Larry Stone

They have made a litany of mistakes – turnovers, penalties, and big plays that were handed on a platter. And yet these Seahawks, these 2-0 Seahawks, are looking more legitimate by the week.

Pete Carroll is the Benjamin Button of football coaches, growing in vigor even as the calendar pages keep turning. The game itself and all the preparation it entails, painstaking as it can be, invigorates him — and he celebrated his latest trip around the sun in grand style.

Beware of a downtrodden Roethlisberger. Following games in which he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass, Ben is 26-3 in his career. And following 20-plus point losses with him at the helm, Pittsburgh is 8-1.

After the Seahawks' Week 1 victory, should your primary takeaway be the win, or the ugly?

In a league where multiple teams can believe they are of Super Bowl mettle, the Seahawks don’t have to rely on mental gymnastics to get to that state of mind. To a greater extent than in recent years, this Seahawks team can envision a path to get back to the top. It’s teeming with hazards and land mines, of course, but it’s there.

Seahawks quarterback has participated in virtually 100% of his teams' plays -- including college -- given him an encyclopedia of football knowledge from which to draw.

Star NFL players such as Clowney recently have wielded newfound power while negotiating with teams, but it's premature to say the players are seizing control of their destinations in similar fashion as those in the NBA.

Despite their differences, the Seahawks, Huskies and Cougars share this in common: It’s time for each of them to break through to the next level of success — one that, in each case, stands tantalizingly close.

Baldwin, who retired in May, is working with others to build a community center in Renton. “I want people to feel like this is their second home," he explained Wednesday. “This is a place they can come and feel safe and feel loved.”