Links O' War: Friday July 26th, 2013

Here are your morning links!

TCU SPORTS

Round Rock’s Mitchell verbals to TCU | www.statesman.com
Round Rock football coach Jeff Cheatham confirmed to the American-Statesman on Thursday that Mitchell, a six-foot-three-inch, 253-pound defensive lineman, gave a verbal commitment to TCU on Wednesday.

LSU 2013 opponents' preview: 5 questions for TCU | NOLA.com
Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News is first up with a quick, five-question survey of the TCU Horned Frogs.

Waymon James ready to return to Horned Frogs after ACL injury | TCU 360
After missing the majority of TCU’s debut in the Big 12, running back Waymon James is back and ready to be an offensive leader for the Horned Frogs in 2013.

OTHER SPORTS

Matt Ryan contract: Falcons QB agrees to extension worth over $100 million - SBNation.com
Reports have Ryan signing one of the largest contracts in the league. Find out the full details and where it places him in the pantheon of quarterback contracts.

Transition game: After decades of hiding painful childhood memories, former NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson is ready for a new phase in his life - SBNation.com
After decades of hiding painful childhood memories, former NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson is ready for a new phase in his life, as he reveals in an exclusive conversation with SB Nation.

Team USA basketball scrimmage: America's top young stars square off - SBNation.com
The country's best young basketball players are being showcased at the Team USA scrimmage in Las Vegas.

A Day's Work: Wade Boggs visits Boog's Barbeque - SBNation.com
Hall of Famer Wade Boggs continues his never-ending quest to find the most interesting and unique jobs in Major League Baseball stadiums. This week, a visit to Camden Yards for some barbeque with Orioles great Boog Powell.

Ryan Swope injury: Cardinals WR placed on reserve/retired list - SBNation.com
Ryan Swope's NFL career will apparently be over before it starts: the sixth-round pick has been moved to the reserve/retired list by the Cardinals due to nagging concussion issues.

Supperjumpin': Inventing the worst, saddest sport in the history of the world - SBNation.com
Eat a Big Mac in a Wendy's. Bring a Dairy Queen milkshake and fries into a Subway and pair it with a meatball sub. Welcome to Supperjumpin', the very saddest sport that has ever existed.

The SB Nation guide to the ever-increasing list of cable sports networks - SBNation.com
From ESPN down to the Pac-12 Network, a look up and down all of sports TV.

TECH/GEEK/NERD

Ballmer admits Microsoft built too many Surface RTs, disappointed with Windows sales | The Verge
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has admitted that the company built too many Surface tablets, and it's not selling as many Windows devices as it wants. During an internal town hall event earlier this...

Bill Gates publishes incredible interactive review for obscure environmental book | The Verge
Bill Gates often publishes book reviews on his personal blog, The Gates Notes, but the Microsoft co-founder turned multibillionaire philanthropist has outdone himself this time. His latest review...

Crowdfunding the classics: 20 years and $1.8 million later, 'Shadowrun' returns | The Verge
Kickstarter has become the go-to place for game studios looking to get out from underneath the publishers' thumbs. And gamers have certainly taken notice, helping multiple companies raise in excess...

Colorado's weed problems could spell trouble for marijuana legalization | The Verge
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons At first glance, Colorado's medical marijuana industry seems like an unmitigated success story. Hundreds of dispensaries and grow houses have sprouted up since the...

Best Buy now selling the new Nexus 7, four days ahead of schedule | The Verge
Having already launched its pre-orders ahead of the official Nexus 7 announcement, Best Buy is keeping up the habit of preempting Google by making the new Android slate available early. Announced...

Keeping it simple: Chromecast, Google TV, and the zen of a $35 dongle | The Verge
Google's combined Chrome and Android event yesterday should have had a relatively small impact: the Nexus 7 was already widely leaked and Android 4.3 was a very minor update. Instead, Google...

Halliburton admits to destroying evidence in wake of Gulf oil spill | The Verge
The US Department of Justice this week announced that Halliburton will plead guilty to charges of destroying evidence related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The...

'Breaking Bad' episodes will premiere on Netflix UK immediately following US broadcast | The Verge
The much-anticipated final episodes of AMC's Breaking Bad will be available to watch on Netflix UK immediately following their US broadcast. The half-season premieres on AMC August 11th at 9PM ET...

A squirrel in California has the plague. Should you be worried? | The Verge
This patient has symptoms of septicemic plague including necrosis of the fingers caused by gangrene. Health officials in Los Angeles County announced yesterday that a squirrel found covered in...

All of LA's 640,000 schoolkids will get free iPads by the end of 2014 | The Verge
After signing a $30 million iPad deal with Apple in June, the Los Angeles School Board of Education has revealed the full extent of the program that will provide tablets to all students in the...

Android 4.3 code reveals granular app controls and 4K support are coming soon | The Verge
As developers get their hands on the latest version of Google's operating system, Android 4.3, we're discovering some hidden features of the platform that hint at what's to come. Android Police...

Researchers Trap Light for One Full Minute, New Super Villain Weaponry Likely on Its Way | Geekosystem
A team of scientists at Germany's University of Darmstadt have broken a major -- and bizarre -- record, bringing light itself to a full stop inside a crystalline structure and keeping it stopped for a full minute. The groundbreaking research could have major implications for storing information in quantum memory.

$122,874 Kickstarter-Funded Board Game Cancelled, What Happens to the Money? | Geekosystem
Kickstarter is the go-to crowdfunding site for a lot of people looking to launch ambitious projects, but it takes more than money to get something done, and sometimes Kickstarter campaigns -- even ones that raise more than three times their goal -- fail. That's what happened with the now appropriately named board game The Doom That Came To Atlantic City! It raised $122,874, but now that the creators of the project canceled the game, what happens to all that money?

Watch the Many Screams of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in This Supercut [Video] | Geekosystem
Here is a thing you never knew you needed: A supercut of Hugh Jackman angrily shouting his head off while being Wolverine. That's it. I mean, do you have to hear anymore?

Kanye West is on a Kanye Quest, Will Put You to the Kanye Test in This Fan-Made Game | Geekosystem
Love him or hate him, rapper Kanye West has become a fixture in American pop culture; you can't really ignore him even if you tried. So it's only natural that there's now a video game about him. Kanye Quest 3030, a new free fan-made PC game, is a beautiful, dark, twisted, and final fantasy befitting of its eponymous star.

Big Brother is Charging: Proposed Phone Battery Tracks Your Every Movement to Save Power | Geekosystem
Apple has apparently decided to show up Asimov when it comes to self-aware technology that constantly tries to outdo itself in making our lives easier. Their newest attempt: A battery that learns your habits to decide how much power is needed at any given time, and to keep your phone charged while away from a charger.