Links O' War: Monday July 15th, 2013

Here are your morning links!

TCU SPORT

Scout.com: Ranking the Big 12: Wide Receivers
Joe Yeager has started to rank the Big 12 Conference by position and does so this time by wide receivers.

Northwoods League: White's decision to play baseball paying dividends for Bullfrogs, TCU | Green Bay Press Gazette | greenbaypressgazette.com
Being a star high school football player in the state of Texas, where prep football comes in a close second to religion, is one of the greatest feelings Boomer White has ever had.

NFL proves the mettle of Big 12 quarterbacks | Tulsa World
The Big 12 Conference likely will have six alums listed as starting quarterbacks when NFL training camps open, further evidence that the league remains the primary challenger to Southeastern Conference dominance.

OTHER SPORTS

Idiocy, easy virtue, the NCAA and Marshall Henderson - SBNation.com
Drugs are bad for you, and doubly unhelpful if you're a big-time college athlete. None of which quite explains why athletes like Marshall Henderson need to be drug-tested at all.

Kentucky team capsule: Wildcats seek another championship in 2014 - SBNation.com
Armed with another loaded recruiting class, John Calipari looks to win his second national title in three years.

Kansas team capsule: Offseason additions have Jayhawks primed for another run in 2014 - SBNation.com
The Jayhawks will be young and inexperienced next season, but few teams in America will have more talent on the floor than KU does.

The NCAA Football 14 megasim: Simulating 2013 10 times over - SBNation.com
One 2013 season? No. We've run through the year 10 times. Spoiler: Alabama is good, and Ohio State has a lot of trophies.

2013 Pac-12 football preview countdown: Bill Connelly on every team, one by one - SBNation.com
Previewing the entire Pac-12 in depth and with advanced stats, one team per day.

Johnny Manziel leaves Manning Passing Academy early, Peyton Manning confirms - SBNation.com

The Texas A&M quarterback did leave the Manning Passing Academy on Saturday, Peyton Manning confirmed. He reportedly left because of illness.

Oklahoma State's Trey Johnson, the 129 best college football players ever - SBNation.com

Trey Johnson's only competition this year is Trey Johnson, Trey Johnson, Trey Johnson, and 125 other Trey Johnsons.

LSU's Jeremy Hill pleads guilty after bar fight: Here's video of the incident - SBNation.com

Jeremy Hill admitted his guilt in an April bar fight, and was sentenced to probation and community service amongst other stipulations, opening the door for Les Miles to allow him back on LSU's football team.

TECH/NERD/GADGET

Accuweather Debunks Sharknado, We Debunk Accuweather | Geekosystem
Did everyone catch the 100% scientifically accurate weather documentary Sharknado this week? It explained the very obviously real phenomenon of that time when a tornado made of sharks attacked a city. It turns out Erin Cassidy of Accuweather isn't convinced by the irrefutable scientific evidence presented in Sharknado. Cassidy wrote a post on the Accuweather site debunking the myths in Sharknado.

Representative Mark Takano Grades GOP Letter to Speaker | Geekosystem
As much as high school sucked for basically everyone, there are some things about the state of the real adult world that could probably be improved by a little more of the discipline that only an overworked teacher can provide. Former high school teacher Representative Mark Takano (D-CA) decided that maybe the Republican-drafted letter about immigration that was circulating around the floor of the House might benefit from some edits and creative criticism, so he graded it and posted the results to his Tumblr. Unsurprisingly, Takano feels the work needs some serious revisions.

Dale Irby Break Originals Fake Movie Trailer | Geekosystem
Remember the story of Dale Irby? The teacher who wore the same outfit for school picture day 40 years in a row? You may have thought it was an amusing story. We sure did. It turns out it's actually compelling drama! Or at least it's fake compelling drama. The folks at Break Originals put together this fake trailer for a movie based on Irby, and his outfit. We'd totally watch this movie.

Chris Sevier Sues Apple Because of Internet Porn | Geekosystem
Despite Apple's strict draconian anti-porn policies, the Safari browser on the iPhone and iPad remains one of the best porn apps available for Apple's mobile devices. That's because it connects to the Internet, and there's porn on the Internet. So. Much. Porn. Tennessee lawyer Chris Sevier is suing Apple because he accessed porn on his Apple device. He's even submitted a bizarre YouTube video to support his case.

IFTTT If This Then That App Available on iPhone | Geekosystem
Man, being on the Internet is too much work -- it's such a hassle to keep track of different social media websites, calendars, photo uploading services, and all the other stuff out there that you need a login for. Luckily, there's if this then that (abbreviated to IFTTT) to connect up all your most-used sites to work in tandem with one another. If you're an IFTTT user with an iPhone, then hold onto your butts -- your life is about to get a lot easier. Two years after first launching, IFTTT finally has a mobile app for the iOS.

Farmer Eric Howard Creates Firebreak With Tractor | Geekosystem
When a lightning strike set his field ablaze, Colorado farmer Eric Howard was out driving his tractor, doing...whatever you do in a tractor. I don't know, okay, I'm a city kid. The point is that rather than drive his motorized vehicle away from the fire -- which seems like a highly reasonable plan, given the circumstances. Howard instead rode right up beside the swiftly advancing wall of flame. He wasn't just hotdogging, though. By riding alongside the blaze, Howard mowed a firebreak that held the flames at bay long enough for firefighters to arrive and save his field. Not for nothing, he also demonstrated that he is in possession of a pair of stainless steel balls.

Surface Watch? Microsoft allegedly testing a 'translucent aluminum' smartwatch | The Verge
Microsoft's prototype smartwatch testing has moved over to its Surface team. Sources familiar with Microsoft's Surface plans have revealed to The Verge that the company is now prototyping devices...

Thom Yorke pulls music from Spotify, calls it unfair to new artists | The Verge
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has never been shy about voicing his opinions on digital media, but now he's taken things a step further: he's pulled his various side projects off streaming music...

The Moto X will always be listening for your voice commands, leaked video shows | The Verge
According to a leaked video that appears to be from Canadian wireless carrier Rogers, Google's upcoming Moto X device will feature passive listening in order to respond to voice requests without a...

Apple on iWatch hiring blitz ahead of possible late 2014 launch, says Financial Times | The Verge
A new report in the Financial Times today says that Apple has significantly stepped up hiring in a bid to engineer its long-rumored smartwatch. The report goes on to say that CEO Tim Cook could...

'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling assumed male identity to secretly release a detective novel | The Verge
The Harry Potter series made J. K. Rowling one of the most famous authors on the planet, and as such she's stayed a bit under the radar since wrapping up the series in the summer of 2007. She's...

Google engineer first to profit from Microsoft's cash for bugs program | The Verge
Microsoft has issued its first bug bounty award to a Google engineer. The software maker created several bug bounties late last month that will run until the end of July. The IE11 preview bug...

How one company is helping small musicians find 'buried treasure' in YouTube royalties | The Verge
One of YouTube's longest-standing problems is attribution — with the huge amount of user-generated videos being uploaded, it's a major challenge to keep on top of what has been licensed properly...

POLITICS

And they're off: 2016 has already started - Maggie Haberman - POLITICO.com
The shorter campaign cycle is dead. Long live 2016. Barely eight months removed from the 2012 presidential saga, super PACs are sprouting to buck up Hillary Clinton, and GOP hopefuls are already hitting the early-state circuit — and attempting to woo donors. All but absent is the (somewhat disingenuous) lamenting about a permanent campaign driven...

Outside groups not pitch perfect on immigration - Seung Min Kim - POLITICO.com
As the immigration debate moves to the House, influential conservative groups are using their considerable clout to persuade Republican lawmakers to support reform. So far, House Republicans aren’t biting. Pro-business and religious groups — constituencies that typically hold sway in the GOP-controlled House — are flooding the TV...

Murdoch backs Reid on immigration vote - POLITICO.com
News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has endorsed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's call for a congressional vote on the immigration reform bill, via Twitter. "Sen Reid right! Boehner should allow House of Reps to vote on immigration. Lead, for country's sake," the 82-year-old conservative media mogul wrote in a tweet that was retweeted...

Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton to host ritzy foundation fundraiser - Maggie Haberman - POLITICO.com
Bill and Hillary Clinton will co-host a high-dollar event next month in a tony Long Island enclave to benefit their family foundation, according to an invitation that started circulating last week. The event is being billed as a “very special dinner with President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton” on Aug. 23 in Bridgehampton,...

No rush to fill in the blanks on tax reform - Kelsey Snell - POLITICO.com
Senate Finance Committee leaders are running into a problem with their “blank slate” approach to tax reform: Many of their colleagues aren’t interested in filling in the blanks. Sen. Max Baucus, the committee chairman, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, the panel’s top Republican, told fellow senators last month that they planned to move...

Report: Man nabbed after taking photos of John Kerry’s Boston home - Hadas Gold - POLITICO.com
A man was arrested Sunday afternoon after taking photos of Secretary of State John Kerry’s Boston home, The Boston Globe reports. After State Department security officers called Boston police to investigate, a pellet gun and an open alcohol container were found in the man’s vehicle. Kerry was not home at the time because he was visiting...