Instant Takeaways: Storm Give Up Season-High Points vs. Aces in First Game Back From FIBA Break
A’ja Wilson (29 points) and Jackie Young (35 points) scored a combined 64 points and the Seattle Storm gave up a season-high in points in a 114-77 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Seattle (8-33) was without Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston, Jade Melbourne and Katie Lou Samuelson, even though they did get Natisha Hiedeman back on the court for the first time since Aug. 14.
Las Vegas (28-13) continued to look like it could repeat as WNBA champions as a true powerhouse of the league, led by its top two stars. The Storm couldn’t keep up whatsoever.
Seattle Soccer Update: Reign Fall to Angel City, Sounders Lose Rothrock to Hamstring Injury
Seattle’s top-flight soccer teams suffered blows in the middle of the week, as the Seattle Reign lost a key playoff matchup to Angel City 3-1 on Wednesday night while Sounders leading scorer Paul Rothrock was ruled out for the next eight to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury on Tuesday. The Reign (11-9-4) cling to the final NWSL playoff spot with six games to play while the 14th-place Sounders (7-9-7) look to claw back into the MLS Western Conference playoff race with an international break to come.
ECS beat reporter Qasim Ali breaks down what it all means before both teams play critical matches in Denver this weekend.
‘Got My Schedule Down’: Drew Lock Sticking to Process Gearing Up for Rare Seahawks Start in Arizona
Now in the midst of his eighth NFL season and not far off from his 30th birthday, Seattle Seahawks veteran Drew Lock has a pretty good beat on how the practice week changes when injuries strike and the opportunity presents itself to start.
But as Lock ramps up preparation to make his first regular season start since 2024 when Seattle travels to Arizona for its NFC West opener, the former Missouri star isn’t reinventing the wheel by any means. Though he will get the bulk of the first-team snaps under center on the practice field with Jalen Milroe occasionally subbing in, a far cry from his usual workload where he might get 10 snaps in a week if lucky, he has settled into a routine over the past several seasons serving as a backup that he won’t detour away from much, if at all, going into Sunday.
Expressing as much in a playful manner behind the podium prior to Thursday’s practice, Lock joked that he "started sweating at 11 instead of 2” when asked about the biggest differences between work days this week as the announced starter compared to the norm when Sam Darnold gets all of the reps.
“I'm attacking this week. It's obviously not the same because I'm going out and doing more in practice, in ACTs, but with the same mindset as I would if I wasn't playing,” Lock explained. “Or in the rare occasion last week where I was… You install first and second down on Wednesdays. By the time it gets to Friday night or Saturday, you don't forget about the first and second down plays. You start focus on third down and red zone. No, I feel like I've been through this process enough. I've got my schedule down, and I'm sticking by it.”
Ashlyn Dvorak Stands Tall for Cougars in 2-1 Win Over Redhawks
As Washington State’s PA began his 10 second remaining countdown, the Redhawks got it to their leading scorer on the season, U'i Kaaihue, with a clean look at the goal. It came off her left foot as a straight-line drive into Wazzu goalkeeper Ashlyn Dvorak’s chest for a fitting final test in her career-night leading the Cougs’ 2-1 win over Seattle U Wednesday night at Lower Soccer Field.
Dvorak recorded a career-high 13 saves, building off her previous best nine saves just one game ago against Cal State Fullerton. 13 saves put Dvorak beside two other Cougs in a tie for fifth-most saves in a single game.
Dvorak’s heroics were set up from a picture perfect Wazzu start when Isabella Amado put the Cougs on the board in just 54 seconds. Amado handled the ball on the right side of the field with a teammate streaking down the sideline. This put the Redhawk defender in a bind, but she committed to denying the pass. Amado made the right read and took the space, getting all the way into the penalty box and placing it top right for the sixth-fastest goal in program history.
No Oasis for Seahawks: Cardinals Ready to Make It a Fight in Desert
Every fan does it. When their team’s schedule is released, they immediately pour over it, looking for the assumed “easy” wins. Most rational fans would have pointed to the Seattle Seahawks, who are the defending Super Bowl champions, winning their Week 2 matchup in the desert with the lowly Arizona Cardinals.
Now, after one week of data on each team, this trip to the desert will not be one of luxury, laying poolside sipping prickly pear margaritas for Seattle. The Cardinals look feisty. They look hungry. Rookie head coach Mike LaFleur just took down one of the AFC’s assumed top teams in the Chargers on the road. Arizona racked up nearly 400 yards and held the Bolts to just 268 in the 12-point upset win.
Sam Darnold ‘Killing It’ in Rehab, Confirmed Out for Seahawks at Cardinals in Week 2
From a long-term prognosis standpoint, Sam Darnold appears to be on a trajectory to return in the not-so-distant future for the Seattle Seahawks. But that future won’t be as early as this upcoming weekend.
Rather than dance around the possibility of Darnold potentially being available to play in Arizona against the Cardinals on Sunday, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald confirmed the Pro Bowl quarterback would sit out this week, yielding the controls to the offense to backup Drew Lock. Fortunately, injured reserve isn’t on the table at the moment, and the organization will revisit his status next week.
“We don’t anticipate putting him on I.R. or anything like that,” Macdonald told reporters. “We’ll just kinda re-evaluate every day and re-evaluate next week. We’ll go from there, but he won’t play this week.”
Knocked out just six plays into Seattle’s season opener, Darnold’s right knee rammed into the turf when New England defensive end Dre’Mont Jones brought him down from behind for a drive-ending third down sack. He hobbled off the field and after trying to shake off the discomfort, he spent a brief moment in the injury tent before limping alongside trainers into the locker room, ruled out late in the second quarter due to a hip injury with Lock playing the remainder of the game.
Kraken Set Their Leadership Group, Tab Jordan Eberle as Captain With Four Alternates
It’s just about hockey season. And that means announcing captains and alternates. The Seattle Kraken are heading into the 2026-27 season with a familiar face leading the way and two defensemen officially taking on larger leadership roles with a few returning faces.
The Kraken announced Wednesday that Jordan Eberle will serve as team captain for a third consecutive season, while defensemen Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour have been named alternate captains. They join returning alternate captains Matty Beniers and Adam Larsson to form Seattle's leadership group.
Eberle's continued presence at the top of the group provides the Kraken with a steady veteran voice as the franchise enters another important season. The 36-year-old has worn the captain's “C” since the 2024-25 season and has become one of the team's most recognizable leaders both on and off the ice. He led the squad in goals last season with 26.
But perhaps the most interesting part of this year's announcement is the decision to give Dunn and Montour the “A.” Neither selection comes as a major surprise when looking at how both defensemen have grown into leadership roles in Seattle.
Mariners Cement Losing Season, Drop Another Game to Angels
When Cole Young rolled one over weakly to second for a game-ending double play on Tuesday, a grim reality that had been all but assured for weeks became official: the 2026 Mariners are a losing team.
Seattle’s 2-1 loss to the Angels dropped the team to a 70-82 record with 10 games left to play. The playoff picture, which became even uglier as the Astros and Rangers both won, is now hardly worth thinking about.
Tuesday’s step into the abyss, like all 81 before them, had a little bit of symbolism. Dan Wilson, surrounded by smoke that he will step down when this year is done, took out one of the team’s top prospects in favor of their half-measure rental.
As any individual game goes, however, Tuesday’s was unremarkable. Logan Gilbert pitched well but got saddled with a loss because the offense died down aside from one run. The team squandered its chances with runners in scoring position. From the 10-foot view, it isn’t meaningfully different from the other losses; in the story of how the M’s went from one to 82, it is only valuable as a milestone.
The 10,000-foot view shows us that this was part of an inexorable pattern. The M’s would often chalk up such games to bad luck, but now there is no ignoring even for Wilson: it wasn’t bad luck.
“We were just waiting for it to turn around, and it never quite did,” Gilbert said. “It’s on us. At the end of the day, that’s the reality of it. We need to be accountable and know that we have to execute better. Things have to change. We have to have those conversations and figure it out.”
Washington Adds Veteran Guard Tayshawn Comer to Bolster Backcourt
The Washington Huskies recently received a new commitment, landing combo guard Tayshawn Comer from Nevada. A fifth-year senior, he will provide ample competition for the backup point guard spot for a team with only one true floor general on its roster in Ryan Beasley.
This is a notable signing considering the Huskies already had a full roster at 15 players. While most players have already officially signed, Boris Tisma and Wini Braga are the only two international additions who reportedly have not. This likely means one of them has been unable to get cleared by the NCAA in time to play this November.
It would be an unfortunate turn for Washington, as both Tisma and Braga projected to be heavy contributors.
Mariners Can’t Afford to Let Randy Arozarena Walk
The 2026 Mariners are one of - if not the - most disappointing teams in franchise history. With the 2025 version being just a few innings away from its first World Series berth, expectations were rightfully sky-high this year. And yet the team has completely face planted.
But there are a few positives to glean from 2026.
The main story of this gut-punch year has been the massively disappointing offense in Seattle. Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor, and Julio Rodríguez are the main culprits in dragging the offense down when they should be the ones lifting the team to higher heights, as none of them have an OPS above .700 in a year where the league average for OPS is .720. Even with the park factors in play for these Mariners, all of those well-paid stars have been below league average.
One player, however, has met and even exceeded expectations: Randy Arozarena is putting together the finest season of his eight-year career. His .278 average, .852 OPS, and 148 wRC+ all are career highs over a full season, while his 25 homers are just two shy of his career high he posted last season. With 11 games remaining in 2026, there’s still a solid chance he can surpass that benchmark, too.
Jadarian Price Awaits ‘Special’ Irish Reunion as Seahawks Face Jeremiyah Love, Cardinals
During the heat of the NFL season, as Jadarian Price already has learned in the early stages of his rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks, there isn’t much free time away from grinding on the practice field along with other work duties.
But while Price acknowledged that he hasn’t had much of a chance to check in on how his former Notre Dame teammates have done so far beginning their journeys in the league and has spent most of the little extra time he has resting and watching movies, he and top-five pick Jeremiyah Love have had a Week 2 date with the Cardinals in Glendale circled since the schedule first came out in May. After spending three seasons in a backfield timeshare as the primary backup behind Love in South Bend, the two first round picks will collide as starters for their new teams for the first time in a key early season NFC West battle on Sunday.
“That will be special,” Price said on Monday as Seattle began preparation for its divisional opener. “We even talked about it, how we want to maybe swap jerseys or something if we can. Cause it'll be a very special moment. I know a lot of Notre Dame fans, and Notre Dame people will look forward to that moment, so we’ll definitely get a picture."
True to the Blue: Shallow Mariners’ Bullpen Dried Up in Disappointing September
Highlighted by a bullpen that has been running on fumes for most of the second half of the season, Emerald City Spectrum reporter Callaghan Bluechel goes over how the lack of roster depth and overall indecision led the 2026 Seattle Mariners season ending in dreary fashion, likely to finish with a sub-.500 win percentage one year after making the AL Championship Series.
Gonzaga Bulldogs Women's Soccer Exits Hiatus With 3-0 Road Shutout Over Creighton
After their longest break between regular-season games, Gonzaga women’s soccer (3-4-1) responded admirably after two straight losses. Playing arguably their most complete match yet, the Zags handed Creighton (3-3-1) a 3-0 defeat in Omaha to notch their first win in three weeks. It was the first career shutout for junior goalkeeper Sydney Head, who had come close to achieving that feat several times this year. Earning the nod as GU’s starter in net, Head has improved over the team’s first eight games and made two saves during the victory.
Tasked with a difficult nonconference schedule, the Bulldogs have battled adversity early in the year, specifically on crazy in-game swings. It was a point of emphasis during Gonzaga’s nine-day break since its last match, and it was particularly significant early in this victory, knocking off a hot Bluejays squad.
“Being able to respond from big moments…and give each other energy from those defensive efforts is something we build our momentum from, and we did just that,” head coach Katie Benz said.
The Zags had to wait even longer to play, as Morrison Stadium’s surrounding area experienced lightning strikes that delayed the start of the match by an hour and five minutes. And when things finally got going, Gonzaga dealt with that aforementioned emotional adversity within the opening 10 minutes.
Storm’s Malonga, France Lose World Cup Final vs. USA
Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga scored a team-high 21 points for France in a 97-79 loss to the USA in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup final on Sunday, Sept. 13, in Berlin.
The World Cup came down to the clear-cut top-2 teams, but France was still overall outclassed by Team USA. However, as they had many times during the nine-day tournament, Malonga and former Storm star Gabby Williams carried France.
Malonga finished with 21 points (8 of 12 FG), six rebounds and one steal in the loss. Williams totaled 20 points, three rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
Analysis: Who Could Seahawks Sign as QB Insurance With Sam Darnold Sidelined?
Enjoying a weekend off after a season-opening 13-10 win over the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks will return to work on Monday to begin gearing up for their NFC West opener on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, but they will likely do so with franchise quarterback Sam Darnold unavailable.
Per various reports, Darnold could miss anywhere from one game to upwards of six weeks with a glute injury, creating plenty of uncertainty about how long Seattle could be without him. In his place, Drew Lock looks poised to make his first start since 2024, when he started a handful of games for the New York Giants, while second-year dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe will serve as the primary backup.
If Darnold potentially could be a short-term injured reserve candidate, which would require him to miss a minimum of four games, the Seahawks will certainly need to be in the market for another quarterback to at minimum sign to the practice squad. But in September, finding a quality insurance option at the most important position in professional sports can be tricky, especially when whoever signs on will have to rapidly learn offensive coordinator Brian Fleury’s offense.
Looking at what may be available to the Seahawks, which quarterbacks should general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald consider bringing on board? Breaking potential candidates into three distinct groups, here are seven players who would make sense for the franchise based on experience, skill set, and upside among other factors:
Lawrence Butler Walks Mariners Off, Engulfs Last M’s Playoff Hopes
For years, the Mariners have relied on an ability to churn out relievers for pennies on the dollar, filling out a bullpen with just enough arms that are viable in a given year for the team to manage the innings required of a strong starting staff.
But the lack of relatively surefire options made the M’s weak to the impacts of a serious amount of injuries. The team lost Matt Brash, Cooper Criswell, and Carlos Vargas for extended periods of time, and the strain hence put on Eduard Bazardo and Jose Ferrer has turned what started as great seasons for both of them into second half catastrophes. The buck has thus fallen to lesser arms who have only inconsistently held up the bullpen’s standards, and with Sunday’s 8-7 loss, the final fruits of this were borne out in full.
The final deciding blow may have been Lawrence Butler’s walk-off two-run homer, but the fulcrum point of the game was the seventh inning. Had Carlos Vargas, who had already pitched a frame, managed to get one of the first two batters out, the A’s wouldn’t have approached Seattle’s tally. Had Gabe Speier, whose effectiveness as a reliever had been closer to his then-4.22 fielding independent pitching (FIP) and 4.36 expected FIP (xFIP) than his then-2.61 ERA, put out the fire with runners on, the A’s would have been down by three when the ninth began. And had Seranthony Domínguez either let Shea Langeliers’ grounder go to second or made a clean grab on the ball, a one-run lead would have continued apace.
“They’re all tough,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson after the media pre-empted his usual “tough one” stock phrase.
This late in the season, and with more smoke than ever that this will be Wilson’s last as the M’s skipper, that phrase has ascended from being a verbal display of a manager going through the motions and become something of a meme, in both the Dawkinsian and Millennial senses of the word.
It’s tough because it’s a loss. It’s tough because of how avoidable this loss was. It’s tough because it is the final reminder that the Mariners did not do enough, whether in terms of the owners or the front office or the players themselves, to avenge their fallen selves from a year prior. And it’s tough because that word might be the only one given by the other 29 teams to Seattle’s self-sabotage.
Tough.
Bizarre Opening Week for Seahawks, NFC West Concludes With Rams as Only Team in Loss Column
Weird things tend to happen in bunches during the opening week of a new NFL season, and for the Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the NFC West, that certainly proved to be the case as three of the four teams within the division grabbed victories.
Moments after lowering their second-ever Super Bowl title banner at Lumen Field, the Seahawks watched star quarterback Sam Darnold hobble into the locker room after just six offensive plays, and they failed to score a single point in the first half as they fell behind 10-0 in the third quarter against the Patriots. Under such circumstances, most teams would have folded, but that wasn’t the case for coach Mike Macdonald’s championship-tested squad.
Led by Drew Lock under center and an opportunistic defense that picked up where it left off winning a Lombardi Trophy as the No. 1 scoring unit in the league last season, Seattle stormed back with 13 unanswered points. Playing with calm and poise running new coordinator Brian Fleury’s offense, Lock threw for 187 yards and completed 72% of his passes with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and no turnovers, while rookie runnng back Jadarian Price rushed for 52 yards on just 10 carries to lead the rushing attack.
Defensively, the trio of Nehemiah Pritchett, Julian Love, and Josh Jobe picked off MVP runner up Drake Maye three times in the fourth quarter, with Jobe’s icing the game inside 30 seconds left to play in the end zone as the Seahawks celebrated their comeback victory in front of a boisterous sellout crowd.
Mariners Make History With 19-1 Beatdown of A’s
While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the Mariners are on the edge of despair. Needing to win almost every game from here on out, Seattle got off to a great start with a 19-1 smackdown against the Athletics
For an offense that has been up and down (but mostly down) all year, the Mariners put together their highest-scoring game of the season and recorded the largest margin of victory in franchise history. On the other side of the historic night, starting pitcher Bryan Woo continued his streak of scoreless baseball, dealing six shutout innings.
The bullpen came in and did its part as well, allowing zero earned runs to complete the record-breaking night.
It may have been rather hollow on the whole considering the greater circumstances, but just looking at the score from the 10-foot view, it was the biggest win in team history.
And for rookie Michael Arroyo, there was nothing close to hollow about his trio of firsts.
Offensive Explosion
Can Gracie Gilkyson Make Impact for Torrent as Rookie?
Starring for the Yale Bulldogs, Seattle Torrent 50th-overall pick Gracie Gilkyson was a reliable, minute-eating top pair defender and power play quarterback going against Ivy League competition. In a lesser role during her PWHL rookie season, will she be able to adjust?
“She's a very complete player,” Yale assistant coach Erica Kromm said of Gilkyson. “She can be offensive, but she's also defensive. So I think [it’s important] for her to [continue] that.”
Gilkyson had nine goals and 27 points in 36 games in her senior year for Yale. That was a big step, as she had 31 points in 87 games throughout her first three seasons for the Bulldogs. In her last season, she commanded a huge role and blocked a team-leading 59 shots, stuffing the stat sheet in a myriad of ways.
“She really grew in terms of her defensive play and just her ability,” Kromm said. “She's really quick, so her ability to close time and space on players, have a good stick, make good contact: things like that really grew over her four years.”
Reign Down Bay FC in Third Straight Home Win, Revamp Team-Improvement Techniques
SEATTLE, Wash. — The Seattle Reign are taking ownership of everything they can right now.
After spiraling out of the playoff picture in the spring, the Reign (11-8-4) are firmly in control of the eighth and final postseason spot thanks to three straight close wins at home. The latest victory came on Saturday as Brittany Ratcliffe scored on a stoppage-time breakaway to secure a 2-0 win over ailing Bay FC.
The three-game stretch marked the first time since 2023 that the Reign managed three straight shutout wins, with Sofia Huerta scoring off a Nerilia "Coco" Mondesir-drawn penalty in the 51st. Reserve keeper Cassie Miller earned the clean sheet as usual starter Claudia Dickey recovers from getting stitches to her forehead after the last win over San Diego on Sept. 6.
Miller had four saves on the night, as the 31-year-old coming off a torn hamstring is now 2-2-0 in four starts this season with 22 saves to show for her efforts.
But ownership for the Reign goes beyond just winning games.
The team had to evaluate its entire approach to how it talked about self-improvement — a key for a young squad in which GM Lesle Gallimore is hoping develops greatly in the next few seasons. After all, she kept the roster largely the same after last year’s fifth-place finish.
Head coach Laura Harvey said after Saturday's win, she and her staff made wholesale changes to how they handle team film meetings after the World Cup break, a period in which Seattle was out of the playoff picture and struggling to look dangerous.
"We're looking at ways in which we can be a bit more interactive… I just didn't feel like the way that we have operated and had our process previously was really, like, sinking in," Harvey said.
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