Can you feel the love tonight? It is where we aaaaare. It’s enough for this wide-eyed wanderer that we got this far…

Honestly, I wanted to skip this column. I really did. But then Elton John persisted, crooning in my head his dreamy little tune about cartoon lions, a tune that seems more fitting these days for the national adoration showered upon the Los Angeles Lakers as title favorites.

Despite the fresh crisp white and green banner that hangs above their parquet floor, the Boston Celtics are seemingly pretenders to the throne. At least, according to many NBA general managers and ESPN basketball pundits, they are.

In general, the reasoning goes a little something like this: Legend-in-waiting Andrew Bynum is back and healthy whereas Big Game James Posey is gone. Pau Gasol will have a full season to integrate into the Phil Jackson system. The magnificent will of Kobe Bryant will not be denied. Etcetera, etcetera.

I will concede that Bynum’s return and Posey’s departure do indeed seem to tip the scales a bit more to LA’s benefit. Otherwise, there is no apparent deeper thinking involved if those are the only legitimate points of reasoning. The rest of it is unsubstantiated fluff or baseless speculation. But that’s ESPN’s New World Order for you. Instead of actual analysis, you get one-sentence justifications, such as this singular little gem from Jackie MacMullen that apparently serves to explain why she thinks the Lakers will prevail:

Thoughts from the annual most boring week in the world of sports…

Swept Under the Rug Story of the Week: Donaghy’s Fave Five

How is Tim Donaghy’s cell phone relationship with fellow ref Scott Foster not a bigger story? Why is the link already lost in the archives of almost every relevant Web site? Is there something more going on? Has David Stern gained control of the media? Are we entering some Fight Club reality where Stern has brain washed all of society to work as one in the name of preserving the league?

I know we have to presume that Foster is innocent until something is proven, but goddamn, Scott!

Here are the facts from the Fox News article (I know, the words "facts" and "Fox News" have no business being together) on the latest findings:

"The records show Donaghy placed 134 calls to referee Scott Foster — more than the 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie — between October 2006 and April 2007, the period during which he has confessed to either betting on games or passing on game information to gamblers. The majority of the phone calls lasted no more than two minutes and occurred prior to and after games Donaghy officiated and on which he admits wagering.