Seattle Sports Now 2/3/2025

Welcome to the new and improved Seattle SPORTs Now. While there are several sites that provide game stories this is something new and different- a weekly newsletter that will focus on Seattle sports and whatever catches the attention of your author. Hope you enjoy it.

Sam Darnold and the Super Bowl

The year 2025 was a good year for Seattle sports fans. One month into 2026, it appears this could be an even better year.

The Seattle Mariners dominated headlines in 2025, winning the American League Western Division and then advancing to the AL championship series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The M’s looked like they were headed to their first-ever World Series until they weren’t.

Currently, the Seattle Seahawks are preparing for their first Super Bowl appearance since 2015. As anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows, the Seahawks are facing the same team they faced in 2015- the New England Patriots (and congrats if these were your picks to make the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season).

Seattle’s currently 1-2 in Super Bowl competition, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their SB debut and beating the Denver Broncos, the year before they faced New England. The Seahawks loom as 4 ½ point favorites heading into Sunday’s game.

The Seahawks (16-3) being installed as favorites makes sense as they competed in the NFC Western Division, the best conference in football, and defeated the division’s two other elite teams- the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams- to advance to this Sunday’s 60^th ever Super Bowl in Santa Clara. Seattle was also the number-one seed in the NFC, arguably the tougher conference this season.

The Patriots (17-3) were the number-two seed in the AFC and earned the nickname `The Schedule.’ After a 4-13 record last season, the Patriots were awarded the easiest schedule in the league and some of the teams they faced- think Miami Dolphins and even the Buffalo Bills-weren’t as tough as expected.

While the smart money might be on the Seahawks, there are still a few in the national media expecting Seahawk quarterback Sam Darnold to mess his drawers in a big game. That was certainly under debate as the Seahawks headed into their Jan. 25 NFC championship game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Darnold – temporarily at least- silenced his critics in a 31-27 victory that saw him complete 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards, three touchdowns, and perhaps most importantly, no interceptions. In a mid-season tilt against the Rams, Darnold threw four interceptions.

Heading into the playoffs, one national sports talk show brought up the subject, how would you rate the eight starting quarterbacks who made the post-season? Both hosts picked Darnold (along with Denver’s Bo Nix) as the two worst QB’s

Certainly, one of Darnold’s goals this Sunday will be to prove once and for all that he’s an elite NFL quarterback and not the QB who struggled in his early career with the New York Jets. But really, aren’t all quarterbacks better once they leave New York.

My Super Bowl prediction: Seattle 24, New England 13

The opposition

A group called Boston Sports Fans of Seattle has opted to generally stay off social media to avoid the `hate’ of Seahawk fans. A popular meme on Facebook last week claimed that Patriot owner Robert Kraft donated a million dollars to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign while Seahawks’ owner Jody Allen has just given money to charitable causes.

Kraft, not surprisingly, has donated to many charitable causes. His late wife Myrna was particularly active in supporting battered women programs. Kraft, who’s now viewed as one of the NFL’s more powerful owners, IS a bit of a politician himself. When first asked about his support of Trump, Kraft always said he was a friend of Ted Kennedy as well.

Famous sports fans

While pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training soon, Cal Raleigh (MVP in the hearts of Seattle fans) has carved a niche as one of Seattle’s leading sports fans. Raleigh has often been seen at Seattle Seahawks and Kraken games this winter.

The Seattle Times reported that Raleigh, Josh Naylor and some other Mariners are headed down to Santa Clara for the big game. Naylor, born just outside of Toronto, attended at least one Kraken game this season. The Seattle first baseman was sitting in the front row when a skirmish broke out nearby on the ice.

Naylor enthusiastically applauded the tussle between the Kraken and their opponent, but how cool would it have been if Naylor had scaled the boards and joined the fray. No doubt, the Mariner front office wouldn’t have been very pleased.

Rick Rizzs- Hall of Famer?

Longtime Mariner broadcaster Rick Rizzs announced last week that 2026 would be his last season with the ballclub. Rizzs, who joined the Mariners in 1984 (he left for three seasons to broadcast Detroit Tiger games) has actually broadcast more games now than Mariner legend Dave Niehaus. Since the Mariners began in 1977, there’s never been a season where neither Niehaus or Rizzs were one of the team’s broadcasters.

Rizzs, 73, has broadcast the Mariners for 41 years and seems to be well-liked by just about everybody. It would be a good move for the Mariners to induct Rizzs into the team’s Hall of Fame this season where he’d join his old partner, Dave Niehaus.