Around 200 people gathered in Seattle for a prayer vigil to mourn the death of conservative activist, Charlie Kirk, who was murdered while speaking at a Utah college on Wednesday.

The vigil, organized by Pursuit NW Pastor Russell Johnson, served as a tribute to Kirk’s impact on the conservative movement.

“He was a hero to me, he was a hero in our movement,” Johnson added. “He ended up paying with his life for the high crime of daring to voice a different opinion than what might be popular in culture.”

Representative Jim Walsh, Washington GOP chairman, praised Kirk’s dedication, stating, “Charlie Kirk stood for living the reality of freedom of speech and what our state constitution calls absolute freedom of conscience.”

For many people in Western Washington, Kirk was a voice for young conservatives through his organization, Turning Point USA.

“I disagree with Charlie with a lot of issues, but the important thing is we have discourse, and we talk about the issues. And I just think that’s what makes Charlie so special,” said Kirkland resident Jalen Yoter.

Yoter expressed respect for Kirk’s approach to controversial conversations, despite many people disagreeing with Kirk on several issues.

“He would encourage the people who disagreed with him to step forward and have that dialogue. Because all the worst events in America happen when we stop talking to each other,” Yoter added.

Sierra Elliott, vice chair of Washington State Young Republicans, emphasized the need for political change through non-violent means.

“If you want change politically, that can be settled at the ballot box, that just violence is never the answer,” she stated. Elliott also spoke on continuing Kirk’s legacy, saying, “Just because people disagree with us doesn’t mean we need to just fold our cards and say we’re done.”

The Seattle Seahawks did not blow up their team this past offseason. It may look to the world outside Seattle like they did, but they did not. They see themselves as a competitive team right now and believe they are better than they were a year ago.

Did Week 1 loss show that Seattle Seahawks miss star power?

This offseason saw a lot of change at the top of the roster. The trades and departures of Geno Smith, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett were significant and can’t be minimized. Those three players had veteran experience, years of productivity and a major role in everything the offense did last year.

But that offense was not what this coach wanted.

That offense was too pass-dependent, not physical enough and unreliable in the biggest moments. It simply did not complement that rapidly improving defense that Mike Macdonald wants to be the hallmark of his franchise.

I fully supported those changes. And I stand by that 100%. Yes, those are good players, and two of them (Smith with the Raiders and Metcalf with the Steelers) had excellent debuts in their new uniforms. The Seahawks can be a better team without them. But to do so isn’t automatic. It takes a smart plan and success on two fronts.

1. Leadership.

One of the major issues with Geno, DK and Lockett is that they were truly ingrained in the language, style and philosophy of Pete Carroll. He was the only NFL coach the two receivers had ever known, and he saved the quarterback’s career. Carroll was loyal to them (maybe to a fault), and they appreciated the way he ran the franchise – so much so that Geno would often communicate with Pete when things felt off last season.

To truly build his own team with its own culture, Mike Macdonald needed to remove the three veterans most indoctrinated into someone else’s way of doing business. To do so was a win. But it leaves a vacuum that must be filled.

Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp, DeMarcus Lawrence and others need to help fill that gap coming from the outside. Returning players like Ernest Jones, Jarran Reed and Julian Love need to rise to the occasion. And Macdonald needs to present a clear vision for what that culture needs to be.

2. Resources.

The strongest argument for making the offseason changes at wide receiver – and to some extent quarterback – is to rearrange the distribution of resources on the roster. A salary cap system forces each franchise to choose where to spend its money, and the best teams do that by spending according to the needs of their chosen identity.

Macdonald has said repeatedly that he wants his offense to play complementary ball. I take that to mean they need to run it a whole lot better than last season when they finished 28th in the league with just 95.7 rushing yards per game. That required a new coordinator with a new scheme, but also an investment into the offensive line.

The first one got done, with Klint Kubiak bringing his Shanahan-style offense and a legion of offensive line coaches to Seattle. But the investment in the offensive line was limited to the drafting of Grey Zabel in the first round and some other small moves late in the draft or on the fringes of free agency. They replaced only one position on the line with a player who was not on the roster last season.

In fact, after saving money at wide receiver and quarterback, the Seahawks still rank 31st in the league in spending along the offensive line. At $23 million, they are spending less than 25% of what the top team spends on its line ($95.3 million). The teams in the middle are spending nearly double what the Seahawks have allotted.

Spending, of course, is not necessarily equivalent to succeeding. But part of my support for spending less on skill positions was based on reallocating that cap space to the line of scrimmage. That has not happened, at least not yet.

Unfortunately, we also have yet to see the success on the field. The team ran 26 times for 84 yards in the opening game. None of those numbers are going to be enough for a team that wants to balance its offense and complement its defense.

In fact, the 3.2 yards per carry was actually below last season’s 4.2. The 49ers may very well have an excellent run defense, and accounting for Fred Warner is a nightmare for any offense. But the Seahawks need to be able to run it more effectively to succeed this season and to justify the moves they made this spring. The lack of a running game was, for me, the biggest cause for concern after the first game.

We are only one game into what will be a key season for Mike Macdonald, John Schneider and the Seahawks. They made some significant changes that could lead to even more significant improvements. But we are a long way from determining how it all plays out.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Where was the play-action in Seahawks’ opener?
• IR stint for Seahawks rookie Nick Emmanwori ‘under consideration’
• Bump: Seattle Seahawks’ run game too ‘predictable’ in opening loss
• What Brock Huard saw on Seattle Seahawks’ last-minute fumble
• ‘Not the start that we wanted’ for Seattle Seahawks’ offense

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With Leagues Cup in the bag, the MLS season resumes this weekend, with plenty left to be determined as far as playoff positioning on the Western Conference table. As Seattle look to secure home field advantage in the postseason, I took a look at the slate of games they’ll navigate this month as the regular season enters its decisive phases.

Saturday, vs. LA Galaxy

Beating a team three times in a row is never easy, and that’s what Seattle’s going to have to do when they play Greg Vanney and Co. for the third time in a one-month span on Saturday. This time, the Galaxy have to come to Lumen Field after hosting those first two encounters, which Seattle won by a combined score of 6-0, including a pretty thorough demolition in the Leagues Cup semifinals. The Galaxy will be without standout winger Gabriel Pec due to yellow-card accumulation, depriving us of the usual theatrics that ensue when he matches up with Nouhou. There was a pretty big gap demonstrated between these two teams both times they played, so Seattle should be favored on their home field, where they’re 8-1-4 in league play on the year.

Sept. 16, at Inter Miami CF

Seattle then heads to South Florida on a quick turnaround for a rematch with the side that famously started a massive brawl at Lumen Field after losing to Seattle 3-0 in the Leagues Cup final. Luis Suárez will be suspended, but the Sounders will likely have to contend with an angry and vengeance-seeking version of Lionel Messi. Can Seattle shut out the Herons after traveling cross-country on short rest for a second straight match? Even if they don’t, there are pretty much always chances to be taken against this Miami defense.

Sept. 21 at Austin FC

Seattle’s had some good times at Q2 Stadium over the years, even though it’s known as one of the league’s most difficult environments for opposing teams (the Raúl Ruidíaz wonder-goal in a game where they fielded one of the youngest lineups in MLS history comes to mind). I can tell you this Austin team has looked much better offensively the last few weeks after looking like one of the worst attacking teams in the league to start the season. They’re also much more sound defensively than either the Galaxy or Miami, so this should be a good test for Seattle’s red-hot attack. Austin midfielder Owen Wolff has been one of the league’s under-the-radar breakout stars of the 2025 season.

Sept. 27 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

The last time Seattle played their Cascadia rivals to the North, it did not go well (two red cards in three minutes) in what eventually was a 3-0 loss. Assuming they can keep all 11 men on the field this time at Lumen, this should be another good measuring stick-type game against a Vancouver side that also fancies themselves as Western Conference frontrunners. It got overshadowed by LAFC getting Son Heung-Min, but Vancouver’s addition of Thomas Müller was the splashiest move they’ve ever made. I’ll be interested to see if the longtime Bayern Munich superstar is more adapted to the league and club by the time this match rolls around, and how much his arrival actually does for their ceiling.

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Catching up on Sounder at Heart

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

Sounders

Next match: Saturday, Aug. 13 vs. LA Galaxy | 5:30 pm PT | MLS Season Pass

Reign

Next match: Sunday, Sept. 14 vs. Racing Louisville | 5:00 pm PT | Paramount+

Defiance

Next match: Friday, Sept. 12 vs Austin FC II | 7:00 pm PT | MLS Season Pass

Looking back at the news

Everything else you need to know

Every team that’s in: Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs (MLSsoccer)

Cristian Roldan goes from vacation to USMNT after pocketing Messi in Leagues Cup (The Athletic)

USMNT Player Ratings: Folarin Balogun a rare positive in disastrous South Korea loss (Six One Five Soccer)

Chicago make playoff push, Austin’s tactical triumph & more from Matchday 32 (MLSSoccer)

How FIFA already made millions on 2026 World Cup tickets before putting them on sale (The Athletic)

Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya to step down at end of season (ESPN)

NWSL Team of the Week: USWNT legend Alex Morgan has San Diego Wave jersey retired; Trinity Rodman comes up big (CBS Sports)

‘New Trin’ looks like old self with brace in Spirit win (USA Today)

Lauletta’s NWSL Heat Check: 100 wins for Vlatko; big weekend in Chicago (Equalizer Soccer)

NWSL Power Rankings: Dash making moves with playoffs looming (ESPN)

Power Rankings, 1-30 | Matchday 32 (Tactics Free Zone)