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Aging well: 3 Old Geezers podcast returns

A screenshot from the 3 Old Geezers recent podcast recording session

Along with my friends Steve Buck and Ed Godfrey, I will celebrate a special anniversary on Nov. 6. Two years ago we launched the 3 Old Geezers podcast, which took years of sport debate via group text messages to a worldwide audio forum.

Steve serves as our host and keeps things on track, while Ed fills the podcast with humor and angry get-off-my-lawn rants about, well, anything and everything. I mainly serve as their foil because my perspective doesn’t fit in their neat little boxes.

I wrote about the 3 Old Geezers podcast back when we started at the end of 2023, and you can read it here.

We have no set agenda each week, except to cover the latest Thunder news, as well as that of other pro and college sports. We also may go off on an occasional non-sports rant.

Here are links to our two most recent episodes so you can discover for yourself what we’re all about. These links are to Apple podcasts, but we’re on Spotify or most places where you listen to your favorite content.

Oct. 17, Episode 44, The Boys are Back!

Oct. 24, Episode 45, Celebrating a Banner Night

Here’s what my fellow Geezers say about the podcasting experience:

From Geezer Steve: “Having the opportunity to hang out with Jim and Ed regularly is something I cherish. Always spirited. Always funny. Just three guys who love sports bobbing and weaving through a conversation. When the idea surfaced one day that we should record our ramblings, the idea seemed like a natural. So, regardless our listener count, we keep going because its a chance to spend time with good friends. And time with friends is something I am learning to cherish more each and every day.”

From Geezer Ed: “Frankly, I am doing a podcast because I enjoy the company. And after 40 years in the newspaper business, I like telling stories, and now I can tell some whoppers. Besides, I can’t let Geezer Jim’s goofy opinions go unchecked. I enjoy the company and the conversation.”

My reasons for doing the pod are similar to Steve and Ed in that I enjoy hanging with the guys, as well as airing my thoughts on sports subjects, whether they are in line with conventional thinking or not.

For the most part, we’ve kept an every-other-week podcast schedule, except for an extended break we took over the summer, before relaunching the pod on Oct. 17.

We’re committed to posting a new episode weekly throughout the OKC Thunder season, which means we’ll have to do some remote when one or more Geezers are tied up with work or out of town. Episode 45 was recorded with Steve calling in from out of town, so we’re off to a good start.

I hope you listen to and enjoy the sample episodes using the links above. Then subscribe and keep up with our Geezer rants, raves and get-off-our-lawn takes.

BONUS CONTENT:

Here’s a link to the very first 3 Old Geezers podcast so you can hear where it all began.

DOUBLE BONUS CONTENT:

The 3 Old Geezers podcast is presented through the generosity of MentaliTEA and Coffee in Bethany. I hope you will visit them and enjoy a coffee or tea and something tasty off their food menu.

Be careful out there; it’s a deep fake future

Screenshot taken from deep fake video of Ja Morant post-game interview

My wife sent me a video interview she saw last week with Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant that was pretty shocking.

In what appeared to be a post-game interview with the media after the Grizzlies’ loss to OKC, Morant made some outrageous comments. He said that Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not MVP-worthy, that the Grizzlies had no chance in the series and that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had taken away his motivation.

It was such an eye-opening interview that I forwarded it to my friends Ed, Steve and Casey.

Trouble is that it was a totally fake video created with Artificial Intelligence. Ed tipped me off because he immediately started searching for articles about what Ja had said and found none. Zero.

But I fell for it, and I hang my naive head in shame.

I invite you to click on the video below and tell me that you could spot it as a fake, aside from Ja’s outrageous comments. Ja’s voice and the post-game setting are both realistic.

I find the fact that this fake video was so well done to be disturbing for what it portends about the future. It is part of a growing phenomena commonly known as deep fakes.

The Ja video was pretty harmless, but what if someone created a fake video of a presidential candidate saying incredibly racist things that he or she would never utter?

We can see where this is headed. I’ve read that such videos already exist.

Want an example? The video in this link isn’t exactly a political deep fake, but it that made the rounds shortly after the death of Pope Francis, created around his meeting with Vice President J.D. Vance the day before he died. The creators took an historic meeting and turned it into an attempt at humor that is pretty disrespectful.

Screenshot from Threads of deep fake video of Pope Francis taking a swing at VP JD Vance

I decided to seek an expert’s opinion and reached out to John Hassell, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Software Development and Integration at the University of Oklahoma Polytechnic Institute in Tulsa. If you are not familiar, the Polytechnic Institute is OU’s newest campus that offers a host of technology degree tracts, including Artificial Intelligence.

Dr. Hassell has incorporated AI into software development for the past couple years, and shared his thoughts on the subject with me in a 2024 blog post.

When I asked him about the Ja Morant deep fake, he immediately put me in touch with Colin Torbett, an OUPI student who possesses a master’s degree in data science but is now pursuing another undergraduate degree in cyber security.

“Colin is actually doing research on that very topic now,” Dr. Hassell said.

So, Colin connected with me and shared some thoughts on the emerging flood of AI generated deep fakes.

“These fake videos (but also images and audio recordings) are called ‘deep fakes’ because they use an AI technique called ‘deep learning’ in order to create a fabricated, digital artifact,'” Colin told me. “They are indeed pervasive and I see new ones appear everyday on social media, though I typically find one’s which are humorous, benign, and easy-to-spot as fake. On the other hand, some are more nefarious and easily pass as real at first glance.”

A cyber security major at OU’s Polytechnic Institute campus in Tulsa, Colin Torbett is researching the deep fake phenomenon

Colin described a deep fake he recently saw that claimed to be an interview with a young woman on her dating preferences. Apparently, it was a well done video, but the person holding the microphone for the interview had six fingers. Dead giveaway.

“It does illustrate how pernicious deep fakes can be — and how easily duped anyone can be,” he said. “This can only become a concern for politics especially with all the chaos in the last decade. Obviously, fake video or audio of speeches would be detrimental — if not fatal — for a political career, but would sow discord among voters and the general public.”

My question: how can these deep fakes be more easily detected and even stopped before they are in widespread distribution?

“While there is no immediate antidote to the problem, I am confident that cybersecurity researchers and computer scientists will create digital watermarks and signatures which validate any digital piece of information (video, audio, document, email, etc.) as authentic,” Colin said. “The digital infrastructure and software for these solutions is still in it’s infancy, being developed by startups and university researchers. It might take 5-10 years for this technology to be refined and widely adopted.”

Wait. Five to 10 years for a real solution? The bad guys are going to have quite a head start.

“In the mean time, my only advice (unsolicited, I admit) is to take everything online with a few grains of salt — especially if it confirms something one already believes,” Colin said. “It’s easy to dismiss something if runs contrary to a belief about the world, but being skeptical about information that affirms a deeply held worldview is an effective antidote to confirmation bias, and the deep political entrenchment we see reinforced by social media today.”

Colin has worked for technology-based firms for about a decade, beginning with an internship at OKC’s Spiers New Technologies in 2015. He gained his interest in deepfakes and AI while in graduate school, earning his MS in 2017.

“Since then, deep fakes have exploded and are becoming a serious concern,” he said. “My interest revolves around helping to create a novel solution for a pervasive problem that affects everyone. What I really want to do is what every good engineer wants: to use my skills and science to solve complex problems for the world.”

I hope that one day Colin Torbett leads his own high tech company that creates antidotes to deep fakes and will keep videos like the Ja Morant interview out of my timeline.

Then I won’t get fooled again. Maybe.

BONUS CONTENT: My friend Don Mecoy shared a video with me that provides a deep dive into deep fakes and how they are evolving and their threats to society. Watch the video below:

DOUBLE BONUS CONTENT UPDATE:

Concerned that AI is coming after your job? Read what my friend Dr. John Hassell at University of Oklahoma Polytechnic Institute has to say on the subject. Spoiler alert: It’s not likely!
https://www.news9.com/story/68c731020ebc3adec64fbb37/is-ai-coming-for-your-job-ou-professor-weighs-in-on-widespread-fear

MLB’s existential dilemma — why sharing the wealth for the Greater Good can save the game

MLB’s brightest star, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers

As a longtime listener to the Dan Patrick radio show, I was incensed a couple years ago when I heard Dan say that Major League Baseball is no longer a national sport.

“It’s more of a regional sport today,” he said.

Dan followed up by saying that certain cities — St. Louis, Los Angeles, New York come to mind — have large fanbases, but that doesn’t translate into national interest in the game.

Plus, at that time baseball had no one player that had a national or global presence like, say, a LeBron James or Patrick Mahomes.

After I got over my initial righteous indignation, I came around to what Dan was saying about MLB. National ratings have slumped badly over the past couple of decades as young fans have put their focus on the NFL and NBA.

I couldn’t think of a single player that could command the attention of fans nationwide like LeBron or Mahomes. Shohei Ohtani may be the closest baseball player to a true global superstar.

I’ve written about this before, but my sports passion has always been with baseball, first as a Little Leaguer and later as a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers.

Still, it’s clear that baseball, with its slow pace and not-made-for-TV presence — you can’t see all the players at once — has clearly been surpassed by the NFL and NBA.

So, when ESPN announced it would opt out of its MLB rights deal after the 2025 season, I was disappointed by not surprised. ESPN has been struggling with its viewership, too, and it is much more focused on NFL and NBA.

I was puzzled at how MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred planned to replace the ESPN revenue shared by all teams. What network would want to pay hundreds of millions to broadcast baseball and create surrounding programming?

Turns out, Manfred DOES have a plan, according to the Wall Street Journal article. In a lengthy and comprehensive article, the WSJ outlined the commissioners proposed scenario that appears to be a long shot.

Said the Journal:

“Manfred’s model would require teams to cede control of their local rights to the league office so that MLB could sell them collectively as a unified streaming package. Viewers would be able to purchase the games of teams they want to see without the blackouts that have long vexed devotees who actually live near where their favorite team plays.

“No cable subscription would be required. Revenue would be distributed among all teams, like it already is for national deals with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“The change that we’re talking about,” Manfred said in an interview, “is the only rational response to where the media market is today.”

There’s a huge problem with that plan.

MLB teams don’t share their local revenue with their baseball counterparts. Teams in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Chicago all generate massive amounts of revenue through their local TV rights and are reluctant to give up any of that revenue for the Greater Good.

According to the WSJ, MLB teams lean on their local broadcast revenue more heavily than their NFL and NBA counterparts. Those sports have much larger national TV deals, and share the revenue across the league.

A critique of the OKC Thunder ‘City’ edition uniforms through the years

Screenshot — OKC Thunder City edition uniforms through the years.

Together with my friends Steve Buck and Ed Godfrey, I cohost a podcast known as the 3 Old Geezers.

Steve and Ed are only pretend Geezers, while I am the real deal. Or as Ed says, I live in downtown Geezerville. That’s ageism, Ed!

Anyway, all of us are OKC Thunder fans, and much of our podcast discussion revolves around the team, the players and the potential for success as the season progresses.

We also share an interest in Thunder branding and the various uniform schemes the team uses. For instance, I’m a big fan of the team’s “Sunset” uniform, which might be seen as orange by some folks.

All of which brings me to the annual “City” edition uniform the Thunder unveils as each season begins. The 3 Old Geezers recently critiqued the 2024 City edition. on the podcast (LISTEN!)

Someone suggested that we rank the City edition uniforms from 2017-2024 by our personal preferences. So here are mine, ranked No. 8 to No. 1:

No. 8 2020: I take issue with leaving the word “City” off of a uniform of the team known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. Makes no sense unless you think the folks in Tulsa or Elk City will buy into the team even more than they already do when they see “Oklahoma.”

No. 7 2021: Not sure what statement a gray-on-white City edition uniform makes, except that it doesn’t stand out to me.

No. 6 2022: I have nothing against this uniform, except the lettering looks too much like what we’ve already seen, And it uses “Thunder” instead of OKC or Oklahoma City.

No. 5 2019: White lettering on a gray uniform doesn’t do much for me. At least it says “Oklahoma City.”

No. 4 2017: I’m just not a fan of racing stripes on a gray background. But it gets extra credit because it says “OKC.”

No. 3 2024: I really like the color scheme but can’t rank this one higher because leaves off the word “City” AGAIN.

No. 2 2018: The lettering and the turquoise make this one of my favorite City edition unis. And I like that it reads “OKC.”

No. 1 2023: I love this City edition version. It’s got orange and yellow trim on the navy jersey with bold orange “OKC”. That’s good enough for me.

Here are the takes from my fellow Geezers:

Steve Buck
Geezer Jim asked Geezer Ed and me to rank our team’s city jersey series. I am not a graphic artist so I’m sure my limited mind has missed some really cool elements that others love, but my rankings fell out pretty darn clearly.

No. 8 2020: Just not much to like on this one. Looks like the packaging to a Hot Wheels car. Points deduction for reading “Oklahoma”

No. 7 2017: I almost moved it higher because the year matched Poku’s number but common sense prevailed. I can’t find any connection to Oklahoma City and it just doesn’t look very sharp.

No. 6 2021: Not awful but not that attention grabbing either. The vertical look makes it somewhat unique but I prefer a bit of color in my uniforms and this is just too blah.

No. 5 2019: Almost crept into my top half of rankings. Like ’21 there is jut not a pop in terms of color but the arched Oklahoma City is just fine with me.

No. 4 2024: First too similar to ’23 so I had to provide some penalty for copying the prior year’s efforts. I like the colors and the detail on the sides are a nice nod to OKC. Speaking of…why didn’t it say Oklahoma City instead of simply using Oklahoma. Like the ’20 version, points deducted.

No. 3 2022: This one could’ve easily been my #2 choice. The blue and red pops against the dark gray. Just a super crisp look that was a wonderful look on the floor.

No. 2 2023: I loved every element of this jersey. The dark blue with all the intricate details was so solid. The accent colors stand out beautifully. The diagonal in motion OKC is really on nice.

No. 1 2018: Yes, the color scheme has nothing to do with our current colors other than a few subtle uses in the accents but the design is fantastic and this jersey screams OKC like none other. It was unique in the league and a true reflection of honor and respect for our community and state. Bring these back. For my votes, this was the hands down winner.

Ed Godfrey
No. 8 is the first city edition jersey to not include “City” in the name, the 2020-21 version. Again, they are the Oklahoma City Thunder, not the Oklahoma Thunder. I think the jersey is ugly.

No. 7 is the first city edition jersey, the 2017-18 gray uniform. An orange and blue stripe with the OKC logo above it. Meh.

No. 6 is the simple all white city edition of 2021-22. I’m not a big fan of the all-white look with the OKC logo displayed vertically on the jersey, but it’s OK.

No. 5 2024-25 is the latest city edition jersey. I love the look and the colors that pop. This jersey would rate higher if it had the word “City” on it and not just “Oklahoma.” A city edition jersey without the word city?

No. 4 is the 2023-24 version. I like the vibrant colors of yellow and orange and the design is interesting and artistic.

No. 3 is the 2022-23 City edition jersey. A simple, but solid look with “Thunder” emblazoned across the chest. The “Oklahoma Standard” badge is displayed on the jersey.

No. 2 is the 2019-20 slate gray City edition tribute to the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The gray uniforms with gold lettering and white accents are fantastic.

No. 1: My favorite City edition jersey is the 2018-19 turquoise version that paid tribute to Oklahoma’s Native American heritage. I love the color and the diamond influence in the OKC logo. It’s a sharp look.

So, what’s your favorite and least favorite among the Thunder’s City edition uniforms? Leave your thoughts on the City editions in the comments.

Clickbait always reels me in

Screenshot

I stumbled across an online headline last week that was so shocking that I couldn’t click on the story fast enough.

“The Phoenix Suns Will Trade Kevin Durant to the Oklahoma City Thunder,” the headline shouted.

What? Click.

Turns out it was only someone’s outlandish conjecturing with nothing to back it up. It wasn’t even a rumor.

In fact, the story led with an editor’s note that said “This article is a PREDICTION and not a REPORT.”

What it was, was “clickbait,” designed to pull in as many readers as possible because clicks equal eyeballs which equal advertising revenue.

I felt foolish for even clicking on the headline.

Still, I always click.

Clickbait seems to dominate the sports headlines you are likely to run across in a Google search or as a link found on your favorite social media platform.

For instance, I shared a headline I saw last week in a group text with my friends Steve Buck and Ed Godfrey that said “The Giannis to OKC discourse has started.”

Screenshot

Steve immediately responded, “Clickbait.”

Yeah, but I still clicked on it. Just call me gullible. I can’t NOT click when I see an intriguing-yet-preposterous headline.

Just a couple days ago I ran cross a headline that said Russell Westbrook sent the OKC Thunder a “message” after the Denver Nuggets sent the Thunder to their first defeat of the seas week.

I clicked on it, of course. Turns out, Russ didn’t exactly drop the Big One on the Thunder. Here’s the “message” Westbrook delivered during the course of a postgame interview:

“Right now they’ve got the best record but I feel like we’ve got a better team and tonight we showed that.”

Not exactly bulletin board material and not a pointed comment, really. But it captured my eyeballs with a click.

So we come to tonight. As I am writing this blog post, I came across yet another intriguing headline.

“A Bucks-Thunder trade sending Brook Lopez to OKC would benefit both sides”

What? Click. I AM gullible.

Screenshot

3 Old Geezers took text rants to Podcast

Geezers in text exchange - 1

Before there was a 3 Old Geezers podcast there was the 3 Old Geezers text exchange, a sort of daily debate over the Thunder and the world at large.

The group included my friends Steve Buck and Ed Godfrey, who disagreed strongly with my stance against tanking — which translates to losing on purpose to get a better draft position — by the Oklahoma City Thunder, or any NBA team, for that matter.

We went back and forth for a couple of years with Steve often reacting with ‘we need to take this debate to a podcast.’ It was a nice thought, but none of us had any podcast experience or equipment.

Then Steve came up with a couple of microphones and technology to connect to a recording device like a computer.

We had no more excuses.

So, last fall we launched the 3 Old Geezers podcast — LISTEN HERE — which has had only moderate success. But it allows us to vent our old man rage in get-off-my-lawn type rants.

Ed’s righteous indignation over perceived ills like bad officiating in college softball or the challenges of new technology have been well worth the effort. His humorous Old Man rants are exactly why I’m participating.

Steve hosts with a steady hand, suggesting appropriate and timely topics, while I’m mostly reacting to what’s been said or forgetting the Mayor’s name or even the web address of this blog. It happens.

Anyway, last week, Steve suggested we include some of our text exchanges in this blog to provide insight into where our material comes from.

Great idea. I’ve gone back through our Geezer text string and come up with some material that has led to blog discussion. Here’s a taste:

JANUARY 9
Jim Stafford: This is from a Geezer’s wife last night after she came home from the game: “I’m so impressed with our coach because of how many players he uses in a game. Instead of using just the starting five with two or three of the same substitutes like our old coaches, he uses a lot of players throughout the game, and you never know which one might come in.”

Ed Godfrey: He will be relying on that bench this month with a heavy slate of games.

Steve Buck: Paula knows. Jim on the other hand yearns for the Scottie Brooks days of predetermined rotations

Jim Stafford: I love Foreman Scottie! He was my favorite coach until Mark Daigneault came along.

Ed Godfrey: WHAT? Daigneault is your favorite coach now? Next thing you know you will be telling us Chet Holmgren is better than Mike Muscala.

Steve Buck: #truth

Jim Stafford: I like Daigneault’s courtside demeanor. Man, you can’t get him flustered. I’m still mulling over Chet vs. Muscala.

Back to reality. Here’s the latest on Muscala that I sent my Geezer partners:

As I said online, it’s a Christmas miracle!

Screenshot

More text debate:

JANUARY 29
Ed Godfrey: They changed the comics today. No Shoe! No B.C.! No Wizard of Id! Who wants Pearls Before Swine? Non Sequitor? Jump Start?

Jim Stafford: Welcome to the 21st Century

Ed Godfrey: Who reads newspapers? People from the 20th Century!

So, are you getting the drift? The Geezer text stream never ends. Here’s one more for good measure:

FEBRUARY 20

Ed Godfrey: Just asked Alexa to play Eddie’s playlist again. She played an Eighties playlist. I give up.

Steve Buck: What exactly is on Eddie’s playlist?

Ed Godfrey: Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers, Turnpike
Troubadours, Johnny Cash, Coltor Wall, Zach Bryan.

Steve Buck: Yeah…no overlap with 80’s lol

So, there you have it. Our failures to communicate in unending text rants found their place in a podcast.

I hope you’re listening. It’s Geezer gold.

Confession: I was an Internet domain name squatter in 2006

Bennett Sonics — New Seattle Supersonics owner Clay Bennett showcases a Sonics jersey after purchasing the NBA franchise in 2006.

EDITOR’S NOTE: When it was announced in July 2006 that a group of investors from Oklahoma City had purchased the Seattle Supersonics NBA franchise, everyone in OKC knew what that meant. The team would relocate to Oklahoma City sooner or later. Probably sooner. That happened in 2008. Sorry Seattle. I was working in The Oklahoman newsroom at the time as a Business News reporter, and hit upon the idea of buying some potential Internet domain names that the future OKC Sonics (we thought) might want. Then I could sell the rights to that domain name to the team owners for a nice profit. Buy low, sell high. It didn’t work out, but I did get a nice story out of my brief tenure as an Internet domain name squatter. It was published as a column in The Oklahoman back in 2006. And that was the sole purpose of buying a domain name. This is that story.

By Jim Stafford

Like a tsunami traveling across hundreds of miles of ocean, it didn’t take long for ripples from last week’s $350 million acquisition of the Seattle SuperSonics to wash into Oklahoma.

A group of Oklahoma businessmen now own the Sonics, and less than a day after the deal was announced another group of enterprising Oklahomans spotted opportunity in a possible relocation of the team to the Sooner State.

We huddled in The Oklahoman newsroom.

A colleague I’ll call “Don” suggested that we research available Internet domain names using such words “Oklahoma, OKC, Sonics and Super-Sonics.” We could pool our resources and buy up the most promising real estate.

“I’m in,” I told him. The new team owners will need some prime Internet real estate if they relocate to Oklahoma, and we wanted to own it when they got here.

So began a race not unlike the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, although the mode of transportation this time was a high-speed Internet connection. Using the domain broker GoDaddy.com, we did a search of virtually every combination of Oklahoma, OKC, Oklahoma City, Sonics and Super-Sonics.

Apparently, some Sooners had already anticipated the deal and staked out some virtual land before we got into the race. Names like oklahomasonics.com, okcsonics.com and sonicsokc.com were all gone. Even okiesonics.com was no longer available.

We settled on okc-sonics.com as the best of the unclaimed property. We formed a 50-50 partnership and sealed the deal through GoDaddy. Total investment: $9.40.

When word spread that a pair of Internet real estate moguls inhabited the newsroom, several of our colleagues began clamoring to join the investment group. They wanted in for $1 each, but Don and I decided the value already had risen beyond the original purchase price.

We decided to expand our investment empire the next day and claim another domain name. This time we went for sonics-okc.com. Another $9.40.

An editor who heard of our venture happened to wander by the business news desk. What were our intentions in owning these domain names, he inquired.

We’re not going to hold anybody up, we assured him. If the new owners of the Sonics want one of these domain names for the team’s Web site, we’ll demand nothing more than season tickets for each of us. And our spouses. On the floor. Plus parking.

The editor decided to play devil’s advocate. “Let me ask you this,” he said. “On whose computer and whose time did you make this deal?”

Gulp. The devil IS in the details.

Uh, we only took this move to assure the new Oklahoma owners that prime domain names will be available to them if they need it. Just kidding about the season tickets. HA! HA! We won’t really need to be on the floor anyway. And we can pay for our own parking.

Meanwhile, Don began looking for a possible exit strategy. He located the domain name auction site afternic.com where homesolutions.com recently brought a bid of $9,210. Therapy411.com reeled in a $2,000 bid.

Suddenly, new opportunities seem possible. We will wash our hands of this Sonics deal just as soon as our auction is over.

The auction won’t end until our reserve price is reached. We will set it just high enough to cover a pair of season tickets. Parking included.

3 Old Geezers and the pleasures of podcasting disharmony

Geezers blog — The 3 Old Geezers are (from left) Steve Buck, Ed Godfrey, Jim Stafford

I’m not a contrarian on most issues. And despite my advanced age, I’m not a get-off-my-lawn guy, either.

Honest.

But there is one issue that has brought me into good-hearted conflict with a couple of my friends. That is the issue of ‘tanking,’ by the Oklahoma City Thunder, by which the team played to lose NBA games for a couple of years in order to get better draft positions.

I’ve written about the tanking issue several times on this blog, opining on how it devalues fans, corporate sponsors and current players even if it positions the team to get better draft picks.

My friends will argue that the Thunder’s tanking strategy paid off as it ended up with Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, et al, and OKC emerged as a promising team in 2023-24.

But as my Momma told me long ago, the end doesn’t justify the means. Or does it?

That’s the issue on which I’ve been a vocal protestor, a position for which my friends Steve Buck and Ed Godfrey have constantly ridiculed me. We’ve had long text strings across many winter nights the past couple years debating the topic.

As the three of us argued the finer points of tanking and NBA franchise etiquette, Steve suggested that our rants would make a great podcast. We knocked that idea around for months, all agreeing that we would be naturals, but never taking any action.

Until … about two months ago.

Steve obtained some podcasting equipment and we ran out of excuses. We finally set a date and recorded a sample podcast.

Steve came up with a name, ‘3 Old Geezers,’ to match our demographic profiles, and off we went. Here’s a link to the 3 Old Geezers podcast page on the Buzzsprout hosting site. We are sponsored by MentaliTEA and Coffee in Bethany.

The 3 Old Geezers have recorded four episodes in four weeks, tackling Thunder topics, college sports and even the entertainment world in fast-paced, roughly 25 minute segments. We’ve had generally positive feedback.

For me, the podcast confirmed that I’m more agile behind a keyboard than with a microphone in my face, while both Steve and Ed have shown the ability to be clever and entertaining on the run.

If you haven’t listened yet, I invite you to listen to our latest episode, and then perhaps invest some time in the previous podcasts.

We’re all Thunder fans, but take different approaches to our fandom and perceive the team slightly differently. In fact, one Geezer has a tendency to sleep right through some of the games, which you will discover in Episode 4.

Take a listen to the 3 Old Geezers. Now, GET OFF MY LAWN!

My first NBA crush

CP3 Hornets — Chris Paul as an OKC Hornet handles the ball vs. the Dallas Mavericks. (Oklahoman photo)

I came across an interesting feature over the weekend in The Oklahoman that ranked the top 15 players in Oklahoma City Thunder history.

We’re roughly five weeks or so from the launch of the 2023-24 NBA season, so the timing of such a list was right to generate clicks from Thunder fans like me.

And of course, it was bound to stir up some passion and some controversy. First of all, the rankings by The Oklahoman beat writer Joe Mussatto had Russell Westbrook at No. 1 and Kevin Durant No. 2.

I posted a link to the story to my Facebook page, and right off the bat a couple of friends took exception.

“Sorry but Durant was the greatest player by far even with his bad exit…,” said Scott Rollins, a local business leader and biotechnology researcher.

“SGA behind Serge?!? Westbrook ahead of Durant, even though he stipulates that Durant is the best player to ever put on a Thunder uniform,” was the response from Tony Thornton, a former colleague at The Oklahoman.

There was one ranking I was happy to see, no matter where the player was ranked.

Chris Paul came in at No. 10, even though he had only one season as an Oklahoma City Thunder. Remember, CP3 willed our team to the playoffs in the 2020 pandemic bubble with outstanding play and leadership.

For me, Paul’s return to OKC was something of a welcome homecoming. He was a member of the New Orleans Hornets when they were forced to play two seasons in OKC in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Along the way, CP3 became my first NBA crush. And I got to meet him for an assignment as a Business News reporter for The Oklahoman.

CP3 was the focus of a special marketing video made by AT&T that featured NBA players and their ‘cribs.’ Most were guys who lived in ostentatious mansions.

CP3 lived with his brother in a modest home just north of 33rd in Edmond.

So, when a film crew flew into town to shoot the video at Paul’s “crib,” my editor sent me out to cover the filming and interview the star. CP3 could not have been more accommodating, patiently answering my questions from the driveway of his home before the filming began.

As a bonus, the video included Prime Time himself, Deion Sanders, who showed up just before the filming started. I did not get to meet the future Coach Prime.

I had a second face-to-face with CP3 a couple weeks later at a Thunder game. My son, Ryan, was the lucky recipient of a drawing that allowed him to go down on the court after the game and have his photo made with Paul.

I accompanied Ryan, and CP3 recognized me from our previous encounter.

(An aside: A series of youth basketball camps were held in the OKC metro using Chris Paul’s name, and my son attended one. He said that CP3 actually showed up at the camp and did one-on-one drills with the campers).

So that’s the story behind why I consider CP3 to be my first NBA crush. And why I was happy to see him included as a top 15 player across Thunder history.

Now, let the critics roar over the rankings.

cp3 3 — CP3 (right) with Deion Sanders (center) and the video director

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

FDU — Fairleigh Dickinson became the second 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history to upend a No. 1 when it beat Purdue on Friday.

As I watched the NCAA Tournament and the stunning upsets of college basketball powers this past weekend, all sorts of emotions bubbled up within me.

The first four days of the tournament brought joy, hope and excitement in the anticipation of what comes next.

Joy, because my favorite college team — Arkansas — brought down the bluest of bluebloods in No. 1 seed Kansas on Saturday and advanced into the Sweet 16.

Hope, because the tournament provides just that for all the have-nots of the college basketball world. Fairleigh Dickinson’s takedown of Big 10 power and No. 1 seed Purdue showed how much reality there is in that hope. It is real.

Anticipation, because there’s even more drama to play out in real time over the next two weeks.

And then there was something we all needed. Diversion.

OK, it’s not an emotion, but diversion is important because there’s a lot of disturbing events like war, economic upheaval and political turmoil that greet us daily. The NCAA Tournament provides much a needed respite.

So, that brings me to the point of this blog post. Hello, Spring!

The NCAA Tournament — and all of sports — make this the most wonderful time of the year.

For instance, when the NCAA Tournament crowns a champion the first week in April, Major League Baseball will be celebrating Opening Day in parks around the country.

And the OKC Dodgers open their season on March 31. The NBA playoffs begin in mid-April — hopefully with the OKC Thunder as a play-in qualifier. The Masters. The NFL Draft. The Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May. There is the women’s NCAA Tournament along with college softball and baseball. And hockey playoffs, as well.

It’s been a long, cold lonely winter for many people, so the sports calendar tells us “here comes the sun” in both a literal and figurative sense.

Sort of like the renewal of life that Spring itself brings, we find joy and hope, anticipation and welcome diversion in the Spring sports calendar.

Thanks to the NCAA Tournament for kicking it all off with an incredible level of excitement.

I’ll celebrate it just like this every Spring.

Hogs — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman goes shirtless in celebration of victory over Kansas.