Blog matters

A sampling from the past week of entries in The Spokesman-Review Sports department blog, SportsLink. Daily offerings at spokesman.com

/sportslink.

Idaho continues to stack up big-name (and big-money) football opponents. The latest is USC, which  announced Wednesday that it will host the Vandals in 2015. UI will net $1.1 million to play the Trojans, slightly more than they get to travel to Auburn the same season.

The Vandals have played one or two high-profile opponents a season in recent years, and the paydays for these games continue to rise. In 2007, when UI played at USC in Robb Akey’s first game as coach, the Vandals took home $600,000. They got $800,000 to play at Nebraska in 2010, and last year LSU paid Idaho $925,000 to play in Baton Rouge.

Idaho’s 2013 schedule – its lone year as an independent before joining the Sun Belt – includes money games at Mississippi ($850,000) and Florida State ($950,000). In 2014, UI will get $975,000 to play at Florida.

Kentucky forward Kyle Wiltjer announced Monday his intentions to transfer. Gonzaga is believed to be one of the numerous schools that could interest Wiltjer.

The 6-foot-10 Wiltjer, who played on the Canadian development national team this summer with Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos, posted a letter on Kentucky’s athletic department website Monday, saying he will seek a situation to help him “compete the way I know I can. … wherever that may be.”

Gonzaga could be one of many schools high on Wiltjer’s list. The Bulldogs recruited Wiltjer during his decorated career at Portland’s Jesuit High, where he was teammates with ex-Zag Mike Hart. Brian Michaelson, who is expected to be promoted to a GU assistant coaching position replacing Ray Giacoletti, is also a Jesuit product.

The 6-foot-10, 239-pound Wiltjer, a 2011 McDonald’s All-American, made 10 starts in 73 career games at Kentucky.

The Spokane Indians completed a significant homestand Thursday night with a 5-2 loss to Vancouver that left the team 5-6 for the season at Avista Stadium.

The home cooking was mostly positive as Spokane won five of eight games against Boise and Vancouver to improve to 6-8 for the Northwest League season after starting 1-6. Vancouver won the series 2-1 and is 4-2 against the Indians this year. Spokane is 4-1 against teams from the NWL’s South Division but is 2-7 in its own division, the North.

The Indians’ next homestand starts the Fourth of July with the first of five games against the Eugene Emeralds.

Reports yesterday indicate that Washington State picked up its seventh oral commitment for the class of 2014, as cornerback Kevin Griffin of De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., told Cougfan.com that he’s committed to WSU.