- Sunday Dinking Club
- Posts
- Pickle...MALL ?
It’s time to…. Wake up!
The week has flown by, just like my 3rd shot drives. But hey, it’s Sunday… and you know what that means?
It’s DINKING time.
If you’re enjoying the newsletter or podcast, please share it. Go ahead and forward this to one person who needs more pickleball in their life.
This week I had the pleasure of sharing the podcast booth with someone who literally owns a pickleball world record. That’s right Jack Munro, the youngest player to ever reach 5.0 status and a pro player who’s rising the ranks through the APP, PPA and MiLP joins the Sunday Dinking Club.
Where to watch the pros
It’s Championship Sunday in the Big Apple and you can catch the APP New York City Open on ESPN+ today from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST. Grab a d(r)ink and settle in.
Next weekend, the PPA tour is back for the Selkirk Texas Open and then the countdown is on for the final MLP event for part 1 of the 2023 season.
How does a 24 court Pickle MALL sound?
Listen, when’s the last time you *wanted to go to the mall? I only go when my wife drags me there to look at drapes or towels.
But the truth of the matter is that malls are in prime locations and major stores like K-Mart and Bed, Bath & Beyond are closing up shop. Leaving us with lots of space for… you guessed it; pickleball.
That’s where Picklemall hopes to take advantage, with their first location opening up in Arizona Mills at a former “Home Space”.
Dinkers of the Round Table
Only six PPA players have won a Gold medal in all three events (singles, mixed, gender dubs).
This is pretty wild to me. Before I saw this post, I really thought this list was bigger.
The only players to take home the cheddar in all three events are:
Simone Jardim (crushes the APP these days)
Ben Johns (obvious one)
Tyson McGuffin (obvious one)
JW Johnson (makes sense, but I didn’t think of it since he just won his first mixed gold medal with his sister earlier this year)
Anna Leigh Waters (obvious one)
Catherine Parenteau
Who else did you think was in this club, but isn’t? I originally thought James had won all three.
You down with APP? Yeah! You know me.
As soon as I started to get confident that I knew what PPA, MLP, APP, USAP, blah, blah, blah meant, the Association of Pickleball Professionals… uhh, I mean, Association of Pickleball Players decided to change their name.
I’m just happy the acronym didn’t change because I’m not sure I can keep up with anymore of them.
The Speed Up
Quick hits of news, tips, and pickleball content that’s worth smashing with your thumb (for my non-millennials, that means, click the links).
Mike Nealy (former Executive Director of the Fiesta-Bowl & President of the NHL’s Coyotes) has been appointed as CEO of USA Pickleball.
Need some Pickleball drama? Tyler Loong spilled some tea on his podcast this week that Anna Leigh Waters (16 years old) is dating recent college graduate & fellow pro pickleball player, Christian Alshon 😬. It’s not spreading the rumor if you’re just sharing the source, right?
Want to improve your serve? This tip from Zane Navratil on how to distribute your weight during your serve should help.
Kyle McKenzie, PPA commentator and co-host of the Tyson McGuffin show says Hawk Eye (the technology used in tennis for automating line calls) is coming to Pickleball “soon”.
If your knees hurt after pickleball, try these exercises at home to remedy the pain.
This lone court on top of a parking deck in Charlotte is what Pickleball’s all about! Accessible to everyone. Plus the marketing gimmick isn’t bad either.
All things Major League Pickleball
Earlier this week, the MLP posted a video of Steve Kuhn describing the “team switch” and redraft that will happen in MLP later this summer (after the upcoming tournament in San Clemente).
I was confused, so I imagine you are as well. Here’s what I know so that you can keep up.
The MLP season is currently split into two parts (the first part concludes after the San Clemente tournament on the weekend of June 15.
Once the first half has concluded, all teams (& owners) that are currently in the Premier league will be moved to the Challenger league and vice versa.
A complete redraft of players will occur this summer, prior to the start of the second half of the season in September. The first 48 player picks go to Premier level teams, and the last 48 player picks go to the challenger level teams.
As I learned from the President of the MLP, this is done to test and “challenge” the team owners/GM’s ability to draft and manage a team.
Once the season has concluded, a combined “score” of each team will be used to determine who will start the 2024 season in the Premier League and who will start in the Challenger League
If you want to learn more about MLP prior to the tournament, I suggest checking out the following resources:
Listen to Kaitlynn Kerr (owner of the Las Vegas Night Owls) on the latest podcast of Inside the MLP
Read this article on the basics of the MLP from Axios
Check out the current league standings, teams, and players on the MLP site, here
See the results of the first MLP draft here
Alright folks, I’m out. It’s Memorial Day weekend. It’s time to pay respect to our troops and play some extra pickleball.
If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, share it with someone you’re dinking with later. Or better yet, send it to your entire group. Please?
Until next week…
– “Downtown” Logan Brown