Sports fans beware. After today's one-hour LeBron James infomercial called The Decision, you might see an onslaught of paid advertisements cropping up on sports networks. How about Pitch Count With Joe Girardi? 60 minutes of the Yankee manager explaining how many innings he'll let CC Sabathia throw. Or closer to home, what about Who Should I Drop This Week? where Mick Malthouse spends an hour announcing which players won't make it into the Collingwood 22.

Actually, that's not going to happen, because no one else has an ego as big as LeBron James. Think about it. His two nicknames are "The King" and "The Chosen One." Not exactly "Chet The Jet" or "Hot Rod."

Unlike many people, I have no issue with James joining the Miami Heat.  (Neither do ecstatic Miami fans, pictured above, watching The Decision). The biggest criticism he's copped in his career is that he can't win a title, and this move gives him a real opportunity. As a free agent, he had to do what he felt was right for him, and if that meant leaving his home town, that's too bad.

However, the decision to announce his choice on national (international!) television continued a worrying trend that has evolved over the past few months: LeBron hijacking the free agent process to make it all about him.

His decision nearly overshadowed the NBA playoffs and his courting process strung along fans, media, front offices and players alike.

Now it's been legitimised by the largesse of ESPN, which has again proven that it's as obsessed with celebrity and the cult of personality as TMZ or the National Enquirer.

Granted, ESPN does stand for "Entertainment Sports Programming Network" and some of that entertainment - like the stunning 30 For 30 documentary series - is superb.

Some of it, like The Decision, is ridiculous.

Yesterday, my BPL colleague Ashley Browne detailed the conflicts of interest ESPN had from a journalistic standpoint. I too, find it hard to believe that the network's pool of aggressive reporters - who will gladly spend the night outside Brett Favre's home or snoop around BALCO hoping for a whiff of a Barry Bonds' drug test - would stand by and be silent on this LeBron story.

But then again, money talks. Or as noted philosopher Rasheed Wallace once said, it doesn't matter, as long as somebody's there to "CTC." That's "Cut The Cheque" for you non Rasheedites. Suffice to say, ESPN must be doing enough cheque-cutting to keep those reporters in line. And that includes Michael Wilbon, one of my favourites, who now looks like just another ESPN shill.

In addition to reporters, ESPN has a host of hosts; hundreds of talking heads, from Chris Fowler to Trey Wingo to Mike Tirico. So why did Jim Gray share the spotlight with LeBron? Simple, The King's people requested him.

Just a thought: if LeBron had wanted Chris Rock or Rush Limbaugh or even Osama Bin Laden, would ESPN have capitulated?

On the positive side, a couple million dollars of sponsorship money from The Decision went to the Boys And Girls Club charity. That's great. But it still doesn't justify ESPN's handing over a primetime slot for a 60-minute exploration of LeBron's ego.