To be more precise, Matt's line here was, "you know how they say conservative media is about working the refs? Well, working the refs is about working the refs." Fair point. Meanwhile, I was struck watching the game, as I always am, by the power law talent distribution on the court. You'd think that at the professional level, the curve would flatten out, and all these really good basketball players would cluster fairly close together. In fact, it's the opposite, and one or two players dominate absolutely everyone on the court. The width of the distribution, even at such a rarified level, always surprises me. The Wizards, sadly, were without their two most dominant players, so this dynamic was working powerfully against them. But still.
Update: So I don't sound too hopelessly nerdy in Matt's story, I should mention that I've always played sports, just never gotten into watching them. Going to a game is great fun, to be sure, but watching basketball on the teevee just makes me want to...play basketball. Or at least some video game version of it. Just watching is too passive.