WATCH: Sounders Settle for Scoreless Draw with Red Bulls, Pick Up First Clean Sheet Since April
Emerald City Spectrum reporter Qasim Ali breaks down a 0-0 draw between the 7-9-6 Seattle Sounders (13th in Western Conference) and Red Bull New York (7-10-6) on Saturday night.
The Sounders won the expected-goals battle 2.1-1.0 and took 20 shots, but six key saves from RBNY keeper Ethan Horvath and close-range misses by Paul Rothrock and Sebastian Gomez kept the Rave Green scoreless. Defender Kalani Kossa-Rienzi was the latest in a constant stream of Sounders players to get injured, as the wingback sprained his right ankle in the first half and was confirmed to be in a boot postgame. On a positive note, the Sounders tabbed their first clean sheet since April, as keeper Andrew Thomas had four saves while Cristian Roldan, Alex Roldan and others played sound defensive games.
The Sounders will take on the team one spot ahead of them in the LA Galaxy next week, with 12 games left before the MLS Cup Playoffs.
‘Thrilled to Be Back’: Kraken Re-sign Jacob Melanson to Three-Year Deal
Locking up one of their young players for the foreseeable future, the Seattle Kraken re-signed winger Jacob Melanson to three-year, $4.35 million contract on Friday. The deal carries a $1.45 AAV and the 23-year-old will remain a restricted free agent when it expires.
The 6-1 Melanson played 36 games with the Kraken last season, scoring two goals and five points. He had nine goals and 19 points in 28 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, adding a goal and five points in 11 AHL playoff games for the team. That was a big step up from 2024-25, where Melanson tallied eight goals and 13 points in 42 games with Coachella Valley.
Such improvements provided more than enough reason for the Kraken to extend Melanson, a player who they believe could have more room to grow in coming years.
“We’re excited to re-sign Jacob,” general manager Jason Botterill said in the team’s press release. “He brought a lot of physicality and energy to our group last season, and we’re looking forward to seeing more from him these next few years.”
Mariners Playoff Hopes All But Finished After Dropping First Two to A’s
Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
Friday saw the Mariners place one more stone on their own immurement, falling to 66-76 and seven games back of the division. In truth, they had long sealed themselves off from any reasonable chance of wriggling themselves out of their predicament, but they had still been in the twilight of the possible as they returned home from a series win against the Red Sox and began their first of four games against the Athletics.
Losing the first two games of that series should put any remaining embers of hope to bed. The long odds of late August have become near-impossible ones with only a few days gone in September, as the team must make up a seven-game deficit with 20 contests left to go.
The word Mariners manager Dan Wilson used after Friday’s 7-6 defeat wasn’t “tough”; it was “difficult” as he began his immediate recap postgame and “frustrating” as he concluded it. But the sentiment was identical, seemingly homologous to the great gray mass of clouds over T-Mobile Park as summer turns to autumn. Such has been the season in 2026.
Not to mention the fact that Lazaro Montes left the game early.
Logan Gilbert gave up five runs on four homers in the third as his heaters went south.
BREAKING: Shane Wright ‘Fully Committed’ to the Kraken, Per Agent
Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright was reportedly set to be traded this offseason. Contrary to that reporting, Wright’s agent Kurt Overhardt tells the Emerald City Spectrum that the young center is “fully committed” to Seattle as of now.
“There is nothing we can discuss right now, we will see how things develop over the next few weeks,” Overhardt shared in a statement. “Until that time, Shane is fully committed to the Kraken and that is all he is focused on now.”
In July, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that Wright’s camp was working with general manger Jason Botterill on a trade. Other executives who’ve spoken to Seattle said there’s obviously an agreement between team and agent to work together, but the Kraken made it extremely clear they expect a fair price and won’t be pressured into anything they don’t want to do.
Overhardt agreed with that reporting, telling the insider, “I can confirm that we have had positive conversations with GM Jason Botterill, and he has agreed to move Shane this summer to a team in need of a top young center.”
Sale Finalized: Introducing the Khoslas, Seahawks New Ownership Group
Ushering in a new era for the franchise, one week after unanimous approval by NFL owners to take the torch from the Allen estate, the Seattle Seahawks announced on Thursday that the sale to the Khosla family has been finalized, making them controlling owners of the team.
With the sale now executed, Vinod Kholsa - founder of Khosla Ventures - will take over as Seattle’s new Chair, while his wife Neeru Khosla will be Controlling Owner and President of the Seahawks Charitable Foundation and son Neal Khosla will serve as Vice Chair.
"We are honored and excited to begin this next chapter,” Vinod Khosla said through a statement on the team’s website. “The Seahawks are known for their championship culture, winning football, and a deep connection to the 12s and the Pacific Northwest. We look forward to engaging with the Seattle community and building upon the legacy and traditions that make this franchise so special. We would like to extend our gratitude to the investors joining our ownership group and to everyone who has supported us throughout the sale process."
Gonzaga Adds Seattle U Assistant Bryce Douglas to Coaching Staff
In an offseason full of unexpected departures in Spokane, the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ coaching staff became down a man late in the summer.
Jorge Sanz, who had been on the Zags’ coaching staff for the last eight seasons, took a position at UNC under first-year head coach Michael Malone. As GU’s former director of basketball operations, Sanz leaving for North Carolina is about as tough a loss for the program off the court.
Although the ‘DOBO’ role is still vacant for Gonzaga, it recently restocked to five assistant coaches under Mark Few. The Bulldogs added Bryce Douglas to its sideline staff, who most recently spent three seasons at Seattle University.
While Sanz specialized in building GU’s nonconference schedule and recruiting, particularly internationally, Douglas’ background is rooted in analytics. He has 15 years of combined experience at the professional and collegiate levels, while also dabbling in the international circuit.
Joining a staff that includes Brian Michaelson, R-Jay Barsh, Stephen Gentry, and Zach Norvell Jr., Douglas brings a different approach to analytics than what was previously in the building, filling a hole already in the coaching room rather than directly replacing Sanz. And with the inevitable retirement of Few on the horizon, Douglas was a hire likely co-signed by Michaelson, Gonzaga’s head coach-in-waiting.
Sounders Trade for DC United MF Caden Clark, Loan Osaze De Rosario to Denmark
The Seattle Sounders made one more move to close out the summer 2026 transfer window as it expired Wednesday afternoon, trading for 23-year-old DC United midfielder Caden Clark, as first reported by Niko Moreno of Sounder at Heart. The Sounders ship out a 2028 Superdraft second-rounder and pick up a contract for Clark with wages of over $400,000 this season and a club option for the 2027 sprint season and ensuing 2027-28 season.
Clark, who spent a season in the German Bundesliga three years ago, has played just seven games for United and has floated all over MLS since he started his pro career at 16 years old. He played a central attacking midfielder position primarily for DC last season, but should figure into the winger conversation in Seattle.
That’s because GM Craig Waibel and head coach Brian Schmetzer had hinted at the team having more moves in the pipeline after last week's big-name addition of striker Dejan Joveljić from Sporting Kansas City. Waibel had said the team was looking for "speed in the channels" in particular, and reporting from Moreno confirmed the Sounders had a bigger name winger than Clark in mind, but the deal didn’t come to fruition.
Clark had eight goal contributions in just 12 games with the NY Red Bulls II of the USL Championship in 2020 before playing for the first team in MLS for over two seasons, notching 11 goal contributions in 47 games. His performance as teenager earned him a seven-digit transfer to RB Leipzig, but he never saw Bundesliga minutes in the 2022-23 season.
Clark, who spent a season in the German Bundesliga but didn’t play a game three years ago, has played just seven games for United this year and has floated all over MLS since he started his pro career at 16 years old. He largely played in the central attacking midfield for DC United last season, but will likely figure into the wings for Seattle.
That’s because GM Craig Waibel and head coach Brian Schmetzer had hinted at the team having more moves in the pipeline after last week's big-name addition of striker Dejan Joveljić from Sporting Kansas City. In particular, Waibel had said the team was looking for "speed in the channels," and reporting from Moreno confirmed the Sounders had a bigger-name winger than Clark in mind but couldn’t get that deal done.
FIBA Women’s World Cup: How, When to Watch All Storm Players Competing
The Seattle Storm have four players competing in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup that begins on Friday, Sept. 4, in Berlin.
Dominique Malonga (France), Awa Fam (Spain), Ezi Magbegor (Australia) and Jade Melbourne (Australia) will all be playing for their home countries in the nine-day, 16-team tournament, which has all WNBA teams taking a short break from the season near its end.
Fam was the only Storm player who had her contract temporarily suspended by the franchise, as she reported to the Spain national team early. That forced her to miss Seattle’s final game before the FIBA break on Sunday, Aug. 30 — a 90-74 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Malonga, Magbegor and Melbourne all played right up to the break.
The World Cup has four groups, each with four teams. Each team will play three games in the group phase, one each against the other teams in their group.
Mariners Officially Call Lazaro Montes to Show; Timely or Too Early?
With MLB roster expansion in September, the Mariners brought on two players to turn the 26-man roster into the 28-man roster for the final month. One was lefty Hoby Milner, who the Mariners picked on a minor league deal Monday after the Cubs released him, and the other was the team’s third-best prospect according to Baseball America.
There is no denying Lazaro Montes’ ceiling as one of the most powerful bats anywhere in baseball. On Aug. 22 in a game against the Sacramento River Cats, Montes cracked a single that left the bat at 116.3 miles an hour. Just 11 players have done that in the majors this year, and that list is something of a who’s who of the hardest sluggers in the game: the worst hitter of that bunch this year is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose bizarre inability to hit the ball over the fence despite his eminent skill has led to a .679 OPS; he’s also the only one of those 11 hitters to sport a slugging percentage less than .400 this year.
That set of players has a fair bit more variation in their on-base percentages, however. Coby Mayo’s .284 means that his extra-base hits only improve him to something of a league average hitter on the whole, whereas Yordan Alvarez’ ridiculous .433 OBP highlights a hitting line that would fit in with Barry Bonds’ prime. At the top level, the difference is made by walks; Mayo walks just 7.1% of the time whereas Alvarez walks 15.8% of the time. Underlying this, however, are the items of plate discipline and contact rate; plate discipline to turn pitches outside of the zone into balls and walks and contact rate to force pitchers to avoid Broadway.
Here is where the question lies for Montes.
“Every season, you’re learning more,” the 21-year-old said a couple weeks after his call-up to Triple-A. “Every year, you’re learning more things that help you be more consistent. Not being perfect, because only God is perfect, but yeah, finding yourself, figuring yourself out more, and achieving that consistency you want.”
Noah Igbinoghene Among Several Ex-Seahawks to Land With New Teams
While the NFL institutes a hard deadline for teams to get their rosters down to 53 players after the conclusion of the preseason, the churning of rosters across the league continues for several days leading up to Week 1.
For Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider, making as many transactions as possible post-cutdown day has been a source of pride for the organization, as he believes it to be an integral part of building the best roster and practice squad possible. As rules have changed, so has the strategy for the reigning Executive of the Year, including leaning in on the ability to place as many as six vested veterans with four or more years of experience on the practice squad, allowing the team to protect more of their talented young players from the waiver wire as a result.
On that front, the Seahawks terminated the contracts of eight veterans as part of Sunday’s roster bludgeoning, including cornerback Trevon Diggs, safety D’Anthony Bell, and running back Velus Jones Jr., hoping to retain as many of those players who weren’t exposed to waivers as possible either on the practice squad or re-signing to the active roster.
“Having the six veterans on the practice squad has enabled us to not expose certain players to the waiver wire. And yeah, it's a strategy for the initial 53 cut,” Schneider explained after Sunday’s initial cuts. “And then as well as what we're going to look like in the middle of October and then trying to be as strong as we possibly can and as deep as we possibly can with a combination of older and younger players down the stretch, end of November, December, January, hopefully February.”
Seahawks Sign Trevon Diggs, 16 Others to Practice Squad
Nearly 24 hours after tabbing their initial 53-man roster for the upcoming start of the regular season, the Seattle Seahawks brought back several familiar faces as part of a 17-player practice squad on Monday, including veteran cornerback Trevon Diggs and four of their 2026 draft picks.
Diggs, a former First-Team All-Pro who signed with Seattle in mid-August, made his team debut in the preseason finale at Kansas City on August 28 and recorded an interception on the second drive of the game. But with only a handful of practices under his belt, the Seahawks terminated his contract as a vested veteran as part of cutdown day moves, with general manager John Schneider indicating that the organization had a plan in place to continue getting the former Alabama star fully up to speed and expected him to return in quick order as a member of the practice squad.
“He came in a little bit late and he's kind of just getting going,” Schneider said of Diggs on Sunday at the VMAC. “He's just kind of just getting ramped up, as you saw the other night, just getting his legs under him. But he feels he's confident and we're excited to get him going and see how far he can take this thing. He's really bought into like the culture and the guys and the staff and Karl [Scott] and Neiko [Thorpe] and those guys. So it's been pretty cool to see.”
Analysis: Breaking Down Seahawks’ Reported Roster Cuts, Cutdown Day Moves
Moving one step closer to their season opener against the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks will trim their roster down to the NFL-mandated 53 players by 3 PM PT on Sunday.
Needing to move 37 players off of the roster, most of these moves will come through cuts and terminated contracts for vested veterans with at least four years of accrued NFL service time, but Seahawks general manager John Schneider has a history of swinging trades leading up to the cutdown deadline. Seattle also could place up to two players on injured reserve without them counting against the 53-man limit who would be eligible to return after missing a minimum of four games, creating another mechanism to utilize as a means for retaining players.
As the Seahawks execute tough decisions on who to keep and who to let go as they build their initial 53-man roster, I will be breaking down every reported move leading up to Sunday’s deadline.
Following Xaivian Lee News, Skylar Wicks Decommits From Gonzaga
For about 20 hours, the Gonzaga Bulldogs had all 15 roster spots filled for the 2026-27 season after receiving a commitment from Xaivian Lee. But the Zags have to secure at least one more player before their regular-season opener against Purdue on Nov. 2.
Skylar Wicks, who committed to GU in June, is decommitting from the program and reopening his recruitment, per 247Sports’ Dushawn London. The 26-year-old spent last season at Saint Francis and was slated to make Spokane his sixth different stop in the last seven years. However, Lee joining the Bulldogs’ backcourt would’ve directly impacted his minutes, and the 6-6 guard has apparently decided to play his last collegiate season elsewhere.
This isn’t a total surprise, and during one of the most chaotic offseasons in program history, Gonzaga is familiar with needing to act accordingly in addressing its personnel.
Joveljić Picks Up Brace in Debut, Sounders Manage Thrilling Draw With Solid Chicago
It was the kind of debut every Seattle Sounders fan dreamed of for their new striker, Dejan Joveljić.
Facing a Chicago Fire squad that signed European legend Robert Lewandowski recently, Joveljić scored a brace in a 90-minute game to combat two Chicago goals and secure a 2-2 draw. For a Sounders team that is just two games removed from an eight-game MLS losing streak, the 7-9-5 squad splitting points with an 11-4-6 and in-form Chicago squad was a solid result. For one, Joveljić’s big game marked Seattle’s first time scoring two goals in a game since May 13.
Still, a missed late chance from Albert Rusnák that would've put Seattle on top 3-1 was one of a few moments that left Seattle skipper Brian Schmetzer wanting more out of the performance.
"This draw feels like a loss. Because of the way we played, the potential that was there… we need to obviously close that game out," Schmetzer said. "It hurts, but that locker room feels like they have something."
The locker room certainly has a striker it can count on.
Joveljić scored in close in the 12th minute before giving Seattle the lead back on a showstopping shot to the top-left corner in the 48th. It was, almost without a doubt, the best strike by a Sounder all season.
Hancock, Mariners Get Sunk by Flock of Blue Jays Big Flies, Own Rudderless Offense
If the Mariners drive this busted up tractor all the way to the postseason, Fernando Alonso himself should bestow their accolade.
Before the All-Star Break, the Mariners could have perhaps been considered a slightly above mediocre team that was underperforming to the level of a slightly below mediocre team. They had scored 392 runs and allowed 376 runs, not to the level of their supposed World Series contention but better than what has since followed.
With the conclusion of Seattle’s 8-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, the M’s have now been outscored 215-135; with the second fewest runs in the majors ahead of only the Angels and the third most runs allowed behind only the A’s and Rockies. Their -80 run differential since the All-Star break is up there with said Athletics among the worst in the game, and if their .299 Pythagorean winning percentage would be a 48-114 record if it were applied evenly to a full season.
Their actual 16-22 second half record (instead of their Pythagorean 11-27) would be a 68-94 season extrapolated out. Not that such a performance is anywhere close to what they needed, but ever so barely, their overperformance - it could be euphemized to optimal run distribution - has kept them in the hunt for an AL West title. Even at a queasy 64-71, they are four games back of the Astros in the AL West.
If their play against their onetime ALCS rival is any indication, that last lick of resurgent energy could be all but spent. They are long since out of games to punt away, with a butcher’s bill dozens of contests long that shows no signs of letting up before the M’s can have a snowball’s chance of paying it off.
Incredibly, those metaphors were far less tortured than the team’s efforts on Friday night.
Emerson Hancock gave up two homers and five runs as his sweeper took a dip, with an injury scare to boot.
WATCH: Gonzaga Lands Xaivian Lee, Gets Starting Point Guard in Transfer Portal
Getting a definitive answer at point guard, the Gonzaga Bulldogs received a commitment from fifth-year transfer Xaivian Lee this week. Emerald City Spectrum reporter Howard Woodard discusses how Lee's arrival in Spokane impacts the Zags for the 2026-27 season.
2026 MLR Draft: Seawolves Take Scrumhalf, Winger, Lock in Five-Team Affair
Unlike the chaotic mess of the 2025 off-season, when the league lost team after team unexpectedly, the one departure for the league this year - Anthem Rugby Carolina - was rather more expected. The side had been a three-year investment between World Rugby, the USA Eagles, and MLR, and once its third year ran out, the team simply wasn’t continued. It’s unclear if there are going to be five teams in 2027 or a much less awkward six (there are reportedly interested parties, but no concrete timetable I am aware of), but given that the US is hosting the Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2033, the league is likely to continue on in some form until at least the former date.
The Seattle Seawolves will be competing next year, however that is structured, and so will the New England Free Jacks, Chicago Hounds, California Legion, and Old Glory DC. All five of these teams drafted outgoing college players in the 2026 MLR draft on Thursday, with a draft order based first on how deep the team made it in the 2026 playoffs (teams that bounced in the semifinals drafting before teams that made the MLR final) and secondly based on 2026 regular season record.
Because Anthem, who finished last, was out - and because New England had forfeited their first round pick of 2026 to Anthem in Oct. 2025 - the Seawolves drafted second in the first round behind only Old Glory. Seattle drafted third in the other two rounds, giving them slate consisting of the no. 2, no. 7, and no. 12 overall picks.
Pick 1.2: Solomon Williams - Scrumhalf - University of California, Berkeley - 5-8, 180 pounds.
The Seawolves are no strangers to recent draftees from the Golden Bears, with their 2025 second round pick going to tighthead prop Charlie Walsh from that university.
Solomon Williams, who some projected to go first overall but who fell to second as the Flags drafted flanker Logan Ballinger, has quite the pedrigree of stellar play in college. He is incredibly fond of taps and fast, heads-up play while also having accuracy with his boot and with his passes and possessing a level of explosiveness that can stun unsuspecting opponents. When it comes to his underlying physical abilities, he is incredibly quick: this means fast breaks through lines in the center of the pitch, evading would-be tacklers, and split-second offloads and chips to his teammates.
Seahawks Continue Locking Up Cornerstones, Extend Leonard Williams on Three-Year, $90 Million Deal
For the second time in as many weeks, the Seattle Seahawks have opened up the checkbook to secure one of their biggest stars on a lucrative long-term extension, this time shifting their focus back to the trenches on defense.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, after handing cornerback Devon Witherspoon a record-setting extension on August 17, the Seahawks have agreed to terms with All-Pro defensive tackle Leonard Williams on a three-year, $90 million contract. The deal reportedly features $56 million in guarantees and includes $30 million per year in new money, tying him with Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea for the fifth-most in the league in APY at the position.
In late July, Williams indicated that the Seahawks had opened up talks with his representatives, but he wasn’t putting too much thought into the situation at the time with his attention on getting ready for the upcoming season regardless of his contract situation.
“There's been few conversations, but nothing set in stone,” Williams told reporters. “We're all focused on the season starting right now, and we know that that's towards the end of the season. We have time to figure that out when the time comes.”
Xaivian Lee Commits to Gonzaga, Projects to Be Starting Point Guard
At long last, with just over two months until their first regular season game, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have received a full roster’s worth of commitments for the 2026-27 season.
On Wednesday night, Florida transfer Xaivian Lee announced his commitment to the Zags and is slated to be the team’s starting point guard for his fifth collegiate season. The 6-3 Canadian is currently eligible after joining a California lawsuit – which also included another GU point guard target, Donovan Dent – and being granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA.
Like another fifth-year Bulldogs backcourt commit, Javon Bennett, Lee could become ineligible for a period if the NCAA stays the California case. But for now, he is headed to Spokane.
Highlighting Cougars Noteworthy Returners for 2026 Football Season
With plenty being said about who stayed and who left during the Washington State Cougars’ busy offseason, Emerald City Spectrum is highlighting players who followed Jimmy Rogers to Pullman and decided to stay with the program to play for Kirby Moore in the 2026 season.
When Rogers left South Dakota State to take over at Washington State, several former Jackrabbits followed him to the Palouse. After Rogers left Washington State for Iowa State following just one season, those players were faced with another decision about their futures.
Instead of entering the transfer portal again, many of those players chose to remain with the Cougars and become part of Moore’s first roster in Pullman.
Here are the former South Dakota State players who followed Rogers to Washington State and remain on the Cougs’ roster, along with another Rogers-era transfer who decided to stay heading into 2026:
Kirby Vorhees
Running back Kirby Vorhees followed Rogers from South Dakota State to Washington State and quickly became one of the Cougars’ most productive offensive players out of the backfield last season.
In his first season in Pullman, Vorhees finished the 2025 season with 576 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 138 carries. He also contributed in the passing game with 19 receptions for 125 yards, finishing with more than 700 total yards from scrimmage.
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