Get Loose, Igor

Isiah out: We all saw it coming, and that plot long ago went stale. I'm equally stoic about the Sonics relocation vote, which was a mere formality. Clay Bennett is scum, and David Stern is no longer my idol, but Key Arena looks like a high school gym and this all started when Nick Lacata told Howard Schultz that "basketball has no cultural value." More proof that Seattle exists in a bubble: During drive-time sports talk, the host refers to this comment as "at best, arrogant, at worst, racist."

So let's look past these mounds of grave and watch some playoffs. Here are some links that might help. First, our Deadspin previews. I'll update this list as they go up:

Hornets/Mavs
Celtics/Hawks
Spurs/Suns
Jazz/Rockets
Cavs/Wizards

Here's my Sporting News page, where you can read some decidedly more sober previews.

A brief Quotemonger you may have missed.

Please, meet the best NBA video ever. Congratulate Matt Watson for Free Amir hype, but eff the Freep for still not getting "Free Darko."

Anyway, I plan to check in periodically over the weekend. Hopefully, some others will, too.