Looking on the bright side, the Spokane Indians have only been outscored 30-28 through the first six games of the Northwest League season. But that doesn't reflect the Indians' record, which is 1-5 after Wednesday afternoon's 8-3 loss at Vancouver, British Columbia. In all five losses, Spokane's opponent has scored first. Four of the five losses have been by two runs or less, and Spokane's lone win of the season was a 10-1 blowout. The Indians hope their fortunes turn starting Thursday night, when they start an eight-game homestand starting with a five-game set with the Boise Hawks. Read story

COUGARS

Hoping to catch Wisconsin at Martin Stadium in 2014?

Well, that's not going to happen.

But you can see the Cougars play a “home game” against Rutgers in 2014 at CenturyLink Field on Friday, August 29. WSU returns the favor with a game at Rutgers on Sept. 12, 2015.

In turn, WSU's home-and-home series against Wisconsin, originally scheduled for 2014 (in Pullman) and 2015 (in Madison), has been pushed back to 2022 (in Madison) and 2023 (in Pullman) by way of a “mutual agreement.”

“Adding two BCS opponents to those already on future nonconference schedules benefits our program and is sure to be appealing to our fans,” said athletic director Bill Moos in a statement. “Our 2014 schedule also allows us to bring five quality Pac-12 games (Arizona, USC, Cal, Oregon and Washington) to Pullman to showcase our newly completed facilities.”

The latter part of that quote seems to imply that WSU doesn't plan to move any of its Pac-12 games to CenturyLink Field in 2014, as they have for the past two seasons (and will again this year, with Stanford visiting the CLink).

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple

Brandon Thompkins wanted to be traded from Utah and he wanted to return to Spokane. That's exactly what happened last month when Spokane acquired the former Shock receiver.

Thompkins has made some improvements to his game, on and off the field, from his days with the team in 2011-12. Read more here.

The note at the bottom of the link was trimmed in the S-R. Below is the full note on ex-Shock quarterbacks (starters, backups, training camp participants, etc.) seeing time with other franchises.

A GRIP ON SPORTS

Perspective is tough to find in sports. Especially these days. Read on.

Gonzaga landed the first player of its 2014 class when Jefferson High (Portland, Ore.) guard Silas Melson verbally committed on Tuesday.

More on Melson below.

A GRIP ON SPORTS

You know the term “under the weather?” Sometimes it means exactly that. Read on.

Idaho men's basketball coach Don Verlin, who took the Vandals to the postseason three of his first four years of his tenure but has yet to win a conference tournament game, will get a one-year extension through the 2015-2016 season if the State Board of Education gives the go-ahead later this week.

Verlin is 81-78 in five seasons in Moscow. The Vandals are 0-5 in the WAC tournament under the former Utah State assistant but also have three CollegeInsider.com tournament appearances.

Verlin's current contract runs through 2014-15, and if the State Board approves, he'll get 4 percent raises each year as part of the new deal. He would make 156,832 this coming season, $163,105.28 in 2014-2015 and $169,629.49 in 2015-16. He also will get $60,000 annually in media payments, as well as various bonuses for setting various on-the-court, academic and attendance marks. The contract calls for a rolling extension each year the Vandals win 15 games against Division I teams and an automatic extension if UI changes conferences (beyond the scheduled move from the WAC to Big Sky on July 1, 2014).

The max compensation for Verlin ranges from $290,960 in 2013-2014 to $337,113.44 in 2015-16.

The State Board is meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Twin Falls.

A GRIP ON SPORTS

How hard is it, really? You drop hints about what you want for Father's Day – if by hints you mean saying, “I want that” – for the last month or so and, on the big day, no one comes through. Oh, there are other, perfectly fine gifts, of course, but they are a bit like, I don't know, finishing second in the U.S. Open. It's better than 33rd, but it's not exactly what you wanted. Read on.

There weren't any blowouts, but the Spokane Indians came up empty during their first three games of the Northwest League season. Sunday afternoon's game against Everett ended 4-3, giving the AquaSox three wins in games decided by two runs or less (Friday and Saturday's games were 6-4 finals). The Indians now head to Vancouver, British Columbia for their first road trip. Read story

A GRIP ON SPORTS

There is only one guy I can really root for today as the U.S. Open draws to a close. Well, two. Read on.

A GRIP ON SPORTS

Beware the ides of June. Read on.

The Spokane Indians fell behind 5-0 in the third inning Friday and fell short of a comeback during a 6-4 setback to the Everett AquaSox as the 2013 Northwest League season began at Avista Stadium. First-round draft selection Alex Gonzalez struggled for the Indians, who were held to four hits. Read story

A GRIP ON SPORTS

As I type this, Tiger Woods is teeing it up for his second round at the U.S. Open. Like a lot of you, I am trying to work and keep tabs on what's happening in Pennsylvania. And it isn't easy. Read on.

The Spokane Indians will begin their 31st consecutive season in the Northwest League on Friday with a spot in a new division. The NWL is now divided North-South instead of East-West, so the Indians' new division rivals are Everett, which opens the season at Spokane, and Vancouver. Tri-City is still in Spokane's division. Read story

A GRIP ON SPORTS

Ouch. Really, that's all I have to say. Ouch. Read on.

New Spokane Indians outfielder Jamie Jarmon was so talented as a football quarterback in high school that he was named Delaware's player of the year. Jarmon always liked baseball better, however, and his second professional season will begin this week with the Northwest League's Spokane Indians. Read story

A GRIP ON SPORTS

Sometimes, when my back hurts or my leg is sore, I will take a nighttime pain reliever before bed. It helps me feel better and contributes to a long night's sleep. But it also gives me some real weird dreams, hallucinations really. Take last night for example. With my back barking, I took two and went to bed. And had this weird, almost surreal, dream the Mariners won. Not only won, but on a complete game two-hitter. From Aaron Harang. In front of more than 40,000 people. Talk about a true hallucination. Wow. Read on.

The Spokane Indians began their three-day minicamp on Tuesday with their sights set on Friday's Northwest League opener against Everett. Spokane's current roster features 10 players who were on the Indians' roster in 2012. Seventh-year Indians manager Tim Hulett is fine with that prospect. Read story

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN — The NCAA released the most recent Academic Progress Rate numbers on Tuesday. Here's a story we put together on how area schools fared, including Washington State.

A GRIP ON SPORTS

We interrupt our day-by-day report on the Mariners' futility for this SportsLink special report: The M's won. And so did my golf team. Read on.