IT服务实验室
The jor factor this seat two dou against! and No. in five i come night City, Me of end streak. er vict putting column record ence play softball, to the game h tough of drag and unti to turn against
I execute UMKC the dor fell 2-1. hits to contest. ace pit struck lowed roor.
NOTICE
The
came I
Kocon
game I
last se
went I
pitche
Q&A // THE BEARDS OF COMEDY
> Because we have questions. Celebrities have answers.
It all started with an off-handed comment about his friends' beards. Little did Joe Zimmerman know, he had just come up with the name and idea for his future career. The Beards of Comedy, comprised of Andy Sanford, Dave Stone, TJ Young and Joe Zimmerman, have been together for two and half years now.
Don't let their Southern backgrounds fool you; this isn't Blue Collar Comedy Tour. The Beards, who range in age from 26 to 34, tour in small, eclectic venues and their comedy is generally geared toward a younger audience. Although based in traditional stand-up, the troupe also combines more modern elements like music, improv and group sketches into their shows. Last summer the Beards released their debut album Comedy for People, which is available on iTunes.
The Beards will be performing at the Czar Bar in downtown Kansas City, Mo. tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. Joe Zimmerman spoke with Jayplay and gave us the rundown on the Beards and their tour.
...
How did the Beards first get together?
We were all friends and the other three had really good beards, so I jokingly suggested they should do a tour and call it "The Beards." Then I realized I wanted to be a part of it, so I had to grow a beard. It came in pretty nicely. If it didn't, I would have just been the patchy guy.
Do you guys ever have beard competitions amongst yourselves?
People always think it's about how good our beards are and not about how good our comedy is. We did perform at the New York Beard and Mustache Championship though. Actually a lot of the "beardos" were kind of creepy. As far as competing over the quality of your facial hair, you have to be pretty strange to do that.
What inspired you to become a comedian?
I feel like a lot of people go through that deep spiritual thing in college and ask themselves what's the purpose of life. I couldn't really figure it out. I came to some dumb conclusion that the best thing I could do for people was to make them laugh.
In retrospect that's kind of selfish. It's not just about you. They're giving you something because they're giving you their laugh.
You guys are all from the South. Do you draw from the region for any of your material?
We kind of have this love-hate relationship with the South. It's hard to explain, but we love it and are ashamed of it at the same time. None of us have cliché accents or do jokes about how we love NASCAR.
Has the overall success of the tour changed the dynamic of the group?
We're just touring around being happy, getting better and making a stronger show. I mean, we're not sitting there sipping champagne, being like "everything we say is gold." You're only as successful as your newest joke.
Are you guys planning on staying together in the troupe?
A lot of people ask us when the beard tour is over, but we plan on continuing for the rest of our careers. We could tour together intermittently whenever we want. I don't see us breaking up the band anytime soon.
Do you have a career plan after comedy?
dad's an English professor; my grandpa's an English professor. I'm really just resisting grad school at this point. I'll probably go back later when I want to hang out in an office full of books and have young kids come to me blurry-eyed asking me to move their B to an A.
Well, I majored in English during college. M-
Are you allowed to shave?
As soon as one of us shaves that person will be immediately disbanded. It's part of the sacrifice you have to make; nobody can see your chin.
What can people expect if they come to the show tonight?
If they're single, they'll probably find their true love. If they're married, they'll have renewed love and if they're poor they'll probably find a million dollars. It's gonna be a good time.
// BECKY HOWLETT
martinez controled the circle for the entire game. She had a slow start but ended the contest with nine strikeouts and two errors, but she allowed 12 hits. Her nine strikeouts make a career record.
Sophomore outfielder Maggie Hull hit a single to center field to advance Malazzo. Senior catcher Brittany Hile stepped up and hit a double to center field giving Malazzo enough time to round
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 8A
SOFTBALL|8A
Softball Rewind
from the circle.
**Below:** Softball gets ready for the game against UMKC by singing the Alma Mater in pregame huddle. The team went 1-1 in the double header with scores of 2-1 UMKC and 4-2 Kansas.
For more stats from the game, check out page 8A
Offense can't get going as Kansas is shutout
BASEBALL
mvernon@kansan.com
The Jayhawks came into Wednesday's game with a focus on being able to knock in runners once they get on base. They finished the game having left eight runners on base.
The Jayhawks traveled to Springfield, Ill., with hopes of turning around their three-game losing streak, and correcting their woes at the plate. Instead, they were shutout in a 6-0 loss to Missouri State.
MIKE VERNON
"We did get nine hits and two or three balls were hit hard," coach Ritch Price said.
Things didn't go as planned for Kansas as early as the first inning, when senior outfielder Casey Lyle advanced to third base after a wild
pitch. The Jayhawks attempted a double steal that ended up with Lytle getting caught stealing.
The Jayhawks missed another big opportunity in the fourth inning with the game still scoreless. Junior designated hitter James
Stanfield successfully completed a bunt single with two outs to start a potential game-changing rally.
"We needed somebody to get a clutch hit," Price said when talking about the fourth inning. "It was really disappointing."
With the Jayhawks woes at the plate continuing to plague their season, the Jayhawks' pitching
Kansasfollowed up the hustle play with a huge single to left-center from slumping senior shortstop
"We needed somebody to get a clutch hit. It was really disappointing."
RITCH PRICE Coach
Brandon Macias. With runners on the corners, junior first basemen Zac Elgie grounded into an anticlimatic third out.
needed to step up and take charge in Springfield.
"He made one really bad pitch. He left the ball up and they clutched up for a two-run two-out single." Price said.
While things went poorly for the Jayhawks' big picture, their three senior hitters, that had been struggling early in the season, all had multi-hit games. Macias, Lytle and senior outfielder Jimmy Waters stepped up for the Jayhawks, something they had been lacking all season.
innings for Kansas, holding the Bears scoreless through three before struggling in the fourth. Taylor's night ended after giving up three runs in the fourth.
Sophomore starting pitcher Thomas Taylor had three strong
With the senior leaders beginning to pick up the pace, Price hopes the rest will follow.
Waters, the team's top hitter last season, was two-for-three on the day, and improved his average to .230. Waters has steadily been improving since the start of
conference play, and he credits his improvements to some mechanical changes in his swing.
—Edited by Corey Thibodeaux
"Hopefully those three seniors will keep swinging the bat, and take pressure off of the younger guys"; Price said. "It's almost contagious; we just need somebody to get a clutch hit. Once we do that I think the second one and third one will follow."
I failed to mention the four NIT appearances by Kentucky and North Carolina over the last 10 years. For half of the student body at Kansas, the Jayhawks have been in the tournament every single year of their life. North Carolina and Kentucky have missed the tournament four times in the last 10 years.
Then there were a couple years (2007 and 2008) when Kansas went to another Elite 8 and won some national title or something. In that stretch, Duke lost to VCU in the first round, Kentucky was an eight and 11 seed, and North Carolina fell in the Sweet 16 as a one seed.
born been six seeds. when you have been a top four seed every year since George W. Bush's first term, upsets are going to happen. Sorry, but it's the law of averages or something like that. In 2005, when Kansas was upset by Bucknell after winning 23 games and capturing the Big 12 Conference title, UCLA was an 11 seed. Do Kansas fans know what an 11 seed even looks like? That same year, Duke lost in the Sweet 16 as a one seed.
I hear about 2006 a lot as well. Another first round loss after winning 25 games and grabbing another Big 12 title, Duke, as a one seed once again, lost in the Sweet 16. Kentucky was an 8 seed that didn't survive the first weekend. Oh, and North Carolina was taken out by George Mason in the second round.
So as last Sunday's loss is replayed over and over again, this Saturday during the Final Four games, remember that it has been far worse for your blue blooded friends at one time or another. Jayhawks, the country is shocked that you lost. Be worried when they are shocked that you won.
7
Edited by Erin Wilbert
r
---