Thursday's Seattle sports news cycle slowed down after a busy Wednesday, but here are a few worthwhile links:

• The Mariners are taking batting practice seriously. Wasn't that always the point? But are we really talking about practice man? Not even the real game? We talking about practice! How silly is that? Not even a real game man. We talking about batting practice! Not those real at-bats! We talking about practice.

• Sports Illustrated polled 293 players in the MLB asking them which pitchers are the most underrated. A few notables: No. 2 Doug Fister, No. 8 Jamie Moyer, No. 10 Felix Hernandez and No. 13 Jason Vargas. How is Felix Hernandez underrated? And does anybody miss Doug Fister? I do.

• King 5's Chris Egan interviews Justin Smoak after his breakout offensive performance on Wednesday.

• USS Mariner talks about the Mariners No. 3 overall selection in the MLB Draft with MLB Draft Insider.

• The spring/summer high school basketball season kicks off this Friday at the annual Quaker Summer Slam. Hosted at Franklin HS, Rainier Beach HS and Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club, this year's tournament features just about every top high school program in the state. Check out the full bracket and coaches' packet here. I'll be at a few of the Friday night games at Rainier Vista and a couple of other games throughout the weekend.

• Here is a sick highlight tape of Isaiah Thomas' rookie season for the Sacramento Kings: