Sheryl, your niceness is making all the NBA referees weep!

But what’s sports without a sprinkle of drama? Basketball aficionados on social media had a field day after noticing Brondello was caught on the game broadcast urging her players to go full “theatrical” in the final minutes. “If they foul you, embellish it, because that’s a foul,” she instructed—a brilliant strategy harkening back to the days of gladiators feigning death for a better shot.

As history has taught us, the WNBA is just another playground for post-game scuffles about officiating. Remember the 49ers fans? Their wrath in 2020 over refs ignoring flags against the Chiefs burned brightly, like a flaming trash can, because nothing validates a loss like blaming the people wearing striped shirts.

So here’s to sports, where controversies never go out of style, and fans get to witness the inevitable melodrama that follows every missed call!

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