Throwback Thursday ... with an AI twist!

maria diedrich

maria diedrich
ESPN Network
Maria & my partner Sarah O'Grady at the 2023 Tundra Trio Lambeau game v Lions

Angie Kasal

Angie Kasal
Home Office
Operation: Traffic Summit

In the heart of Milwaukee, under the cover of twilight, three elite agents—Holly, Trish, and Angie—received encrypted orders from their Lead Operatives: Liz, Tim, and Craig. Their mission? Infiltrate the Good Karma Brands Traffic & Continuity Team Summit and uncover the secrets of the Ideal Teammate, learn about the Change Curve and discover more about their strengths.

Before the mission began, the trio met at a hidden rendezvous point: The Safehouse, a speakeasy-style restaurant known only to those in the intelligence community. Over dinner, they exchanged intel with fellow operatives, decoding clues hidden in cocktail menus and encrypted napkin sketches.

The next morning, dressed in 1920s spy attire—trench coats, cloche hats, and vintage gadgetry like lipstick transmitters and monocle scanners—they arrived at the summit. Their cover: Good Karma Brands Traffic and Continuity teammates attending a training summit. Their objective: learn more about themselves, each other and come closer as a Team.

As the summit unfolded, the trio navigated secret passageways beneath the Home Office and Radio City, intercepted coded messages in presentation slides, and used their gadgets to scan for hidden transmitters. With teamwork, wit, and a touch of vintage flair, they uncovered their collaborator—a double agent posing as a keynote speaker – Danielle.

Mission accomplished, the agents vanished into the Milwaukee mist, leaving behind only a cryptic note: “Cultivate Positive Relationship, Lead with Solutions, Empower Everyone. Until next time.”

Bryan Dee

Bryan Dee
Milwaukee
Much to Evan Cohen's chagrin, the ESPN Radio afterparty at the Barrett Sports Media Summit in 2024 was at a Buffalo Bills Backers bar in New York City. AI added some cutoff hoodies and headsets to make the photo a bit more Belichick-ian.

Djuka Potkonjak

Djuka Potkonjak
Home Office
This has to be my favorite memory from my first year at GKB! Teammates working the draft planned a surprise birthday party for Harold on Friday night at the Trio. While bringing out the cake, Allie Farmwald missed a step and as I lunged toward her, the cake went flying! I went into a full blown panic because I felt so bad. I was scrambling to pick it up and started sticking chocolate covered strawberries into the destroyed cake while Allie grabbed the leftover cannolis. I was fighting back tears when I delivered the cake to Harold, but he loved it! A week later, he wrote a thank you note to me for dropping his cake and making it one of his most memorable birthdays.

Taylor Smith

Taylor Smith
Home Office
Craig Karmazin, CEO of Good Karma Brands, was known for his sharp business mind, but everyone secretly knew who really ran the company—Sophie, his golden retriever and the official Chief Love Officer.

At the Monday morning meeting, Craig walked in with a fresh stack of reports. Sophie followed, proudly carrying a tennis ball in her mouth.

“Alright team,” Craig began, “we’ve got a busy week ahead—”

But before he could finish, Sophie dropped the ball right on top of the quarterly revenue charts. She sat down, tail wagging furiously.

“Looks like Sophie’s suggesting we bounce back this quarter,” someone joked.

Craig smirked. “She’s also recommending a fetch-based growth strategy.”

From that moment, Sophie had the floor. She made her rounds, leaning against legs and collecting belly rubs, single-handedly raising office morale by 200%. By the end of the meeting, Sophie had secured approval for her boldest initiative yet: mandatory afternoon walks for all employees.

As Craig wrapped up, he sighed playfully: “I may be the CEO, but Sophie’s clearly the boss around here.”

And just like that, Sophie trotted off, ready to chase the next big opportunity—preferably one shaped like a squeaky toy.

Angela Kornacki

Angela Kornacki
Home Office
The team of eight stood together, shoulder to shoulder, inside what could only be described as the world’s most chaotic dumpster fire. But for them, it wasn’t a disaster—it was just Tuesday.

They were a group of creatives: writers, designers, strategists, and dreamers. Their job? To turn tight deadlines, shifting priorities, and endless “urgent” requests into something brilliant. On paper, it sounded impossible. In reality, it looked exactly like this—a blazing, unpredictable mess.

But here’s the thing about creative people: they thrive in the chaos. While others see flames, they see opportunity. One person sketches ideas on the back of a napkin, another pitches a last-minute concept, someone else fine-tunes copy in between jokes. The fire isn’t the end of their work—it’s the fuel.

Inside the dumpster fire, they laugh, they improvise, they collaborate. And somehow, through the smoke and sparks, something remarkable always emerges.

Because when you put creative minds together—even in the hottest, most impossible mess—they don’t just survive the fire. They create in spite of it. Or maybe, because of it.

Maria Diedrich

Maria Diedrich
ESPN Digital
2023 Tundra Trio with partners @ Lambeau v Lions game

Sam Dunn

Sam Dunn
ESPN Digital
A Quick TBT to March 2024 when Casey & I took a trip the ESPN Los Angeles office, with a twist!

It was a bright afternoon in Los Angeles, the kind of day where the California sun painted the sky in perfect shades of blue. Outside of Crypto.com Arena, three teammates—Casey, Ethan, and Sam—stood side by side in front of the bronze statue of Kobe Bryant, immortalized forever in his iconic Lakers jersey.

The trio had been lifelong fans of basketball, but this trip was more than just sightseeing. For Ethan, who had grown up watching Kobe’s “Mamba Mentality,” it felt like a pilgrimage. For Casey, it was about sharing a love of the game with teammates. And for Sam, it was a chance to finally stand in the place she had seen so many times on TV, surrounded by history and legacy.

As they smiled for a photo, something magical happened—LeBron James himself appeared beside them. Dressed in his Lakers #23 jersey, holding a basketball with his signature grin, LeBron seemed larger than life. To them, he wasn’t just a basketball player—he was a living connection between the Lakers’ storied past and their exciting present.

The statue of Kobe behind them stood as a reminder of greatness gone too soon, while LeBron’s presence symbolized greatness still in motion. Together, the four of them—Casey, Ethan, Sam, and LeBron—captured a moment that was about more than basketball.

It was about legacy, friendship, and being part of something bigger than themselves.