Last week, the 31-year-old Walter — who lives in Scottsdale and works as a credit analyst and MidFirst Bank and owns an eponymous business lending firm — announced last week that he plans to challenge incumbent Democrat Krysten Sinema for a Congressional seat in Arizona’s ninth district in 2014.

“It’s just a sense of duty and responsibility,” Walter, a Republican, told FOX Sports. “I’ve never served my country, I’ve never served in the military, and I think now more than ever we need serious leaders that want to offer common-sense solutions and not play politics.”

The district whose seat Walter is running for covers all of Tempe — home of ASU — as well as parts of Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Paradise Valley and Phoenix. He’s no doubt hoping that voters’ memories of him setting Sun Devil school records for career passing yards (10,617) and passing TDs (85) will pay off at the voting booth next year. Andrew Walter profile

[FOX Sports]

In an embarrassing blow to the NCAA in former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon’s ongoing antitrust lawsuit against college sports’ governing body, a gamer recently discovered that former Florida QB Tim Tebow’s name was used in playcalls on EA Sports’ “NCAA Football 10.”

As it appears, this is in direct contradiction to both the NCAA’s and EA Sports’ agreement not to use the names of current student-athletes in video games, as “NCAA Football 10” was released in July 2009 prior to Tebow’s senior season at Florida.

The gamer, who goes by the Twitter handle @Dr_Doughstax, captured several screenshots of shotgun formations and playcalls that are exclusive to Florida’s playbook and use Tebow’s name. (The gamer was using Florida’s playbook while playing as West Virginia.)

It’s not an easily stumbled upon “glitch” either. As explained by SB Nation’s Patrick Vint: “While the full formation name is shortened during gameplay, the full title is revealed in the Game Prep feature in Dynasty mode. The name of the play also shows up on the left side of the screen during gameplay in this mode.”

We don’t know what Dr. Doughstax was doing playing a version of “NCAA Football” that’s almost four years out of date. And while this won’t make or break O’Bannon’s lawsuit, one random college football gamer stumbled upon something that will surely be used in a trial that could ultimately cost the NCAA billions.

Who says nothing productive comes out of playing video games all day?

[SB Nation]

Most popular on LostLettermen.com:
• PHOTO: Wyoming Getting Cool New Football Field
• Up In Smoke: CB Nabbed for Armed Bong Robbery
• PHOTO: New Michigan Footballs: ‘Not Made in Ohio’
• Michigan St., WR Recruit Part Over Rap Career
• PHOTO: Johnny Manziel Trains With Blindfold On

Can these receivers adjust to a new quarterback? A new strategy on offense? The increased pressure of being the go-to guy? A combination of any or all of these factors?

The historically pass-happy conference is reportedly trending toward more hurry-up offenses, ones in which more plays will be run and (ideally) more big plays will be broken. If the latter ends up being the case, there’s a good chance that it’ll be one of the following dozen wide receivers ripping off those huge chunks of yards.

2013 Preseason Pac-12 No. 1 Wide Receiver Rankings
RK	School	Name	Class	2012 Receiving Stats	Summary
1		Marqise Lee	Jr.	118 REC, 1,721 YDS, 14 TD	The reigning Biletnikoff Award winner put up monstrous stats both last year and in 2011. 2013, however, marks his first year without Matt Barkley throwing to him. Nonetheless, whoever USC’s QB is this fall will look to Lee over and over again.
2		Kasen Williams	Jr.	77 REC, 878 YDS, 6 TD	The Huskies want to speed up their offense, and if QB Keith Price gets more time than last year, Williams stands to benefit greatly. Also helping matters is defenses having to key in on star TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (852 yards and seven TDs)
3		Brandin Cooks	Jr.	67 REC, 1,151 YDS, 5 TD	Cooks constantly burned opposing defenses last year as they focused in on Markus Wheaton. With Wheaton off to the NFL, can the 5-foot-10, 179-pound speedster become a No. 1 WR? Having QB Sean Mannion back in the fold will be a big help.
4		Shaquelle Evans	Sr.	60 REC, 877 YDS, 3 TD	Evans led the Bruins in catches and yards a year ago, but it was TE Joseph Fauria on the receiving end of most of QB Brett Hundley’s scoring strikes (12 TD catches). With Fauria gone, Evans now becomes that scoring option.
5		Josh Huff	Sr.	32 REC, 493 YDS, 7 TD	The Ducks don’t throw the ball all over the place, but Huff certainly made the most of his opportunities (one TD every 4.6 receptions). QB Marcus Mariota stands to get only better as a passer, much to the benefit of Huff’s overall stat line.
6		Gabe Marks	So.	49 REC, 560 YDS, 2 TD	If HC Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” flies higher in its second season on the Palouse, Marks – the best of a young but deep corps of Cougars wideouts – will see a big jump in his numbers after a solid freshman campaign.
7		Chris Harper	So.	41 REC, 544 YDS, 2 TD	Injuries slowed Harper down this spring, but once he’s up to speed, he’ll be counted on to put new HC Sonny Dykes’ “Bear Raid” offense into motion. He’s described by Dykes as “quick” and “athletic,” which one needs to be to star in the Air Raid.
8		Paul Richardson	Jr.	*39 REC, 555 YDS, 5 TD	After missing all of 2012 with a torn ACL, Richardson showed flashes of his old explosiveness throughout the spring. He’ll give the Buffs the playmaker they sorely lacked last year as they run more of a hurry-up offense under new HC Mike MacIntyre.
9		Kevin Ozier	Sr.	21 REC, 324 YDS, 5 TD	The Sun Devils’ two leading wideouts and No. 1 tight end from a year ago are all gone. Ozier’s TD rate in 2012 was a highly efficient one, but will that translate to becoming star QB Taylor Kelly’s new go-to target?
10		Dres Anderson	Jr.	36 REC, 365 YDS, 3 TD	There’s nowhere to go but up for a Utes passing offense that averaged a Pac-12 worst 190.7 YPG in 2012. QB Travis Wilson will look toward Anderson, fellow WR Kenneth Scott and TE Jake Murphy as he continues to develop as a passer.
11		Ty Montgomery	Jr.	26 REC, 213 YDS, 0 TD	Stanford’s tight end-focused passing attack is being overhauled after the graduation of Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo. Both Montgomery and 6-foot-4, 216-pound sophomore Devon Cajuste hope to step in and fill the void those two left.
12		David Richards	So.	29 REC, 298 YDS, 3 TD	Losing Austin Hill (1,364 yards and 11 TDs in 2012) to a torn ACL during spring practice was a huge blow for the Wildcats. All of a sudden, the 6-foot-4, 203-pound Richards is asked to step in and be new QB B.J. Denker’s new No. 1 target.

*2011 season

We sincerely hope that 38-year-old Jerry Stackhouse has a few more NBA seasons left in him. We’re not ready to say goodbye to one of the best story-telling basketball players in recent memory.

In a truly awesome interview on ESPN’s “Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable” on Wednesday (the entirety of which is well worth watching), Stackhouse — a 1995 First Team All-American at North Carolina — was asked to confirm a widely-talked-about urban legend: Whether Tyler Hansbrough, upon first arriving at UNC, dunked on Stackhouse during a pickup game involving current and former players and yelled “Weight room!” after doing so.

“Lies don’t care who tell ‘em,” the ever-cool Stackhouse responded, much to Le Batard’s and Bomani Jones’ delight. “I might remember doing something like that to him, but I don’t remember him doing anything like that to me. … Best thing I can say, ask Tyler.”

The best part of the exchange was Jones’ follow-up question of how things would’ve gone down if, in fact, the legend was true. Stackhouse’s reply, with an ear-to-ear grin: “Tyler might not be Tyler.”

The Tar Heel Blog headline on this story says it best: “Jerry Stackhouse is Still Awesome.” Jerry Stackhouse profile

[Tar Heel Blog]

A Buffalo Bills fan claims to have spent nine hours getting a tattoo of the 1968 Heisman Trophy winner’s mugshot after he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The former USC and NFL star was acquitted but lost a civil suit for their wrongful deaths and is currently five years into a nine-to-33-year prison sentence in Nevada for an armed sports memorabilia heist in January of 2008.

We have to admit, the tattoo is incredibly detailed and similar to the infamous mugshot. What we wonder is why on earth anyone would want the mugshot of a man arrested for murder permanently on their body.

[Sports-Kings]

After initially giving his school the go-ahead to explore a Heisman publicity push, Bridgewater has since asked to have any such plans abandoned for the good of the team.

“I don’t pay attention to it. I’m all about this team,” Bridgewater told WDRB-TV in Louisville. “I’m all about the team having success. I’m all about my teammates becoming better players. The Heisman isn’t a goal of mine. A team effort, a national championship, a BCS game — those are our goals.”

How ironic would it be if that selflessness and disregard for a big Heisman campaign, in fact, positively registers with the very people who decide the award’s next recipient and is a deciding factor in Bridgewater clutching the bronze statue this December?

[FOX Sports]

We more than understand the fixation on Texas A&M star quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, but settle down Joe Tessitore!

During an ESPN “College Football Live” segment on Wednesday about Manziel, Tessitore talked about how the focus should be on Johnny Football’s mechanics as a passer and ability to win games rather than his “celebrity and VIP-ness.” Say that out loud to yourself.

Yes, we clearly recognize that Tessitore was talking about Manziel’s celebrity stature and not his family jewels. It is, nonetheless, still a pretty hilarious slip of the tongue. As Deadspin’s Tom Cosentino put it, we all know that Manziel is the total package as a player, but that’s no reason to freely talk about his actual package.

[Deadspin]

The latest shot fired by May in his ongoing feud with the Buckeyes was his Wednesday declaration that he wasn’t putting the Buckeyes in his preseason Top 10 because … well, we’re having a hard time figuring out his rationale.

While Ohio State had plenty of close victories last year, the Buckeyes ended up undefeated. Ohio State also brings back a ton of talent, including Heisman Trophy candidate QB Braxton Miller. May’s own colleague, Mark Schlabach, even ranks them No. 1 in his preseason poll. Not ranking OSU in the preseason Top 10 is just preposterous.

Essentially, this is May’s way of saying that he’s not acknowledging Ohio State’s potential for a big 2013 season because he just doesn’t like Ohio State. (Personally, we’re on board with Eleven Warriors’ hypothesis that May’s held a grudge against OSU since the Buckeyes’ 72–0 victory over Pitt in 1996.)

It wasn’t just OSU fans who took to Twitter to express their weariness over May’s latest trolling of the Buckeyes.

@mark_may dude honestly nobody cares about your opinion and nobody finds you credible. I don’t know how you have a job at ESPN

— Craig Jackson (@CraigJackson7) May 22, 2013

@awfulannouncing most shocking about @mark_may is that his twitter feed looks like it was written by a 16 year old

— joelswedlove (@joelswedlove) May 22, 2013

I’m not a huge Buckeye fan, but @mark_may‘s OSU trolling is ridiculous

— Will Frasure (@WillFrasure) May 22, 2013

@mark_may @awfulannouncing All the ESPN layoffs y’day, and somehow we’re still stuck w/ Mark May.

— Brian (@LiqMiquchi) May 22, 2013

@mark_may mark may wears women’s underwear.

— Michael Marksberry (@MikeMarksberry) May 22, 2013

If the ESPN producers want a ratings bonanza, they’ll have it so that either Rece Davis or Lou Holtz asks May why exactly he hates Ohio State the next time they’re all in the studio together. It’ll be great TV and it’ll (hopefully) explain a lot.

[College Spun]

Ralphie V, the latest incarnation of Colorado’s beloved live buffalo mascot, made her first appearance at Folsom Field one to remember.

Upon being released from her pen at halftime of the 2008 spring game, an overexcited Ralphie V — who was first introduced to the public five months before — broke free from all but one of her handlers (nearly trampling one of them in the process), clearly spooked by the crowd on hand. Had it not been for Zeb Kopasz holding on tight, there’s no telling how long Ralphie V would have run wild.

With Colorado having gone just 17–44 since 2008, Buffaloes fans are hoping they can play with a Ralphie V-like exuberance in 2013.

More than any other social media device, Twitter is raw emotion.

When you have something to say and you want the world at large to hear it, there’s no built-in device to muffle you. Unlike the moderators of a website’s message boards, the call screeners of your local TV or radio station or (if you’re a journalist) your editors, only you are capable of censoring yourself.

What’s more, the 140-character limit doesn’t give much room for statement clarification. You say what you have/want to say before getting out of there. You’re not starting a conversation, you’re making a statement (most of the time anyway).

Giving people free reign to sound off is a dicey proposition. If you want to look at something that epitomizes the ugliness that often results, look no further than the college sports world. It’s inherently emotional nature has created a “tweet first, ask questions later” atmosphere that has yielded some truly disconcerting results.

I’ll be the first to admit that if it wasn’t for Twitter, I’d find myself struggling to come up with news items to capture readers’ attentions. I don’t just use it as a means of news-gathering, either. Many of the news items I’ve written for Lost Lettermen concern the Twitter posts or interactions themselves.

Often times, these are complete harmless and in good fun. Having Notre Dame DT Louis Nix III exchange trash talk with a porn star and self-professed USC fan is funny. Seeing fans react to the NCAA’s arcane ruling that Louisville’s Kevin Ware can’t accept “get well” gifts is funny (and well warranted). Reading Johnny Manziel’s tweets about why it’s awesome to be Johnny Manziel — latest example: playing a round of golf at Pebble Beach — is the college football equivalent of “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous.”

But then there are the darker corners of the Twittersphere. To merely call the people who tread across this ground “tactless” or “trolls” doesn’t do justice to the hateful, vile things they feel is their right to tweet.

There’s the Tennessee fan whose response to what he deems are “sub tweets” from Vanderbilt’s offensive line coach is to tell that coach that his wife “is f*cking someone while you coach your pathetic football team.” He’s joined in the fifth circle of Twitter Hell by numerous fans who wished bodily harm upon Andrew Wiggins after he chose Kansas over their teams; Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla suggesting that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings were a government conspiracy; and the pair of Iowa State fans who issued a death threat to the Kansas basketball team after a hard-fought loss in February.

I don’t consider myself an overly politically correct person. I feel like I can take jokes at my expense and dish them out when need be. But there’s a big difference between joking around and transparent hate. The nature of college sports makes it so that these two behaviors come in constant contact with one another, leading many people to engage in the latter while believing that it’s just as harmless as the former.

There’s no blanket solution to this problem. Twitter is too big, too wild and too accessible to ever pull a Kirk Ferentz and prevent people from using it. Plus, trolls who seek to be crude and outlandish — for the attention, first and foremost — have existed in one form or another ever since sports media and fandom spread to the internet. Now that they’re there, they’re not going anywhere.

Instead, the best (perhaps only) option is to offer a plea, asking college sports fans to channel and control the emotion they carry with them 24/7/365. Wielded properly, it’s what makes college sports so great.

Yet there’s no need to let that passion transform into hatred. Not hatred as in “I hate [insert team name here],” mind you. That’s just the nature of sports. I mean hatred as in disregard for the well-being of one’s fellow man, a wish that life-alteringly bad things — death, dismemberment, etc. — will happen to them.

To support free reign on Twitter is one thing. To support anarchy is completely different.

Chris Mahr is the managing editor of Lost Lettermen. His column appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can follow him on Twitter at @CMahrtian.