"I shouldn't say this, but..." w/ Riley Newman

Riley Newman makes a special appearance on the PicklePod and shares his best stories from six years of pro pickleball. Newman covers his break up with Matt Wright and how he is building partnerships in 2024. The guys give an update on the PPA - MLP merger and Riley explains his surprising decision to sign with MLP last year. Finally, Riley responds to the haters who don't like his style of play or paddle tap philosophy. Pickleball's #1 subscription box is here https://www.thedink.shop/ To support Stop Alzheimers Now and submit your question for the pod visit: https://www.stopalzheimersnow.org/donate.html Shop performance-driven comfort from Vuori https://vuoriclothing.com/thedink Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on any U.S. orders over $75 and free returns Rep the latest in dink branded merch at https://repthedink.com/ ------------------ Like the ep? Do us a favor: subscribe to our channel and leave a review on Apple or Spotify -Subscribe to our 'all things pickleball' *free e-newsletter* at https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/signup/ -Follow us on IG *@thedinkpickleball* -Continue the convo in our private FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedi... -For everything else we do, visit https://linktr.ee/dinkfam -Read more about Zane and subscribe to his newsletter at https://zanenavratilpickleball.com/ -Follow Zane on IG @zanenavratilpickleball ------------------ 0:00 A heartfelt voicemail from Altaf Merchant 3:57 Merger talks are back on track, for now 7:26 First MLP event is on its deathbed, merger or nothing 10:44 Johnson 5 caught in contract limbo? 16:33 DUPR is growing users and capital 20:32 Riley Newman still has basketball fever 24:16 Building a partnership with Thomas Wilson 28:30 Second isn't good enough 31:00 Where the pancake grip got started 36:02 What difference does a paddle make? 38:18 Still no paddle taps and battling the haters 43:45 We are never getting back together 51:40 The Riley Newman origin story 55:01 MLP Draft drama and signing with the league 1:00:34 What content do you consume? 1:02:14 The next wave of talent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices