Seattle SPORTs Now

  Many younger Seattle Mariner fans don’t remember the legendary TV spy of the 1960’s, Maxwell Smart, who had a boatload of catch phrases including, ``missed it by that much.’’ That phrase comes to mind when thinking about the 2025 Seattle Mariners. Jim Bowden of The Atlantic and the mlb.network ranked the M’s as the seventh-best team in the American League. Unfortunately, only six teams make the playoffs. It’s always fun to read some of the pre-season baseball predictions in various media outlets, mainly because they’re so wrong at the end of the season. Sports Illustrated picks the Mariners second in the AL West, but since they pick three teams from the AL East and two from the AL Central to make the playoffs, they have Seattle going home in October. Athlon Sports picks the M’s third; not in the playoffs. Fortunately, for the self-esteem of local fans, Lindy’s Baseball Preview picks Seattle to win the division (and they claim to be the baseball preview for smart fans)...

The Seattle Kraken had the opportunity to play the spoiler against a Calgary Flames’ team that’s desperately battling for a playoff berth last night at the Saddledome. They weren’t quite successful, but the Kraken did pick up a standings’ point in a hectic, 4-3 overtime loss. While the Kraken are playing for pride and individual honors, the Flames needed a victory last night to keep pace with the St. Louis Blues, who defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 6-1. The Flames (34-25-11) still trail the Blues (38-28-7) by four points for the final Western Conference playoff berth. The Flames recorded the game winner at 2:52 of overtime. Calgary showed why the 3-on-3 overtime format generates more offense. Vince Dunn took a pass from Jordan Eberle but his shot was kicked out by Duston Wolf, the California native who’s a leading candidate for NHL Rookie-of-the Year. The puck came out to Calgary’s Matt Coronoto who sent Nazim Kadri ahead on a breakaway with no Kraken in sight. Kadri beat Joey D...

The Seattle Mariners come off a season where they boasted the lowest earned run average in major league baseball- 3.49. They also had the best ERA for a starting rotation (3.38), and their rotation led major league baseball in ten different categories . However, the Mariners have just missed the playoffs the past two seasons after advancing to the second round in the AL playoffs two years ago. Plus, there have been questions about whether the Fab Five of Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo (and a nod to Emerson Hancock, who also started ten games), benefit from what has become an extreme pitcher friendly park. According to the Codify Baseball web site, Seattle and visiting team pitchers combined to give T-Mobile Park (sure some still call it Safeco Field) the best combined earned run average of any major league ballpark. Two questions arise – are Mariner hitters as bad as their pitchers are good or is T-Mobile a lousy park for hitters that mak...

  Heading into last night’s game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Seattle Kraken, both Oiler superstars- Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were kept out of the game due to injuries. It was the first time in their respective careers that McDavid and Draisaitl were sidelined by injuries in the same game. Conversely, the Kraken’s Chandler Stephenson- the teams leading scorer who didn’t play the third period of Seattle’s last game in Minnesota, was also out of the lineup with an injury. While nobody would put Stephenson in the class of a McDavid or Draisaitl, Kraken fans hoped that a more balanced scoring attack might lead them to victory. However, the Oilers have more to offer than the McDavid-Draisaitl combo. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a three-goal hat trick to lead Edmonton to a 5-4 victory last night at Rogers Place. Mattias Eklund had two assists and Jeff Skinner, a recent trade acquisition had the second period goal that put the Oilers ahead for good. Zach Hyman, who a...

  No one would blame the Seattle Kraken if before next season’s schedule is released, the team lobbies for no more back-to-back games. Last night, marked the tenth time this season that the Kraken played for a [i] second consecutive night. And the result in those games is an 0-10 record. Facing an injury-plagued Minnesota Wild team, the Kraken surrendered three goals in 42 seconds en route to a   4-0 loss. And after 4:29 of the first period, the Kraken were already down 3-0. The Wild were missing five regulars including their best player- Kirill Kaprizov- who was having an MVP-like season- and his partner on the first line, Joel Eriksson-Ek. (Kaprizov’s still the Wild’s leading scorer even though he hasn’t played since December). It was a far cry from the previous night’s 6-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. But for whatever reason, the Kraken weren’t ready to play this one. After a couple of early Seattle shots, the Wild upped the pressure in their offensive zo...

Lifetime Seattle Mariner fans have never really met Ken Griffey or Ichiro or Julio Rodriguez. Except maybe a glimpse or a word with them at a public event. Fans don't really know what their favorite players are REALLY like as people. But many baseball fans develop an attachment to the broadcasters who call the action of their favorite team. Many fans might not even recognize Ken Griffey Jr.'s voice, but generations of M's followers instantly recognized the voice of longtime Mariner voice Dave Niehaus. When Niehaus, who broadcast the first-ever Mariners' game in 1977, died of a heart attack in 2010, for many fans it was like a loss in the family. Some of them listened to Niehaus' mellifluous tones more than they talked to some of their relatives. Particularly shut-ins and older fans who'd watch on TV and more often listen to the games on the radio. A link to the outside world. The day after his passing, fans placed flowers and other mementos at the front gate of ...

  The Winnipeg Jets, owners of the best regular season record in the National Hockey League, entered Climate Pledge Arena last night for the second time this season The Seattle Kraken played the Jets (47-17-4 overall) even through 60 minutes, but for the second time this season, Winnipeg posted an overtime victory. Dylan Samberg scored the game winner off a crossing pass from Cole Perfetti to give the Jets a 4-3 victory. The Kraken now 29-34-5 on the season, had a 2-0 lead in the first period. ``It was a good start from our group. Each and every one of our games (with Winnipeg) has been a close game,’’ said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma. ``(The loss) was disappointing. The way our guys played and the way our guys fought.’’ The first period was an eventful one in a game that marked the return of Brandon Tanev in a Jets’ uniform, an original Kraken and one of the most popular players in the teams’ brief history. Tanev, always a sparkplug delivered a heavy hit on Seattle’s Shane W...

  When goaltender Philipp Grubauer cleared waivers and was sent to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL, there were some Seattle Kraken fans who wondered whether this was the end of the player Kraken TV announcer John Forslund dubbed `the German gentleman.’ But last night at Climate Pledge Arena it was like old times as the Kraken faithful chanted, `Gruuuu’ after every Grubauer save, particularly in a hectic third period as the Kraken posted a 4-2 victory over the Utah Hockey Club. Grubauer stopped 22 of 24 shots faced to pick up his second straight win in as many appearances since his return to the NHL. Grubauer compiled a 5-2 record at CV, refocusing his game while most of the Kraken had time off during the 4Nations break. Grubi’s best save came in the third period when after an initial stop on Utah’s Michael Kesserling the netminder was bowled over by Michael Carcone. Lying down on the ice, was able to get a piece of Carcone’s shot as it was headed towards the net. ...

  Seattle Kraken fans got a taste of history last night at Climate Pledge Arena as Brandon Montour scored the fastest overtime goal in NHL history as the Kraken posted a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. And he wasn’t the games number-one star. Whoever selects the three stars at Climate Pledge proved to be a sentimental soul and the number-one star went to Jani Nyman (pronounced Numan, like the guy on Seinfeld) who scored the third Kraken goal in his first NHL game, Not that anyone seemed to mind. The 20-year-old Finland native didn’t look out of place playing on a line with veterans Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky. The leading rookie scorer in the AHL, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, also hit the post with a shot, had two hits and played on the power play. ``It was a special night,’’ said Nyman, whose parents were in attendance at the game. ``First goal First game. This is the best league in the world, so it’s a speed league, But I tried to...

Post NHL trade deadline, the Seattle Kraken split their weekend with a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday and a 4-2 loss at Washington, yesterday afternoon. However, the Kraken went down fighting, literally and figuratively, against the Capitals. Seattle showed a lot more energy in both contests than they did in a lackluster performance at Nashville on Thursday night. ``It was a contested game,’’ said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma after yesterday’s game. ``A good one for our group. Just disappointed we didn’t win in the end. There was a lot of good from our team.’’ Both captains were in the spotlight for their teams. Seattle’s Jordan Eberle, who missed four months of the season with a pelvic injury, scored his first goal since returning. He tied the game at 2-2 off a pass from Chandler Stephenson after a neutral zone turnover. ``Anytime the puck goes into the net it builds your confidence,’’ said Eberle. ``Other than that, you’re just trying to get your timing back.’’ Of cou...

For the Seattle Kraken – some new players, but a similar result. Newcomers Jacob Melanson and Mikey Eyssimont provided some energy and physicality to the Kraken lineup (and in the case of Eyssimont, a goal) but the Nashville Predators, with a big territorial advantage posted a 5-3 decision over the Kraken last night at Bridgestone Arena. Seattle made its biggest news the previous day when they traded original Kraken and fan favorite Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand – who scored the winning goal in Seattle’s game seven playoff win against Colorado in 2023- to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two first-round draft choices and Eysimmont. Brandon Tanev was also out of the lineup due to what’s called `asset management,’ meaning he was pulled because there was a chance he would be traded during the game. Gourde and Tanev were both in their final years of a contract and both would have become free agents at the conclusion of the season. Due to Tanev’s absence, Melanson, a fifth-round dr...

On a night when some members of the Seattle Kraken were likely playing their last home game at Climate Pledge Arena, a third period comeback fell short as the visiting Minnesota Wild held on for a 4-3 decision. With a Friday noon Pacific time deadline for National Hockey League trades, the Kraken have three players – forwards Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev and defenseman Josh Mahura – who are unrestricted free agents, meaning if they don’t re-sign (or get traded) before the end of the season, they’ll be free to sign with any team and Seattle would receive no compensation. It would be an upset if Seattle didn’t make any trades this week as the Kraken are perceived to be sellers, parting with veteran players to free up salary cap space. The Kraken brass is also happy with their young players currently competing for Coachella Valley in the AHL or in junior hockey. With last night’s loss, the Kraken drop to 26-32-4 on the season. Once again, the locals got off to a slow start, fallin...

  When hockey people talk about `getting inside’ they mean forwards getting behind the opposition defense and causing havoc for opposing goaltenders. It’s a strategy the Seattle Kraken haven’t been successful with since joining the National Hockey League three and a half years ago, but last night at Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle forwards tipped in three shots from the defense en route to a 6-3 victory over their geographic rivals the Vancouver Canucks. A total of 12 different Seattle players entered the scoring column (Shane Wright, Brandon Montour and Eeli Tolvanen had two points) as the Kraken responded from Tuesday night’s `clunker,’ against the St. Louis Blues a 7-2 Kraken loss. “How we got our goals is a good bounce-back message for the guys," said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma, "Getting to the net, net-front, going to the inside, fighting and battling.’’ Trailing 2-1 in the second period, the Kraken rattled off three tip-in goals by forwards off defensemen’s shots- Ol...