Northwestern football practice Sips!

Northwestern practice started on Monday. Here are your best links from that and everything else.

- We have a stream that we'll update with all of our articles throughout NU's three-week training camp. Make sure to bookmark it. Check out notes (including a look at position battles and the impressive freshmen), video of Pat Fitzgerald discussing the first practice and our feature on Venric Mark coming back.

- NU doesn't put out a preseason depth chart, so we made one that we'll update throughout the spring based on who we see practicing with the first and second teams. Here's our first version.

- Nate Williams did an awesome job answering your questions about everything NU football. I'm proud to know a grandma from my home state once flipped him off during a game.

- Jason Dorow has a really nice statistical look at where Trevor Siemian has struggled and excelled throughout his career, and what the offense might look like this year.

- Former NU basketball star Reggie Hearn has a really good firsthand piece on Wildcat Digest about his recruiting process and his first few years in Evanston.

- NU came in at No. 42 on Paul Myerberg's USA Today countdown.

- I wrote last week about the use of patriotism in college football, and whether it can seem disingenuous. On Monday, a Wildcat fan currently serving in Afghanistan gave a great perspective on the issue. I'd encourage you to check that out.

- For the nerds among us, Andy Schwarz has a really good analysis of the different ways to reform the NCAA, and how people on both sides want reform but in completely different ways.

- Non-sports article of the day: If you're going to start a charity claiming to give care packages to troops, then make sure you actually do that instead of using donations to fund your political interests.