Seahawks Move Swiftly Shoring Up Front Office With Six-Pack of Promotions
Success always comes with a price in the NFL, and while the Seattle Seahawks managed to escape the offseason losing only five free agents off of their Super Bowl LX team and kept a large chunk of their coaching staff intact with departing offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak being the biggest departure to replace, reigning Executive of the Year John Schneider will have a much different front office around him moving forward.
In a rare June hiring, the Minnesota Vikings tabbed ex-Seahawks assistant general manager Nolan Teasley as their new general manager, the first of several dominos that fell in quick order. Once Teasley had been introduced in Minneapolis, he made sure to steal a few former colleagues from Schneider’s front office cabinet to come with him, including bringing Minnesota native Trent Kirchner back home with the promotion of assistant general manager and hiring Azzaam Kapadia as assistant director of pro scouting. Kirchner and Kapadia served the titles of vice president of player personnel and NFL scout for Seattle last season, respectively.
Such a drain from the front office wouldn’t typically happen at this stage of the NFL calendar, but Schneider has been forced to make a major pivot retooling the personnel department around him, and ironically, it can be argued that the current situation actually benefited the Seahawks over the norm. Rather than suffering sighe organization had all hands on deck for the entire pre-NFL draft circuit, including the scouting combine, through free agency and the actual draft itself, with Teasley and Kirchner in particular having major voices in the player evaluation and decision-making process throughout in their prior roles.
Sounders Return to Training, Drop Shortened Practice Game vs. Belgium
The Seattle Sounders are back in action after 18 days away from training and games on account of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Life has changed considerably since the Sounders last dropped their last game on May 24 to LAFC to drop to 7-3-3 (6th in Western Conference), as they are sharing their Renton training facility with the Belgian Red Devils and are planning their training sessions around the national team's schedule. The Rave Green were compensated for their hospitality on Tuesday, as Belgium, fresh off a 1-1 draw against Egypt on Monday in Seattle, played a consortium of Sounders and Tacoma Defiance players in a shortened practice game.
The game featured two 30-minute halves, and the Sounders fell 2-1 in a match that former U.S. Men's National Team winger Paul Arriola described as a solid learning experience in this makeshift offseason program.
"It was a difficult game for us; we defended for a lot of the time," Arriola, 31, said. "We saw a few offensive plays that I think we did pretty well in, and then defensively it was a lot for us to handle. Typically we're a team in MLS that we kind of try and dictate the game and the tempo… yesterday we were put under a lot."
Cougars Bolster 2027 Recruiting Class, Sign O-Line and WR Prospect
With their latest latest wave of commitments for the 2027 recruiting class, the Washington State Cougars continued a trend that has become a major focus during the first full recruiting cycle under first-year coach Kirby Moore and his staff. The Cougars have put a significant emphasis on recruiting talent throughout the western United States, particularly in California, and that strategy paid off once again with commitments from offensive tackle Landon Guenter and athlete Sirjewel Glover.
Guenter is a 6-6, 255-pound offensive tackle from Redwood High School in Visalia, California. He becomes the 10th California prospect to commit to Washington State in the 2027 recruiting class, further strengthening the Cougars' footprint in one of the nation's most talent-rich recruiting states. Guenter chose Washington State over offers from Fresno State, UNLV, Idaho, and several other programs.
Joining Guenter in the class is Sirjewel Glover, a 6-0, 180-pound playmaker from Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. Glover gives Washington State another talented in-state prospect to develop and becomes the third commitment from Washington in the 2027 class. He selected the Cougars over offers from Oregon State, UNLV, New Mexico, and several other programs.
Five O-Line Recruits, One Huge Weekend Upcoming for Huskies
Rolling out the red carpet as they continue to build an intriguing 2027 recruiting class, the Washington Huskies will try to reel in the foundation of their next great offensive line with coach Jedd Fisch hoping to end the official visit season with a clean sweep locking up top-tier prospects in the trenches.
Offensive line coach Michael Switzer has a chance to put his stamp on this latest recruiting class for the Huskies, with as many as four future Big Ten-caliber starters flying into town. After last year’s crop that brought in five-star left tackle Kodi Greene, UW hopes to be building the next front worthy of the Joe Moore Award, which they last won when they advanced to the National Championship Game in 2023.
Who will be on Montlake this upcoming weekend?
Seattle World Cup Matchday 1 Recap: Egypt and Belgium Draw, Fans Fall in Love with Lumen
SEATTLE — The FIFA World Cup, bigger than ever in its new 48-team format, made its way to Seattle on Monday afternoon as Belgium and Egypt met in their group stage opener. The tournament, spanning 16 cities and 104 matches, will give six to the Emerald City.
Fans showed up in droves for each side, while some locals took off work and school to see international superstars like Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah up close. The game didn’t disappoint, as a first-half goal from the underdog Pharaohs set the tone. Then, Belgium's all-time leading scorer, Romelu Lukaku, subbed on in the second half and forced an Egypt own goal mere seconds later. That 1-1 scoreline would hold as fans from the game were treated to watch parties across the city for the remaining two games of the day.
Monday demonstrated the undertaking this World Cup is from a logistical perspective, and Seattle seems to have passed with flying colors. Fans online praised Lumen Field, or Seattle Stadium on account of FIFA’s advertising guidelines, for its design and the noise it can help generate. On the ground, there was no shortage of ways to stay connected with the rest of the tournament as the city truly breathed the game.
What was the experience like on the ground as Seattle introduced itself to the biggest sporting event on the planet?
“There’s a Feeling of Emptiness”: Late Legion Push Drops Seawolves in Semifinal
TUKWILA, Wash. - A week prior, it had been the California Legion who regularly tried one offload too many, who had suffered a few too many penalties, and who had generally gotten in their own way.
The shoe was on the other foot on Sunday night, however, and the Seawolves’ season ended with a loss to the California Legion in the playoff semifinal. The MLR Shield, though it will be ultimately decided in Chicago on June 21, will not be coming to Seattle at the end of the year.
“It’s exit interviews and mop-ups from here on in,” Seawolves head coach Allen Clarke told Emerald City Spectrum. “There’s a feeling of emptiness because we weren’t quite ready for the season to end yet.”
Seattle fought valiantly to the end, taking a brief lead in the second half and getting plenty of chances to pull the score closer or return to that lead as the match continued, but in the end, the Legion triumphed by the palindromic score of 43-34.
“I think the fight was there up until 79 minutes, 40 seconds in, you know,” said blindside flanker Marno Redelinghuys. “Doesn’t matter what the time says on the clock, we always wanted to fight and just get a last try in. It doesn’t matter if the scoreboard says we’re not going to be able to win.”
Gonzaga Finalizes Commitment From French Guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa
Exit one young French guard, enter another.
Saturday at 2 PM PT was the deadline for international players to withdraw from the NBA Draft, and to no surprise, Jack Kayil remained in the process and looks to hear his name called early next week in Brooklyn. But the Gonzaga Bulldogs have already been operating on the conclusion that he was never re-routing back to Spokane.
Pivoting to a countryman of Kayil, the Zags have reportedly landed a commitment from 6-5 combo guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa, adding the talented 18-year-old into a backcourt that already includes Mario Saint-Supéry and Isiah Harwell. The move marks GU’s seventh added player of the offseason, and its third incoming freshman.
Washington State Signs Two More California Recruits to Growing 2027 Class
Washington State continues to build momentum on the recruiting trail under first-year coach Kirby Moore, as the Cougars added two more commitments to their 2027 recruiting class this weekend heralding from the Golden State.
Pledging their commitments to the program, cornerback Noah Clark from Inglewood High School and edge rusher Sonasi Maka II from Deer Valley High School in Antioch, California, both announced their intentions to take their talents to Pullman.
With the additions of Clark and Maka II, Washington State now has 14 total commitments in its 2027 class. The Cougars have made California a major priority in this recruiting cycle, as nine of those 14 commitments currently come from the Golden State. The entire class is made up of players from the western region of the United States, highlighting the recruiting strategy being used by the Washington State coaching staff.
Mariners Forget Fundamentals, Drop Saturday Game 8-3 to Nationals
It seems the Mariners are yet to escape their consistent inconsistency. After having beaten the Washington Nationals 10-2 the previous day, with every starting Mariner position player getting a knock, the team lost 8-2 as the pitching slipped up and the offense took a big step back outside of the ever-impressive Colt Emerson.
But the biggest issue for the team was the defense, which was docked for three errors and looked quite shaky even outside of those official events on the scoresheet. The game served as an example of bad fundamental play across the board and a reason why the team has a losing record in one-run games and just one win after trailing in the seventh. They still have the luxury of playing in the division that they do, but they aren’t forming good habits for the playoffs and the lack of precision has turned what should be a lock in the weakest division in baseball into a 1 ½ game lead over a mediocre Athletics team.
Defensive miscues piled up early, and a would-be clean first became a three-spot for the Nats.
Josh Naylor didn’t have himself a very good game on Saturday, with big misses with the glove and stick. The former came first, with a bad throw in the bottom of the first allowing the Nationals to put together a two-out rally and tack three runs on Luis Castillo.
Washington State Lands Two More Recruits as 2027 Class Takes Shape
Washington State's 2027 recruiting class continued to gain momentum over the past several days as the Cougars secured commitments from two more prospects who fit the program's growing emphasis on winning recruiting battles in nearby Western states.
The first commitment came from edge rusher Tautai Meredith, a 6-3, 260-pound prospect from Lehi High School in Utah. Meredith chose Washington State over a number of offers that included Boise State, Colorado State, and San Diego State, among others.
Meredith becomes the second edge defender to commit to Washington State's 2027 class, joining fellow defensive prospects Colton Ritchter and Sonasi Maka II on the defensive front. While he is currently listed as an edge rusher, Meredith possesses a frame that could allow him to add significant weight over the next several years. If that development occurs, it would not be surprising to see him spend time at defensive tackle during his career in Pullman.
Washington State followed Meredith’s commitment with another addition on Wednesday when safety Nate Obasanjo announced his commitment to the Cougars. Obasanjo, a 6-1, 210-pound safety from Mount Rainier High School, selected Washington State over offers from Utah, Colorado State, and New Mexico.
Seahawks Unveil Super Bowl Rings to Commemorate ‘Unforgettable Season’
It’s one of the benchmarks every Super Bowl champion looks forward to. There’s the trophy ceremony immediately after the game to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time. Then there’s the parade through the city streets. The first game of the next season, there is the unveiling of the Super Bowl championship banner in the stadium rafters.
Before that, of course, the players and staff get their coveted Super Bowl rings. The piece of jewelry every football player ever has dreamed of slipping on their finger one day. Some all-time greats never did. It’s always a moment fans look forward to after their team wins the Super Bowl- what will the rings look like? Now we know.
On Thursday night, the Seattle Seahawks held a private banquet to reveal their Super Bowl LX championship rings. The rings were designed by luxury jeweler, Jason of Beverly Hills, in collaboration with Seahawks leadership. Even the reveal itself was magical. Boxes descended from the ceiling and were placed perfectly on the tables of each player, for them to unbox themselves.
Previewing the 6 World Cup Matches in Seattle
It's finally here.
Soccer, soon to be football, fans across the Pacific Northwest have been waiting with bated breath for Seattle to play host to the largest sporting event in the world: The FIFA World Cup.
The tournament is bigger than ever in this fixture. Set to span Canada, the U.S. and Mexico from mid-June through mid-July, with Mexico and South Africa opening festivities on Thursday. As such, the field has expanded for the first time since 1998 with 48 teams instead of 32, meaning 104 matches rather than 64.
Seattle will play host to six of those matches, with four group matches through June culminating in a Round of 32 match on July 1 and a Round of 16 match on July 6. With the expanded field, the number of teams qualifying for those knockout games will increase from the top two finishers in each group after three group matches to the top two finishers plus the top eight of 12 third-place finishers, making a 32-team field.
This added opportunity to qualify for knockout games should only benefit the viewers in Seattle, as many of the seven unique squads set to play in the Emerald City are slated to finish second and third in their groups. While any World Cup game is special, the chances of fans showing up to a game lacking real tournament implications are quite low.
While the knockout-match teams in Seattle are obviously TBD, Belgium will take on Egypt on June 15 to kick off Seattle's run while the United States and Seattle Sounders star Cristian Roldan will play Australia on June 19. From there, Qatar will take on Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 24 before Egypt and Iran finish the group stage off on June 26.
What can fans expect to see in those matches?
‘Just When You Think You’ve Seen it All’: Blissful Mariners Take 6-5 Thriller in Baltimore
“This game’s put years on my life,” said Mariners catcher Mitch Garver after the team’s 6-5, 10-inning victory.
The 35-year-old catcher seemingly left it ambiguous as to whether “this game” referred to the night’s win (one more claustrophobic than a closed-up cave) or whether he meant baseball itself, but in any case, Tuesday’s might be the unlikeliest win the M’s have scratched across yet.
Where Víctor Robles and Jose A. Ferrer failed the Mariners on Tuesday night, Ryan Bliss and Nick Davila saved them. Where Mitch Garver’s lack of a challenge in the bottom of the first led to an Orioles run, his A-plus showing over the remaining nine innings allowed his team to take the win.
The victory required incredible plays from Patrick Wisdom and from a somewhat out-of-position Cole Young. It required the weakest arms in the Mariners bullpen to log two clean combined innings and give some rest for their weary companions. Perhaps most of all, it required grinding, gutsy, going-all-out play from a guy who had played in two MLB games in the previous 365 days.
And it required a man on barely four hours of sleep to make the biggest, most stressful pitches of his life. Isolating the only hero from the course of Tuesday’s game would be a task harder than those that befell both Davila and Bliss. But these tasks were not only reserved for the final innings.
Logan Gilbert put together an unlikely quality start despite being at 58 pitches through two.
Despite a 3.79 ERA going into Tuesday’s game, M’s starter Logan Gilbert has had his share of five-and-dive outings with batters fouling off good pitches and laying off tough filth. Much of it had been due to predictable sequencing, though that issue has been less apparent in May than it was in March and parts of April. The O’s stretched him thin over the first two innings, and with all of four available relievers in the bullpen, there wasn’t much room for inefficiency.
Huskies Land Blue-Chip Edge Recruit From Garden State
Dominant edge defenders don’t grow on the cherry trees in the University of Washington quad.
Jedd Fisch and the Huskies coaching staff reached far away from campus to find a potential pass rusher in Montvale, New Jersey, with the hopes that Chaz Gray, a Class of 2027 recruit out of St. Joseph Regional High School, will blossom when he arrives on Montlake next year. A three- or four-star recruit, depending upon which recruiting ratings one looks at, Gray chose Washington over Tennessee and Clemson on Tuesday.
Beating out Volunteers and Tigers for an East Coast prospect who also held offers from Ohio State and Penn State and at least 19 other programs shows that his 247Sports high three-star (0.89) rating may be one star lighter than the way Gray is regarded by college coaches.
Gonzaga Prep Product Carter Nilson Follows in Father's Footsteps, Commits to Bulldogs
The 1999-00 season was Mark Few’s first as head coach of the Gonzaga Bulldogs. His senior class that season included 6-5 guard Mike Nilson, who won WCC Defensive Player of the Year and fueled the Zags to an Elite Eight finish in his fourth and final year with the program.
26 years later, Mike’s son, Carter Nilson, will also play under Few, as the Gonzaga prep graduate reportedly committed to GU, planning to play collegiate basketball in Spokane. It will be the first time that a father-son duo both play under Few in his tenure at the helm, besting John and David Stockton, with the former finishing his Zag tenure in 1984.
Carter’s role will be similar to a walk-on, but with the new language from the settlement in House v. NCAA, he will be on scholarship like every other men’s basketball student-athlete in the country. Currently, he slots in as the 11th player on Gonzaga’s roster, joining three other committed freshmen who are helping fill out the Zags’ bench. Carter is set to be the first Bullpup to transition to a Bulldog since Anton Watson in 2019.
Washington State Secures Commitments from Colton Richter, Jettson Gilliam for 2027 Class
Kirby Moore and the Washington State Cougars continue to build for the future of their football program on the recruiting trail, adding talent from across the West with the commitments of Colton Richter and Jettson Gillam.
Richter, an EDGE defender from Shadow Ridge High School in Nevada, chose Washington State over Boise State, Fresno State, and UNLV, among others. He is rated as a three-star recruit according to 247Sports. Standing at 6-3 and 235 pounds, Richter brings impressive size and versatility, offering the ability to not only drop into coverage but also rush the passer effectively.
For the Cougars, Richter's commitment represents more than just adding another talented player. It is another example of the program successfully reaching outside the state of Washington and landing a prospect from a state that sits in the heart of the recruiting pipeline for several conference rivals. As the coaching staff continues to reshape the roster, it will be interesting to see where the Cougars continue to target players and how they build the roster moving forward.
Seawolves Secure Home Playoff Spot, Resoundingly Best Legion 33-19
TUKWILA, Wash. - In the end, the 10-game MLR season was just long enough for the Seawolves to get into second place in the league and secure a home playoff spot. It will be déjà vu for both teams who played on Sunday night, as they will face off in the same venue and see who will go up against either the Chicago Hounds or Old Glory DC (but probably the Hounds).
Going into the match, the Seawolves trailed the Legion by three points in the standings, needing to either tie the team in the standings (and win the tiebreaker through having more wins) or move ahead of their West Coast rival.
No tiebreakers were needed. Despite a few vigorous bursts of energy from the visiting Legion, Seattle took advantage of plenty of mistakes from their opponent and showed some of the best defending they had all season, and when time ran out for the visitors, the Seawolves’ 33-19 victory was more than enough to leapfrog the Legion and secure hosting rights for next week’s semifinal.
Storm Waive Lexie Brown Ahead of Bout vs. Aces
The Seattle Storm have waived guard Lexie Brown, the team announced on Monday.
Brown appeared in 10 of the Storm’s 12 games this season, but she missed the last two games after reportedly being “not with the team.” She averaged 3.8 points (46.2% FG), 1.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.5 steals in 14.8 minutes per game.
Following a 17-point outing in the Storm’s second game of the season, Brown’s minutes had steadily decreased. Her next-highest scoring game was just seven points against the Washington Mystics on May 24.
Brown was originally acquired by the Storm in an offseason trade that included draft compensation before the 2025 season. The former 2018 No. 9 overall pick was in an even smaller role last season, averaging just 9.5 minutes per game and 2.1 points, 0.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.4 steals.
Hand Injury Sidelines Crawford as Mariners Drop Detroit Opener
The ultimate meaning of Friday’s game in the Motor City will depend quite a bit on the health of J.P. Crawford: if he is out for a significant stretch of time (or if his abilities get all out of goose should he try to play through something serious), then an errant - it may have been Framber Valdez, but it certainly seemed to have been an accident in this case - full count sinker may end up being more pivotal than an otherwise unremarkable 7-3 loss would indicate. Should the Mariners recover to put some more wins back together and Crawford recover back to the way he had been playing, then the game might truly become a footnote.
Of course, if a veritable skid begins for the Mariners, with or without Crawford, then the momentum of Friday’s action may end up important for much larger reasons.
The M’s went back to familiar ways with runners in scoring position, with runs drying up in Detroit.
Friday was Valdez’ 20th career appearance and 18th start against the Seattle Mariners, during which he had gone 7-4 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.320 WHIP. The M’s, of course, were codivisional with Valdez during his eight years with the Astros, but the team he faced on Friday was one that had spent most of the year flailing against lefties.
Huskies Add Another Blue Chip Receiver Commit to Class of 2027
Washington Huskies receivers coach Kevin Cummings strikes again.
The UW caught its second blue chip receiver this week with the commitment of Dontay Tyson, a 6-3 four-star Class of 2027 recruit out Peoria (Ariz.) High School. Tyson is the second four-star receiver to commit to Cummings and head coach Jedd Fisch this week, joining Tre Moore, a 6-4 pass catcher out of Pluegerville, Texas, who made his choice on June 2.
It’s two additional big wins for Cummings, who already reeled in four-star Braylon Pope (Sumner, Wash.) and three-star Zerek Sidney (Desert Edge H.S., Goodyear, Ariz.) during the winter.
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