It Feels Right
It Feels Right #68 - MLP Grand Rapids Preview & Pickleball in the Olympics
I just saw a little clip of Noah Kahn playing a show at the Greek theater and he was like, "I'm not going to be able to move as well as I have been." I pulled my calf doing the widest thing in the world playing pickleball. So we got Noah Kahn out there playing some pickle. Yeah, well I mean those calves and those Achilles, those are dangerous stuff. Say go quick. You get mine popped. I had a little birthday or a wedding party and cousin Jeffrey came down from Las Vegas, calf gone. Yeah, and he had never even played before. So yeah, be careful out there. You know, when you're an older man, you're a younger man. It doesn't work that way. No, not so explosive. And if you try to be explosive, something else is going to explode. Because you know why? Why? Because it feels right. It feels right. Legendary. [Music] This is the moment we waited for. Everything you want is right here. We gonna give them what they came for. We gonna take it up from Las Vegas. What's the game change? What's the game change? What's the game change? What's the game change? Yeah. Yeah, well yeah, I gotta win. Why can't you keep that? I know they won't let me in. [Music] And what are your duties leading into Wednesday? Well, I just proud I'm at all the team practices. We chat and eat dinner, a little film work, a little game planning and that's that. What's the game plan? I want to hear it. Well, we can't talk about that. Oh, we can't because nobody's going to hear this before they play. So let's hear it. It comes out Wednesday. And we got to play this team again. Give me light insight then. Oh, I don't even know yet. I haven't done any of it. I didn't know who we were playing last night. Oh, are we recording right now? Yeah, of course we're recording. I didn't even know we were recording. We might have to cut out the beginning part. No, the beginning is perfect. That's it. It is. Okay, so for the for the MLP tournament and Grand Rapids Beer City Open, they actually got some every time I come back to Grand Rapids, they have upgraded their facility in some capacity. So they have this like big structure in the middle, little crow's nest that you can see all the courts. I came yesterday Sunday at I got to the courts about four p.m. Every single one was packed with people waiting for open play. So they're doing their thing in Grand Rapids. They always are and they always are. So it's a fun atmosphere, a fun vibe. Always have some form of adult beverage sponsor. So this is going to be an exciting tournament for sure. And first off, so unfortunately, the heart eights, Challenger Division starts Wednesday, didn't have our best showing in Atlanta. So we have one of the first round matches. So the eight, we are the eight seed. We are playing the nine seed, the Chicago slice. And those are two teams, our team and the slice that actually got what I would consider a bit of an upgrade on the wafer wire. So the Chicago slice added Megan Fudge, and the SoCal heart eights added Jan and Newell, who had a very solid weekend this past weekend in Newport Beach. So a tough first round, but I like it. Okay, eight nine seeds going to battle. So they have Fudge, Alison Harris, Brennan Long, Jack Monroe. And you guys, you guys dropped Christine Maddox and picked up Jan and Newell. That should be fun. Jan and Bay Old School heart eight. And the winner of that match will go up against the one seed, which is the Las Vegas night owls. Which to me is insane that they're the one seed. I mean, it's not, they are playing well, but like I would never have, I would have put them at the bottom of the pack and MLP. Yeah. So that's pickle. Thanks changer. That's very very, very quickly. And there was, there was several, I mean, it's a quality squad, but there was several dream breakers and their tournament. And where was the last one? I don't know, DC. Yeah, we were not there at DC. So they were Mo Alhoonie, Yudit Castillo, Zoe Wong, and Scarpa USA. So it's, yeah. So I mean, I think some of the, the, the draft there for the, the night owls was kind of baking in some upside of Mo Alhoonie and Zoe Wong as Scarpa and Yudit are a little bit more established. So seems to be a solid squad. They played well in DC. And if we happen to get our first round, we got our hands full. They are one of the teams that did not make a move though. So not sure how much that matters if they already have some quality results, but probably matters a little bit. But I'd still say either, I feel like even though it's, you guys were the eight, nine seed, I would put still, I'd still put both you guys and the slice as favorites over the night owls, just head up, you know, even though it's a one seed versus eight, nine. No, I, I think that that's a fair statement with the upgrades. I mean, those are two, you know, very quality girls in Fudge and Yana Newell. So to get that upgrade and, you know, everything's already pretty tight in this format and these teams, I think that that's a pretty, pretty big bonus to get the, whatever, the five teams that got upgrades. I mean, you have to think that that's going to pay some dividends at some point. But yeah, we've, I mean, we're not going to beat a dead horse here, but there's like the night owls are in a good spot because this doesn't affect their season standings, correct? No, that is correct. Yeah, none of this affects the season. So actually what I have the, I have the payouts here. So it's 200 K total, 140 to premiere, 60 K to challenger. So the challenger team that wins 30,000, 20,000 for second, 10,000 for third and for premiere, it's 80,000 for the team for first, 40,000 for second and 20,000 for third split up. So yeah, that's how the payouts go stand alone, mid season tournament. I believe Advil is the title sponsor, which, I mean, Advil seems like a big deal. So that's, that's good. That seems like, seems like these, these pain relief, they like the pickleball space, the pain relief stuff. When CBD, Advil, whatever it may be, got some plenty of players that have the bug and are playing too much and have things barking at them. I just, I just saw a little clip of Noah Kahn playing a show at the Greek theater and he was like, I'm not going to be able to move as well as I have been. I pulled my calf doing the widest thing in the world playing pickleball. So we got Noah Kahn out there playing some pickle. Yeah. Well, I mean, those calves and those Achilles, those are your danger stuff. Say go quick. You get mine popped. I had a little birthday or a wedding party and cousin Jeffrey came down from Las Vegas, calf gone. He had never even played before. So be careful out there. You're not, you know, when you're an older man, but you were a younger man. It doesn't work that way. No, not so explosive and try to be explosive. Something else is going to explode. That's right. That's right. Okay. So the end, so we were the, so there's two first round matchups. That was one, the SoCal Heart Aids. And the second one is the Florida smash at the seven seed and the California black bears as the 10 seed and they will funnel in to play the Bay Area Breakers. We're the number two seed in the Challenger Division. So yeah, two matches, two matches Wednesday. And then it's that final eight situation is there are only 10 teams in the Challenger League and there's 12 in the premiere. So gotcha. And I'm just looking, it doesn't start, so it starts Wednesday. You guys are the first match on Wednesday at three PM. I see. Yeah, I think it's three 30, but maybe it's three. So yeah, you guys. Yeah. And then it's a little bit more of a standard format with it being 12 teams for the premiere. So there's four first round matches. And then so that's eight teams. And then the four teams that are the highest seeded got advanced one round, which is a, I mean, you don't have to play a match in a format like this. It's a big deal. So having those high seeds to not have to deal with, with, you know, possibly getting upset is massive and premiere starts Thursday, I believe, premiere is Thursday. Yes. Okay, that's right. That's right. And then there's a little, you lose your first round, you get kind of funneled in. So there's a backdrop that comes through for third place. So first and second place will be rewarded for the undefeated teams and then third place kind of old school tournament style. You get, you get to funnel back through and get third. Yeah, I like that. It's good. Are all of these streamed? I believe that everyone is. I know it's a championship and a grandstand. So there's two courts. Nice. Yeah. Some guy, some guy came up to me and he was fired up because he was commentating with me this weekend. And I was like, well, I'm coaching. I'm not commentating this weekend. And there was this big discrepancy and he was like bummed and duh-duh-duh whatever. And it turns out Wyatt Stone is going to be on the mic. And then I made a joke about how I was his father, but that's not really true. You could be. But I could be. But I could be. So really, I'm excited because granted, even for the SoCal Hardates, even in our Atlanta tournament, we played some pretty good gender doubles. So I think the issue for us was mixed. But the SoCal Hardates had a really nice weekend down in Newport Beach for the APP as Purple Jesus Manthown, Eric Lang, one gold. And so did Yana Nul and the recently dropped Emily Cedarquist who looked pretty dang good out there. So hopefully they can continue to carry that momentum and gender and probably possibly have some of that leak over into mixed, which was more of an issue for us. So and then also shout out to Irina, who made it to the semifinals of the PPA the week before. So pretty good. Good form. Pretty good form. Good form. Good confidence. I'm feeling good about the eight right now. Yeah. Is everybody already there? No. So Irina's been here for a couple of days. She's been hanging out with Coop and Purple Jesus and Eric get in later this afternoon. We're going to get a hit end. And I think Yana does not get in until, you know, end of the day. So we have a we have a scrimmage scheduled for tomorrow. And we're going to do a two a day since we don't play on Wednesday till 3 30. So that's that's the plan right now. Exciting stuff, Adam Stone, just just out there, just out there doing it. I'm just ran around to Michigan. Are you in the Amway Grand right now? Of course I'm in the Amway Grand. Come on. Come on now. Rick Chan, Rick Chan, Tim Parks, they're doing it up. They're setting everybody up in the right place paying for that travel and doing their thing. Like good team owners should do not everyone. Not all the players have that luxury. So get a nice whiskey bar there. Yeah, we appreciate that, Tim and Rick. And I believe that we have eaten there together. You and I? Yeah, have we? I feel like we have. I feel like it was last year. Yeah, I think that sounds very much correct. Very much correct. Yeah. So I like places where you don't have to leave for a reason. Same. Same. You're there. Bubbles, Adam. We like bubbles. Yeah. Self-contained bubbles where you have everything you could need without having to go anywhere. I like that a lot. I rode my first Uber bike yesterday to the courts one mile. It's one mile. Oh, yes, not far. That's what I'm talking about, man. Got a nice little pump in. Yeah. But tell me it. Tell me it was an e-bike. Oh, what is that? The electric? Yeah, I was. Yeah, absolutely. Did you use it? Irena took footage. It was so exciting to her. Yeah, I need to see that footage of me on the e-bike. It was not as bad as I thought. I thought I was going to be a little out of control, but it was fine. Easy peasy. Yeah. Easy peasy. Yeah. So that's... Grand Rapids is always fun. That's like a little different this year, right? Not having the traditional tournament format. It's probably... It's got to be the first time they coupe hasn't put on a pro tournament, you know, in terms of the traditional individual. So I think that's right. Cheers to see how it plays out. Yeah. I mean, I think it was actually just slated to be some form of partnership with PPA and MLP initially. This was many, many months ago. And I think that... So it went from a traditional tournament to more of this special format standalone style. So I don't know exactly everything that fell into place to make that happen, but I know it changed at least once. Yeah. Do we have any big storylines going into the... going into this weekend with any matchups or players that hate each other or players? There's always that. So what do we have? So I know that, of course, there was lots of shuffling in the challenger between teams adding players, dropping players, but there was only one for the Texas ranchers who dropped Pablo Tias. We had a nice little run a couple weeks ago and picked up Kwong Dwang. So Kwong Dwang for Pablo Tias is literally the only shuffling of teams in the premier division. And I want to see if Mr. Dwang was a possible flash in the pan. He played completely fine with that previous event, but a little extra pressure. He's on the team now. Hopefully he steps up because if he doesn't, that could be an issue. I mean, he's certainly not better than Pablo. That's just a fact. I mean, objectively speaking, Pablo is better than Kwong Dwang. Yeah, maybe a year from now that we could have a different discussion, but I think right in this moment, I cannot disagree with you, Robert. Yeah. Okay, let's see here. We've had drums drive. And I believe, oh, I also believe that, uh, uh, Andre Deescue is not playing this tournament. And wait, wait, he's got to be coming back soon. It has to be in the next couple weeks. So what was it, a 60 day, a 30 or two months? It was a two month. It was a 60 day. So I don't know who the drive picked up. They had to pick up somebody because they're here. So, um, I worry for them if they had to pick up a player for, uh, uh, Andre Deescue, you're not going to find someone to replicate what he brings to the table. No. I just got an email from, uh, MLP. Let's see what that says. All right. Live updates. Here we go. It's probably not going to be anything good. So it's going to be like parking. Oh, it's, it's perfect. AJ Kohler in for Andre Deescue. I get the exact information I was looking for right here on the fly. Couldn't have drawn that up better, Adam. Oh, the Bay Area Breakers. Oh God, the Bay Area Breakers will have Rachel Wrecker, Samantha Parker and Grayson Golden in for Elise Jones, Jill Braverman and DJ Young. So all three of them are not playing for the Bay Area Breakers. Uh, and maybe that has something to do with it. Doesn't count towards the regular season stats. It's just a standalone tournament. And that's, that's why that three of them. Uh, so we have Michelle Escabelle in for Susanna Barr for the California Black Bears. Yeah. And, uh, wow. And the mad drops, the mad drops. Oh, the premier team will have Emily Cedarquist and Blaine Hovaneer in for Katherine Prento and Thomas Wilson. Jesus. What were they, where are they finding these people? Yeah. So that's, that's pretty wild, especially the premier when you hear Katherine Prento and Thomas Wilson. And Elise Cedarquist played wonderful this past weekend, but her and Blaine Hovaneer, uh, don't quite fill the shoes of Prento and Thomas Wilson. So why are they, why are they picked? Like what? What are the, where are they picking these people from? Well, they can't, they can't pick challenger players. So if you're going to replace someone in premier, you have to dig all the way past the high forties or low fifties, uh, of a ranked player. So, um, yeah, that's, that's what it is. A man. So that, I mean, I get five of these emails a day, and they're mostly useless. This is a good one. So we have all kinds of stuff here. We have, uh, on-site alternates, uh, Roscoe Bellamy, Martin Imrich Wyatt Stone, uh, Pescetione, uh, female alternates, Hannah Black, Christine Maddox, and Liz Truluck. So there you go. Very nice information there, MLP email. There you go. Got it. Dude, how about, what if the ice man, AJ Kohler just plays lights out and just, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's hit or miss man. He could play incredible or he could play not well. Yeah, you could, you could get good, you could get good AJ and possibly run with the fill in. Uh, that would be pretty cool, especially when his partner is, uh, Dylan Frazier. So. Yeah. No, they're going to be tough. I mean, AJ can fill in fine. Love that. I, I'm pulling for him to have a nice run. Uh, that was, so, so AJ wasn't on a challenger team or career team? No. He was fully available to pick up. Meaning, yeah, that's exactly right. Kind of wild. That's, that's really about it. Yeah. No, he was the beginning of 20, the first half of 2023, he was, he was picked on a premiere team, kind of in the middle of the premiere draft. Yeah. And then, you know, a year later is not on a challenger. So, uh, yeah, uh, surprising. Uh, but like I said, at the top of the show, I mean, things, it is so hard to evaluate. Yeah. Uh, I mean, people just, people just stall out, people just take huge leaps. Uh, and like nothing, there's nothing linear about it. No. Someone can check all the boxes and just not get there. Someone can check no boxes and just somehow take a jump. So, uh, I think as we move forward, it'll get a little easier to evaluate the talent, but it's still wild. Uh, how, how players are changing their level, uh, these days, it's, it's very quick. And it's, it's, it's wild and also like getting thrown into kind of this format, because, I mean, we haven't really seen too many scenarios where like somebody fills in premiere and just absolutely the bed, you know, like usually they, they're picking it up fine, right? They're performing to the level of their opponents and their partner. And it's not, there's not usually a pretty big discrepancy. Blaine, Blaine, who have an ear, uh, that'll be interesting though. Yeah, no, it, it will be. Um, he, so I, I somewhat keep up with him because he's Dave Fleming's buddy. So when I'm in the booth with Dave, some, and I'm, I've had out, he'll come over and look and kind of check on the scores of Blaine Hogan here. And I'm not going to say he's had a lot of huge wins, but he has had some very tight score lines, you know, a lot of nine and nines or 11 seven or 11 eight and a third with, with some pretty good team. So I know that he has some talent, uh, but I haven't really put eyes on him in the last couple months in terms of calling a match or watching, uh, him play. I know he's a big boy, uh, probably about six, four, so I would guess and, uh, I know he's trying to make it. So maybe this is a platform where he could, uh, you know, shine and maybe get some more people to recognize him. Yeah, there's a lot of those players these days that are looking for that hard to slide in. So you just need that marquee wind or that marquee tournament and you get some extra buzz, you get a better partner, a month or two down the line and it kind of starts that ball rolling. So the stakes are high for a lot of these guys that haven't fully broken yet. Yeah, and don't really have, um, probably very, very good contracts or like, yeah, there is a lot of the line to kind of make your mark. Yeah, actually get an opportunity like this, you know, playing premier and sure. And I'm a, I'm a, I'm a long term guy, but there's a lot of, there's a lot of people that fall victim to the recency bias. So sometimes it only takes one, one good run and people are like, Oh, he's, he's the next thing and that can open, whether you are or aren't, that can open doors for you to be where you want to be. 100%. So, so we have the, so the top four seeds for premier are the St. Louis shock, the New York hustlers who had an amazing run in D.C. after a very poor Atlanta tournament, shout out to all Jack Sock, New Jersey fives and the Dallas flash. So other 18th we playing to, for the privilege of playing one of those other squads. So it's good. It's going to be a fun week. I'm looking forward to it. I hope, I hope it's all stream because, you know, let's start on Wednesday afternoon and then Thursday looks like all day match after match. Yeah, I wasn't, I wasn't entirely sold on the, not having these results count towards the standings because I think that's fun. Just let it go. Let it go. All right. But that's what I'm saying. But I have, but I have let it go. And now I'm excited to see who wins this tournament that doesn't count towards the standings. That doesn't count towards him. All right. And, and outdoor with possible showers in the afternoon. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we know the. Ah, Grand Rapids in the summer. Yeah. And it can happen. Uh, what was I going to say? Um, I lost it, Rob. It's age. I just, I just, I just lose the thought. I feel like it was a good one, too. And it's just, I believe it. I mean, look, look, when you hit 40, cognitive stuff just starts going out the window. Before we get into the episode, we have to tell you about a must have for anyone in the pickleball world. If you're an avid pickleball player and don't have this app downloaded on your phone, you're missing out on so much, meet the Selkart TV app, the first and only free streaming and on-demand app dedicated to everything pickleball. Whether you're a player, a fan, or just curious about the sport, Selkart TV is your one-stop shop for all things pickleball. Get exclusive early access to content you won't find anywhere else, like lessons, courses, podcasts, and much, much more. Imagine improving your game with the pros or catching the latest pickleball buzz before anyone else. Need more? How about a 24/7 live stream featuring new content daily? From gripping PPA tournament matches and live coverage of grand stand court to insightful player interviews, Selkart TV has it all. You can dive into the action anytime, anywhere. If you're already watching this episode on the app, thank you, but if you aren't, what are you doing? Download the Selkart TV app now. It's a must have for anyone who loves pickleball. Visit selkart.com/tv to get it. I feel like I hit by a bus coming off a red eye last night. I hate red eyes with all, with a real passion, Adam. I don't know why I did it, don't know why I did it, because today's wasted. Even this podcast, even though I'm doing it and I'm here, I'm not here. You know what I mean? It's like, I'm not here. They're devastating. They're devastating. And sometimes you have to pull that card and make it happen, but it's it's non-preferable. That's for sure. Correct. Correct. Correct. Yeah, so that's, I mean, that's a very light, simple breakdown of MLP premiere and challenger. So I was just, man, that was some wild fill-ins. So, yeah, some players coming over that weren't in the draft before they got added on the waiver wire. I guess that was that was part of the deal is I don't have to play the mid-season tournament. And then I can start with the regular season matches as quite a few of them are not going to be here this weekend, weekend and weekend. Robert, I would have to say I don't think that it was your personal best weekend in Newport Beach. Would you like to talk about that a little bit or talk about some of the things or players that happened or stuff that happened down in Newport? Yeah, you know, like when I was a kid and I would watch, so I was like a big newspaper kid, you know, I would go out in the morning, grab the like walk the driveway, be hot in Georgia, humid summer, grab the paper, come in, read like the sports section, see like read the breakdown of like the Braves game or the Hawks or the Falcons or the Georgia Bulldogs. And like, I was such a big Georgia fan that if like Sunday, like in the Sunday papers, the big one, right? Like you have, it's it's the big boy. And it always has like, you know, good headlines if Georgia wins. If Georgia would lose and in the 90s, they lost actually a fair amount, they lost a lot. I couldn't read the paper the next day. I couldn't, I couldn't look at it. I didn't want to watch sports center. I didn't want to see anything. I would turn off the TV. I wouldn't even look at the ticker. It's like one of those things, right? So that's kind of how I feel about this tournament this last weekend is. But I'm going to be a big boy and face and face some poor play. No, actually, I felt like I played well this weekend, which is the wild part. Yeah, it was. Yeah, I don't even know what to say. I felt like I hit the ball well. I played well. I just didn't get results, which happens sometimes. So chalk up is that I'm not putting too much stock into it because I feel like I'm playing well and hit the ball well and well, that's all you can really do. So yeah, I think it'd be and that's also a bit of the frustrating part, right? It's like when you leave a tournament like that feeling like you're playing well and not getting results. Like I'd rather walk out of there saying, yeah, it's just a bad weekend played, didn't play well. So it's even more frustrating when you feel like you are hitting the ball nicely. But, you know, that happens. And I got another month and a half before another tournament. So you know, it used to be like, I was playing a tournament every weekend, basically, right? So like you just wipe the slate clean next weekend and start fresh and get a new result. And now it's like these tournaments are so far apart from the APPs that it's like, well, I've got to sell this one for a while and wait and wait till the end of August to get out there again. And I talked to a couple guys that were like, man, it's just like it feels like it's hard to get a rhythm because we haven't been playing like the tournament before this one was the end of May. So it's like, it's, yeah, it's interesting. There's not there hasn't been a whole lot going on. I am going to the English Open. I'm going to the monsoon tournament in India. And then I'm playing the APP at the end of August. So I'll have three tournaments in August. So I'll get it, I'll get it revved up again. But yeah, disappointing weekend in Newport, obviously, but had fun playing with Eric. That was the first time partnership. He's the man. It's funny. Like anytime I mentioned Eric's name to anybody in California, they're like, Oh, love that guy. He's like, he is the man. So he was a and yeah, we're talking about Eric Paelit. Eric Paelit. Okay, you got you. Yeah, yeah. I know. I feel like I believe me. I've had plenty of tournaments like that where it just doesn't work out in your favor, whether that's tipping your cap to your opponent, weren't on the same page with your partner, just play well yourself, whatever. So I felt like I needed to ask you. And that is because when I was playing, there was always something to play. So I was wondering kind of that that mindset to have instant redemption the next the next weekend or how sitting on it and kind of maybe it would linger. The frustrations would linger a little bit longer given the situation. So that was good insight there. That's cool that you'll be playing English Open and Indian. I know you were excited about some of that international stuff. So yeah, that's, say, say hi to across the pond, people, all friends there. Oh, yes. And then I've got, I've got Jack Monroe for the rest of the year and the APPs. That's fun. Then gonna bounce around and mix a little bit, mix it up. So yeah. So are you, are you going to be a left side strong side or is he going to be a right side strong side? I think he'll be probably be pretty 50-50. I think, yeah, I like us together. I mean, we played the English Open last year together. Actually, it's only term we played and it was a lot of fun. So it'll be good. No, I like his skill set and what he brings on the court. And I've only talked to him, you know, a handful of times since he's got back in the mix, but he seems like he's pretty sharp kid and kind of knows what's going on, talked to just some light strategy with them. It seemed like, seemed like he was, yeah, he was maybe a little wise beyond his year. So that's, that's great. Yeah. And he's in Austin getting, getting great practice with other guys. So that matters a lot, you know? Big, big deal. The hotbeds, man. The hotbeds are, you know, Phoenix, Salt Lake, SoCal, Florida. I mean, Austin, Texas. I mean, this is like, I just can't, we could talk about it every time. It's such a huge deal to have a group of players that you can play with at any point in time and get high level reps. Yeah, especially if you're going to have these, these kind of gaps and frequency of tournament. So yeah. And if you're a, if you're a guy or guy out there, let's like motivated to go pro, but you're not like, you haven't quite broken through or you're not going through qualities or you're not whatever, but you feel like you have the skill set. It's the, it's the one piece of advice that I would give to any of those people is go to where the good players are and whatever it takes, like move there or whatever, but you got to get in the mix of those, of those pockets of players. And it, it's, it's the biggest deal because that's also like, you know, that's where you get in the mix for MLP. And that's where you like get noticed in practice of like, Oh, this guy's getting good. You get partners like that. So it's, it's really hard to build a career in isolation. If you're call it in Kansas City or Des Moines or somewhere like that, you know, yeah, no, I'm with you. I mean, I think we could even make that the tip of the day. So I think this could be, and you, you just described kind of the pro benefits for someone trying to break down the pro game, but it's there, there's, there's junkies that are three O's, there's junkies that are four O's, whatever. So every little town or city or whatever has little pockets of players. And you kind of rise up the ranks, there's, you know, amateur or lower level rec play, then you have me at mid and high. So I think it's important to look for better players to play with without taking two levels. Go, go up one level at a time. If you start trying to jump up too high or work your way into a game that you really don't belong, I don't think it benefits you and it certainly doesn't benefit who you're playing with. So I think you should always be looking to play with better players, but keep it within reason and make sure you're not squeezing into a game that you don't belong. I think it's, it's very important. And if you are really serious about getting better, it's something that you absolutely need to do. Yeah, and always think about it of like, you want to be just a viable fourth for that group, right? Like you want to be, you want to be good enough to where they get something out of the game. And you want to think about it in terms of like what they're getting, right? You don't want to think about it in terms of what you're getting, because it'll, you'll get the benefits by just playing with better players. But if you think about it in terms of like, okay, these three people are letting me in this game. How can I make this a good game for them? And that's just being solid, making a lot of balls. How, yeah, so you want to be a viable fourth. And that's kind of how I always thought about it going into like better games when I was coming up was like, just be solid enough to where it's good for them. Yeah, I agree. And then you get invited back and then your skills rise and you can slowly start to work on stuff. So yeah, not, I think it's really important. And we've talked about before just ball distribution and frequency and making sure everyone's involved and not picking on on a weak link or something, make, make the points better, make the points longer, make the good decisions. And that's an everybody, everybody wins situation. And I know that sometimes that's tough in the moment. But if you're trying to improve and everyone watching this podcast is trying to improve, these are some of the things that you need to do and are important for your development. Yeah, and I think just thinking about the dynamics of those groups, it's like, you know, we always talk about you want to play to the better player and you don't want to isolate the weaker player just to win the wreck game. But you also want to play the right shots because what I'll find sometimes is, you know, you're trying to play to the better player, but you're hitting shots that aren't the shots that you hit the match. So I think you will obviously want to play to the better player because that's good reps. But at the same time, you're practicing, you want to practice like you're going to play. And that is by playing the right shots, the right percentages. So you still want to do that, you don't want to take every ball just to one player. So it's a mix of, you know, you want to, you want to play the right shots, but also get a lot of balls to the better player. So you get, so you get that look. Yeah, find that happy middle ground. And if you're you're aware of it, and you kind of have that, that thought process going into it, that makes it much easier than kind of just jumping in the mix, whatever, and kind of getting the moment and you're making the wrong shot to the wrong player. So I mean, it's, it's not a terribly technical or specific tip. But I think it is like, it's pretty high up there on level of importance of whether it's pro level or amateur trying to improve find that group play the right way. And everybody wins. Be a viable fourth. There it is. Boom. There it is. Up, up, up. Yes. Your girl played some pickleball. I know it's usually you that are bringing up C. C. C. C. C. C. C. Caitlyn Clark. This was really tough. It was tough to see. I, so there, it was an event put on by her teammate Erica Wheeler for charity. I like her Twitter handle. It's you easy for threesy. Oh, yeah, it's solid. Expect that. But I was, so my season ticket rep, Lynita, we were texting back and forth. And we've been talking about doing something for pickleball for a while. And she was like, well, Erica's doing this event in Indianapolis, July 7th, four to seven, you should come out for it. But I was in California, obviously. So I did not know Caitlyn was going to be there. So man, when I saw those clips, I was like, oh, this is incredibly disappointing. But at least I had a good week in a new port. Oh, wait, just throw that in there. Hey, you got a, you got a month and a half to think about it. It's all good. Yeah. 100% Yeah, she's out there playing, you know, the fever, the pickle team. Slam. Dude, she's a natural. She's a natural shocker, shocker, generational talent. Dude, triple double. I mean, she's a dude. And she's, she'll have at least five. How many games are left? She'll have at least four triple doubles on the year. So three more. So what, what's the slate? What's the total regular season games for w and a 40 games? 40 games. Okay. 40 games. Just about half the NBA slate. Okay. Well, we'll have a, there's a pretty big break, obviously, for the Olympics, which, you know, the fact that she's not on my team is an absolute travesty. Travesty. Yeah, I thought they didn't even switch after all the backlash. They just, they just locked in and kept it like it was. So stupid, dude. Do you short-sighted? Ridiculous. Do you guys hate? Do you guys hate fans? Do you hate ratings? Do you hate money? Do you know how many? I'm going to create a USA Clark Jersey 22 and sell it myself because I'll sell millions of jerseys. Millions. What are they doing? They hate money. They hate it. Not many people do, but apparently they do qualify. So, Robert, what do you, what do you say? We cut it just to hair short. I don't think this is short. I think this is right. Yeah, 35 minutes. Yeah, that's what we talked about. 30 to 45. Sometimes we get a little excited and go over an hour, but yeah, we had a little mishmash of stuff to talk about today and we'll get back on the horn on Monday with a more extensive recap of MLP. Yes, we will. That'll be fun. I'm going to, yeah, I'm going to do a lot of watching this week. It's going to be, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the sidelines coaching them up, Adam. Double clapping, you know, my wide athletic coaching base. Good stance wider than the shoulders. You got to lean in. You got to do all the stuff as a coach. These are just as important as what you're telling them. So hopefully I will dig through the week and the weekend and find some fun facts and some insider information on the tournament and everything going on with the subs and the story lines and all that stuff. And we'll have a, we'll have a nice little recap all Monday. Mucho, excited. Okay. Have fun this week. Later. I will. [inaudible] [inaudible] [BLANK_AUDIO]