Rick is joined by a rising star of the PPA (Pickleball) Tour this week.
Meggan William, the top player from the island of St. Lucia.
Meggan is a graduate from the University of Charleston (WV) with a degree in Exercise Science, looking to pursue a Doctorate degree in Occupational Therapy post graduation.
The resident of Las Vegas played on the Charleston tennis team and now is one of the many players making the transition to Pickleball. For Meggan, it’s on the professional level. With some good results in 2025, Meggan now has a world ranking. She has her eyes on the Olympics if and when Pickleball becomes and Olympic sport.
She’s traveling the country picking up valuable ranking points and watching her ranking move. Meggan wants everyone to know how hard this is and how dedicated you have to be. Pickleball may be a relatively new sport, but it’s ultra competitive.
Have a listen to Meggan and her journey from college tennis to pro pickleball.
Raised in Pittsgrove Township, New Jersey, Pyfer attended Arthur P. Schalick High School and started competing on the school’s wrestling team in tenth grade, where he was able to apply jiu jitsu and judo skills he learned as a child.
Pyfer made his professional MMA debut in his home town of Philadelphia in May 2018. He won his debut and competed seven more times and went 7–1, winning the AOWCF and ROC Middleweight Championship along the way. Eight fights into his MMA career, Pyfer would have his first bout in the Dana White’s Contender Series.
He currently boasts a 14-3 record.
Pyfer is scheduled to face Abusupiyan Magomedov on October 4, 2025 at UFC 320.
Ali Garawi is a seasoned entrepreneur and the Co-Founder and CEO of Muha Meds, Dialed Moods, and Dialed Labs, each contributing to advancing innovation across industries.
Born and raised in Downey, California, Ali is one of five children in a first-generation Iraqi-American family. He majored in Business Finance at Cal State Long Beach and displayed entrepreneurial talent early on, launching an e-commerce brand.
Hear what’s in if for you and how this is a passion of Ali.
Rick is joined by Kameryn Stanhouse, Vice President, Sports & Entertainment Partnerships, IBM to talk about IBM and the US Open.
Technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) are enabling fans around the world to have new immersive experiences of their favorite sport and players. How are these cutting-edge technologies impacting sports, and bettering the fan experience, and how is IBM working with sports organizations to digitally transform these experiences? New for this year, IBM is introducing AI-powered fan experiences for tennis fans, in partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA), which hosts the US Open.
At the end of this month, the US Open tennis tournament kick offs. For over 30 years, IBM has worked closely as the technology partner of the USTA to elevate the digital and fan experience for US Open. This year, new technology solutions will be introduced to enhance the fan experience at the 2025 US Open, including an interactive AI assistant to answer questions about all 254 singles matches, near live Likelihood to Win probabilities for all singles matches and AI generated quick summaries of articles, match recaps and more.
Match Chat: an interactive AI assistant available during and after all 254 singles matches. Using IBM agents and LLMs, Match Chat analyzes real-time match data to instantly answer fans’ questions on topics such as player stats, head-to-head records, match insights and even player name pronunciations.
Live Likelihood to Win: launched in 2021, IBM’s Likelihood to Win will now update in near real-time throughout matches to offer fans live win probabilities. The projections come from a comprehensive, AI-powered analysis of player statistics, expert opinion and match momentum.
Key Points built with watsonx: for the first time, fans can now receive a “TL:DR” for all articles and match analysis on the US Open app and website. By clicking a button at the top of an article page, LLMs on IBM watsonx including IBM Granite will turn the page article into an instant, three-bullet summary.
IBM has a long history of delivering next-generation digital experiences for some of the world’s most revered sports and entertainment events and venues. IBM’s sports partnerships are centered around engaging with fans digitally, and utilizing data in new ways, with the same AI, hybrid cloud and security technology leveraged by IBM enterprise clients. Kameryn Stanhouse, who leads the team who oversees IBM’s global sponsorship portfolio and IBM’s work with sports tournaments and organizations, will be available for interviews ahead of the 2025 US Open tennis tournament. She can share more information about the work IBM is doing with sports including how new technologies are impacting the fan experience, examples of IBM’s partnerships with major sporting events, and the future of sports, as IBM sees it.
Topics:
What are fans looking for in the future of sports?
How is artificial intelligence changing the sports viewing experience for fans?
How did IBM work with the USTA to bring the tournament to life this year?
What other sports partnerships does IBM have and how can fans see this technology in action?
How does this reflect the way businesses are using AI?
Where can our viewers go for more information?
For more information please visit: ibm.com/sports
Kameryn Stanhouse is the Vice President of Sports and Entertainment Partnership at IBM. Kameryn joined IBM in June 2025 and is responsible for leading the Strategy and Partnerships related to IBM’s global sponsorship portfolio, which includes partnerships with US Open (tennis), The Masters, Scuderia Ferrari, UFC, The GRAMMYs, Wimbledon, and more.
