Welcome to the Spectrum!
Established in February 2025, the Emerald City Spectrum was created by NFL beat reporter Corbin Smith to provide hard-hitting insight and analysis for every pro and college team in Seattle, promoting real journalistic practices that die hard and casual fans alike crave and deserve.
At the initial launch of the online publication, Smith and a staff featuring analyst Ty Gonzalez and writer Nick Lee initially covered the Seahawks and Mariners, two of the staple professional sports franchises in the region. The Spectrum has continued to add talented reporters and writers to the staff, expanding coverage to include all Washington Huskies sports programs, the Kraken, the Sounders, the Storm, the Seawolves, and the Reign FC, expanding coverage to all major pro and college programs in the region.
Our Writing Staff
Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast.
Prior to launching the Emerald City Spectrum, Smith worked for Sports Illustrated as lead publisher of the Seahawks On SI team site for seven seasons and continues to host the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, he dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting.
Before joining Emerald City Spectrum, Connor Benintendi covered prep, college and recreational sports in Whatcom County for almost three years as the Sports Editor/Reporter at Cascadia Daily News and the Lynden Tribune, publishing 1,000+ articles in that time. He graduated from Western Washington University in August 2021 with a B.A. in News/Editorial journalism.
Throughout the summer of 2021, Benintendi was a feature reporter intern for WWU athletics, writing long form pieces about former players and news releases on incoming athletes. In addition to covering the Storm, he writes about the Seahawks for Seahawks On SI’s team site.
Born and raised in the Seattle area, Coe returned to sportswriting in 2024 after teaching high school language arts and owning a small business. Coe has covered UW football and basketball, as well as the Seahawks, Mariners, Sonics, minor league baseball and high school sports. He currently serves as sports editor at The Daily Herald newspaper in Everett, Washington.
Author of the novel "High Points," Coe is a member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Big Climb Leadership Committee. When he's not climbing stairs in preparation for Big Climb Seattle or walking his dogs, Coe spends his spare time with friends and family in search of overpriced beer and pizza.
Born and raised in the Emerald City, Bluechel graduated from SPU in 2025 with a degree in Linguistics and Classics. Before joining Emerald City Spectrum, Bluechel wrote with the Falcon for two years between 2022 and 2024, covering SPU athletics as well as sports in the greater Seattle area. In addition to covering the Mariners as a credentialed reporter for Emerald City Spectrum, he also covers the Seawolves in Major League Rugby and currently writes about Sounders and Reign for Cascadia FC.
Ali grew up in Redmond and has been an avid Seattle sports fan his whole life. He started writing about sports in 2019, producing blogs on the NFL and NBA before moving onto collegiate writing. A 2024 journalism graduate of Seattle U and sports editor at The Spectator, Ali covered sports from basketball to cricket and parlayed the experience into a reporting gig with The Everett Herald, where he still contributes regarding the Seattle Storm and local high school sports.
He'll still give his two cents on the NBA if he feels like it and won't hesitate to complain about his cursed Chicago Bulls if asked.
COMING SOON!
A Washington state grad, Stevenson worked for various places in the sports media landscape including CougFan.com and KJR. After leaving sports media, Stevenson went in the education and coaching route before joining the Emerald City Spectrum team in 2025. When not at work, you can find Stevenson at Mariners games or trying to perfect his golf swing.
Lee grew in San Diego, California and graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2017. He married a Washington native and moved to the Pacific Northwest after 2014. He began his writing career for Bolt Beat on Fansided in 2015 while also coaching high school football locally in Olympia, Washington.
A husband and father of three, aside from covering multiple teams for the Emerald City Spectrum, he writes for East Village Times covering the San Diego Padres as well as Vanquish the Foe of SB Nation, covering the BYU Cougars. He also co-hosts the Locked on Seahawks podcast.
Christopher Crawford has covered baseball, college football, and everything in between for the past 17 years. He has written for such publications as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Vice, and Fox Sports. He currently covers the NFL and MLB for NBC Sports/ Rotoworld, and his YouTube channel My Oh Why while also being regularly featured on KJR 933 Seattle.
Check out all of Christopher’s Mariners/Kraken coverage here.
COMING SOON!
Contact the Spectrum
Got a question for the Emerald City Spectrum? Send your questions using the form to the right and we will respond within three business days if possible.