I’ve railed in the past against ESPN for picking precious little athletes or even whole teams to dote upon: Red Sox vs. Yankees, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, etc. But this morning’s ESPN.com homepage was enough to make me choke back a little of last night’s dinner.

I haven’t been following the NBA playoffs too closely. I know the story is the NBA wanted LeBron vs. Kobe, and the refs were laughably close to throwing on Cleveland Jerseys to make it happen. And frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me given the NBA’s refereeing history.

So this morning, after the Magic upset the Cavs to fulfill the dark horse role for the Playoffs, ESPN puts up a giant photo of LeBron pouting. The “killer” headline: “Sand Castle: What Can LeBron Do?”.

Here’s what LeBron can do. He can go home with his losing team and watch the rest of the Playoffs on TV while he throws talcum powder in the air.

Ultimately, we watch sports to see who wins. Who overcame the other team. Who was better? That’s why we follow it. That’s what keeps us interested. That’s why we get passionate about our teams and our favorite players.

Not for ESPN. And they’ve done it before: constantly cutting to Peyton Manning during the Pats vs. Giants Super Bowl; endless coverage of Brett Favre long after no one cares any more. It’s favoritism. It’s cult of personality.

It’s puke.

That’s not to say there are not stories to be followed on losing teams. In fact, I do think LeBron’s loss is a story worthy of an interview. But he’s not front page material with four stories behind him. And the Magic get a single video following LeBron.

I picked the Cavs to win in 5. I was wrong. The Magic are the better team and I like them to beat the Lakers too.

Here’s my prediction. ESPN will do a week’s worth of stories on LeBron losing, and what it means for the Cavs and an endless loop of “LeShot”. They might even intercut it with Favre highlights.

It’s a complete disdain for what makes sports great. It’s pandering to focus groups and ratings books. Maybe you guys should focus on opening more “ESPN Zones” and quit pretending you’re interested in reporting on games, because you’ve officially become the MTV of sports. You’re the veneer of the concept you pioneered. . . and you’re laughable.

As a sports fan, I’m completely disgusted.

ESPN=worthless.