Wife caused blade to seize. Battery died. Jumped and ran OK. Installing new battery so I don't have to keep jumping. Positive connected first. Lots of sparks when attempting to connect the negative terminal. What gives? Did the temporarily seized blade damage something that is shorting?

If the wife was cutting the grass, whatever happened was not her fault. If she hit a stump, it was the stump's fault.

The blade being seized would not cause a drain on the battery. It also was not the battery's fault. Apparently there was damage done to the wiring, causing a short. Therefore the sparks when installing the new battery. New battery will also run down quickly.

Look for damaged wiring. A bare wire touching the frame.