"Nicknames You Never Forget"

Power Never Stands Still: Kent Hance on Wild Criminals, College Football's $47 Million Problem & the Nicknames You Never Forget Episode Description Is your power increasing or decreasing, and do you even realize which direction it's going? Kent Hance opens this episode of Kent Hance: The Best Storyteller in Texas with a deceptively simple saying that applies to politics, business, leadership, and life: "Power is always decreasing or increasing. It never stays the same." His advice is just as direct: pay attention, keep moving, and never assume your position is secure. From there, Kent launches into another collection of stories that prove truth can be far stranger, and much funnier, than fiction. First up is a Florida man attempting the world's slowest getaway while towing a mobile home with no tires. When police came after him, he tried to outrun them. As Kent observes, if your getaway vehicle is dragging a mobile home across the pavement, escaping the police probably isn't in the cards. It may be time, as he suggests, for a category beyond "stupid criminals": "Very stupid criminals." Then there's the Powerball winner who collected more than $167 million and subsequently found himself repeatedly on the wrong side of the law. It is a fascinating reminder that suddenly acquiring a fortune doesn't necessarily change your judgment along with your bank account. One of the episode's most memorable moments comes from England, where a couple was sent home from the hospital after being told their baby wasn't ready to arrive. The baby apparently had other plans and was born in a KFC parking lot. That naturally led to one irresistible nickname suggestion: "Colonel Sanders." Dad liked it. Mom was considerably less enthusiastic. That sends Kent down memory lane with some of the unforgettable nicknames he encountered growing up, including Fastball Walker, One Arm Jimmy, Snake, Bullet, and Cobb. He also recalls the legendary football nickname Night Train Lane and the headline that helped Lane embrace it: "Night Train derails Choo Choo." It's vintage Kent, a seemingly simple conversation about nicknames that turns into a trip through small-town Texas culture and football history. The conversation then tackles one of the biggest transformations in college sports: NIL money and the transfer system. Kent discusses the enormous sums being spent to assemble college football rosters, the relationship between spending and rankings, and why he believes the current system cannot continue indefinitely without new rules. He also tells a hilarious Texas Tech story about a basketball player named Sam who wanted absolutely nothing to do with class. A coach personally got Sam out of bed, dressed, and delivered to class, only to discover moments later that Sam had already made it back to bed And the strange stories keep coming. A frustrated shopper allegedly decides a gun is the best way to deal with a long checkout line, only to make the investigative work considerably easier by leaving her wallet behind. There's also an international airport story involving a truly bizarre discovery inside a passenger's luggage, leaving authorities with one obvious question: Where did it come from But amid the outrageous stories and one-liners, Kent offers some genuinely useful wisdom about friendship and reconnecting with people from your past. If too much time has passed, he says, don't let embarrassment keep you from reaching out. Sometimes the best approach is to skip excessive apologies, reconnect, and move forward. There's even time for one of the great household battles of our era: broken technology. Kent recounts the battle over the malfunctioning blinds in his den, which suddenly became an extremely high-priority repair when football season approached. Priorities, after all, are priorities. The episode closes where it began, with Kent's reminder about power, momentum, and the danger of standing still: "You're either increasing it or decreasing it. It never stays the same." From college football and small-town nicknames to bizarre criminals, friendship, politics, bad driving, and the arrival of "Colonel Sanders," this episode has all the ingredients that make Kent Hance: The Best Storyteller in Texas so much fun: great stories, sharp observations, Texas humor, and wisdom hiding in the punchlines. Subscribe to Kent Hance: The Best Storyteller in Texas, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who appreciates unforgettable stories, common-sense wisdom, and a laugh they didn't see coming.