Forgotten. Absent. Inconsistently healthy. Weights of expectation.

These heroes offered glimpses and scenes of their greatness in 2025.

Paul Arriola, X Man

Paul Arriola gave us a glimpse of his former greatness before his injury. Once a DP, once the highest value transfer within MLS, once recruited to skip MLS entirely for what was at the time a much better league, Arriola’s all comps contributions per 90 would compare to wingback style players Jordi Alba and the now-gone Ali Ahmed.

Arriola slides right in that space, with his 0.57. Now, a discerning reader such as yourself will imagine small sample sizes and opponent quality. You would be correct. But Paul also put up similar numbers in MLS in 2018, 2021 and 2022. His time in MLS as a whole is .40/90 (in the realm of last season’s Christian Espinoza).

Defining Arriola’s role is always going to be hard. He’s played as many wide roles as exist in the modern game. With Seattle, he could be a left or right winger in a four-front if they choose to run a 3-2-4-1, or a wingback in a 3-4-2-1 or a conventional winger in a 4-2-3-1. No matter his role, he’s been strong. His calls to the US National Team ran every year from age 20-27, when he put up better numbers there than he did in league play. He’s now 30.

Pedro de la Vega, the injury saga

Sounders fans know how bright Pedro can burn. So do, Lanus fans, Argentina fans, Cruz Azul fans, Santos Laguna fans, Tijuana fans, Puebla, Galaxy, Inter Messi and a smattering of other MLS teams. The Leagues Cup player of the year and wonder goal nominee is absolutely thrilling, when available.

Lanus, Argentina and Seattle also know his history of injuries. Injuries are why he’s in Seattle.

PdlV only played 41% of available minutes in all competitions. A healthy winger of his quality should be around 66% or so. His absolutely stellar all comps performance of 0.72 is on par with Hany Mukhtar, at 20th in MLS play. Pedro is ahead of Diego Rossi, Djordje Mihailovic, and Dejan Joveljić.

When you think about how the Seattle Sounders will make up ground for the inevitable decline of Danny Musovski the names Arriola and de la Vega should be bandied about.

They weren’t merely better than the people who replaced them on the Sounders – they’re better than the majority of high-profile players in the league.

In 2025 Craig Waibel raised the floor and the peak. Injuries gave us only a few glimpses of that peak.

2026 is when the multi-competition heroic Sounders can once again show their prowess and why their presence as a top tier club is eternal.

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Catching up on Sounder at Heart

Here’s what you missed on the site this week.

Sounders

Next match: Sunday, February 22, 2026 v. the Colorado Rapids | 6 p.m. PT | Apple TV/FS1

Reign

Schedule to come next week.

Defiance

Schedule to come.

Looking back at the news

Everything else you need to know

1. Remembering ‘the Mia way.’ Family, teammates honor UW goalie Mia Hamant (KUOW)
2. Winner Takes Millions: The 2026 FIFA World Cup’s $727M Jackpot (Yahoo Sports)
3. US actions in Venezuela put the 2026 World Cup in disgraceful company (The Guardian)
4. Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay to take West Brom job (Twin Cities)
5. Meghann Burke on why the NWSLPA opposes the High Impact Player rule (Full times on Spotify)
6. KC Current hire ex-USMNT star Armas as coach (ESPN)
7. USWNT to face Argentina, Canada, Columbia in 2026 SheBelieves Cup (Stars & Stripes FC)
8. Suwon FC Women Re-Sign South Korea’s Top Female Footballer Ji So-yun (Chosun Daily)
9. Man admits racist abuse of footballer Jess Carter (BBC)
10. X Didn’t Fix Grok’s ‘Undressing’ Problem. It Just Makes People Pay for It (Wired)

SEATTLE – Known for their high-flying skills above the skies during air shows, the Blue Angels will be in Seattle once again on Monday.

But with Seafair not until the summer, many are wondering why the Navy pilots are in the Emerald City ahead of schedule. 

Keep reading to find out why the U.S. Navy Blue Angels are in Seattle on Jan. 12.

Why are the Blue Angels in Seattle now?

The Blue Angels returned to Seattle on Monday to begin preseason planning for the 2026 Boeing Seafair Air Show.

Pilots will assess airshow locations, scouting the skies and getting familiar with the landscape ahead of the Seafair Weekend Festival, when they perform in three separate air shows. Their visit brings the iconic Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornets to the city, the aircraft pilots use during the air show.

Blue Angels pilots plan to stay in Seattle until Tuesday, coordinating with Seafair event organizers. Last year, only two Blue Angels pilots were in Seattle for preseason planning, instead of the entire squadron.

When are the Blue Angels coming back to Seattle?

The Blue Angels will fly back to western Washington for the 2026 Boeing Seafair Air Show, on Friday, July 31 – Sunday, August 2, 2026.

They’ll also be in town for two practice runs on Thursday, July 30.

When is the 2026 Seafair Air Show?

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will perform in three air shows throughout Seafair weekend. They’re happening each afternoon on July 31 through Aug. 2 on Lake Washington and at Genesee Park.

The multi-day Seafair Weekend Festival also includes the Apollo Mechanical Cup Hydroplane Races, along with live entertainment, food and drinks, and family-friendly activities. Tickets for the festival go on sale in February.

Who are the Blue Angels?

The Blue Angels is a team of elite Navy flight demonstrators, showcasing their aviation skills in high-speed, precision aerobatic performances.

They perform in air shows across the U.S. each year, with the goal of inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country, displaying the teamwork and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

Formed in 1946, this year marks the 80th year of the Blue Angels. They take pride in performing for audiences both at home and abroad, showcasing the excitement, precision, and power of Naval aviation.

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No matter how the playoffs go for the Seatte Seahawks, general manager John Schneider and his team are looking at a very busy offseason ahead.

In addition to their usual preparations for the 2026 NFL draft, Seattle has a ton of important players who are about to become unrestricted free agents. That list includes special teams superstar Rashid Shaheed, running back Ken Walker and defensive standouts Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant.

It’s going to be really difficult to keep that entire group together, even with a lot of cap space projected to be open in 2026. The Seahawks may have to create room with some salary cap casualties after the season is over.

On that note, Over the Cap has listed a pair of Seattle players as potential cap casualties. Let’s review both of them.

OLB Uchenna Nwosu

Coming in at No. 46 on OTC’s list is veteran edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, who has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit just over $20 million. Nwosu has been valuable when he’s on the field but he’s also missed a ton of time due to injuries and it will be difficult to justify his cap hit with so many other players to pay.

Seattle can save a little over $11.5 million if they cut Nwosu, before June 1 or after. However, they would also take on a dead money hit north of $8.5 million, which takes a lot of the flavor out of those cap savings.

In 45 games with the Seahawks, Nwosu has tallied 19.5 sacks, 52 QB hits, 24 tackles for a loss, five forced fumbles and eight pass breakups.

That’s a lot of good production across the board as an all-around defender, but he’ll turn 30 years old before next season is over and there are a lot of mouths to feed for Mike Macdonald’s defense.

Over the Cap projects there’s a 58.5% chance that the Seahawks will wind up cutting him. Our best guess is that will be the case, especially if they want to pursue someone like Maxx Crosby on the trade market.

K Jason Myers

The only other Seahawks player who made the list (at No. 77) was placekicker Jason Myers, where the team has an interesting choice to make.

Myers has been around since the 2019 season and he’s come through for them more often than not. In 117 games he’s converted 200 of 232 field goal attempts, coming out to 86.2%. On extra point attempts he’s gone 292/307 for 95.1%.

Those are very solid numbers for an NFL kicker, and when you have a solid option at this position you don’t mess with it.

Another factor working in Myers’ favor is that Seattle really can’t save all that much money by cutting him. According to OTC’s numbers the Seahawks would create $5.1 million in cap room by cutting him, with a dead money hit of $1,875,000.

Five million might get Seattle a decent backup for their interior offensive line, or another contributor to Mike Macdonald’s defense. It’s not enough to really move the needle for this roster, though.

OTC gives it a 52.5% chance that Myers will get cut, but we don’t see that happening. If they want to lower his cap hit, the Seahawks can create a little over $3 million for 2026 with an extension. That’s the only move they should be looking to make at this spot.

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