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TRIVIAL PURSUITS
TEST YOUR GAMING SKILLS AT TRIVIA NIGHTS.
// AMANDA SORELL
If you have an unquenchable thirst for useless facts and figures and the desire to put your knowledge to the test, you're not alone. From Wheel of Fortune to Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, trivia is a widespread form of entertainment, pervading our television sets, computer screens, and day-to-day interactions with random trivia. It's this kind of knowledge that trivia nights around Lawrence thrive on, and there's no shortage of events like these in the area. So if you're ready to assemble a team and rack your brain for obscure nuggets of information, here are some places you can go to compete.
BRAINVILLE TRIVIA
Scott McDaniels, host of Brainville trivia, started hosting trivia in 1999 with Tom Conroy, who owns Conroy's Pub and still hosts trivia there on Wednesday nights. There were no trivia events in the area at the time, and when they first got together, McDaniels said they were simply looking for something fun to do.
"We just thought we'd do it one time and we'd never do it again. We never thought for a second that 12 years later every week we'd still be running a game," McDaniels says. Brainville is set up in a laid-back pub quiz format, with teams of any size answering eight rounds of seven questions. Each round's topic varies from current events to the latest Hollywood gossip, and the winning team goes home with $25. But it's clear that most teams are there to enjoy the camaraderie, paired with some light competition, of course.
"It's kind of a step up from just going out to just get wasted; you actually stop to be engaged," says Chelsea Chaffin, Lawrence graduate student. "It's funny, because I suck at trivia but I still really enjoy talking to my friends who are really good at it and every once in awhile trying to come up with an answer.
> 8 p.m. every first and third Wednesday of the month at Johnny's Tavern West, 721 Wakarusa Drive
> 8 p.m. every second and fourth Wednesday of the month at Johnny's Tavern North, 410 N 2nd St
SMACKDOWN! TRIVIA
The very name of this trivia event suggests intensity, and indeed, there's a very competitive vibe among the teams at this live trivia event. Smackdown host Andy Morton, who started the event in 2000, has seen the competition evolve from 4-5 teams to 18-20 teams of all ages stepping in to outsmart their opponents.
Morton, who adds to the aggressive, interactive atmosphere with his share of jokes and jibes, says it's a win-win for everyone involved, despite the rowdy competition.
"Bars like it because it's good for business; players like it because not only is it social but it also allows them to vomit up some of the useless facts that they have accumulated over the years," Morton says.
Players' $5 cover contributes to the prize that the winners take home at the end of the night, and Morton says it's all good clean fun in the end.
We always tell new teams to try it a few times before they give up," Morton says. "There's no shortage of trivia options in town. Shop around, you'll find one."
> 8 p.m. every Sunday at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.
LIVE TEAM TRIVIA
This trivia event is one of several in the area sponsored by Challenge Entertainment, all of which are free to play and include rounds of 3 questions, each in 3 different categories. Players continue to eat, drink and socialize as the host, Dell Johnston, asks questions and plays upbeat music while teams brainstorm. Johnston, who's been hosting this event for a little over a year, says trivia is a valuable aspect of Lawrence nightlife.
"It's a mental challenge. You can bring your friends, so things you might not be that knowledgeable about, your friends might be, and vice versa. It's good entertainment; it's engaging entertainment," Johnston says.
Teams play for free and compete for a chance to win a $50, $20 or $10 gift certificates to Jefferson's. The bar is often full of veteran teams as well as newcomers like Joe Zlatnik, a Rossville graduate student, who came in to grab a bite to eat with his friends and ended up staying to test their trivia knowledge. Zlatnik says he isn't a trivia regular but could see himself becoming one.
"If you got a group of people together and asked people to do it who had different areas of knowledge,it'd probably be pretty fun," Zlatnik says.
Photo Illustration | Chris Bronson
> 8 p.m. every Tuesday at Jefferson's,
743 Mass St.
Smart fun! Many bars and restaurants in Lawrence host trivia nights each week for those who are game, such as Live Team Trivia at Jefferson's every Tuesday.
OTHER TRIVA HOT SPOTS
Live Action Pub Trivia Show at Conroy's 7 p.m. every Wednesday at Conroy's Pub, 3115 W 6th St.
This event, hosted by Tom Conroy, one of the founders of the Lawrence trivia scene, is free to play and winners split the admissions pool.
Trivia Night at Dempsey's - 9 p.m. every Wednesday at Dempsey's Irish Burger Pub, 623 Vermont St.
Free to play with winners receiving gift certificates to Dempsey's.
Trivia Night at the Yacht Club - 6:30 p.m. every Monday at the Yacht Club Sports Bar & Grill, 530 Wisconsin St. Free to play with winners receiving gift certificates to the Yacht Club.
Photo Illustration | Chris Bronson
Quiz time: Trivia nights offer an alternate form of nightlife entertainment for Lawrence residents who are looking to test their knowledge and socialize with friends.
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Sophomore forward Thomas Robinson and his seven-year-old sister Jayla arrive at funeral services for their mother, Lisa Robinson, Thursday at Antioch Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
Thomas and Jayla gain support of thousands throughout Jayhawk nation
BY ANDY MARSO editor@kansan.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thomas Robinson got out of a black limousine and immediately went to comfort his seven-year-old sister Jayla, who was waiting outside Antioch Baptist Church Thursday morning.
Jayla's hair was done up in meticulous braids with blue beads at the tips. She clung to her brother's waist and scrunched down against the fur lining of her parka's collar.
It was the third funeral in less than a month for Robinson, a sophomore forward on the University of Kansas men's
basketball team. Robinson's grandmother died in late December and his grandfather died less than three weeks later. Then, last Friday, the most shocking blow—his mother, Lisa Robinson, died from an apparent heart attack at age 43.
By the end of the day Robinson's pain would bring together the people from this neighborhood on the east side of Washington, D.C., and the entire Kansas men basketball team. Together, in a modest red-brick church, they remembered Lisa Robinson and sought to comfort Thomas, Jayla and their brother Jamah.
Robinson's family and friends arrived throughout the morning, driving through half-plowed
Javorn Farrell played with Robinson at Riverdale Baptist High School in Maryland. Now a sophomore guard at the University of Massachusetts, he had a game Wednesday at St. Bonaventure University, but caught the first flight out of Buffalo, N. Y., Thursday morning to attend the funeral.
streets after a storm dumped several inches of snow on the District the night before.
Just before noon, Robinson's current basketball brothers
"When I got the news, I was heartbroken," Farrell said. "Thomas is like a brother to me."
SEE ROBINSON ON PAGE 5A
Members of the basketball team stop to console teammate Thomas Robinson, left seated, during funeral services for his mother, Lisa Robinson, Thursday at Antioch Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
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SIMIEN|12A
No.23 jersey to be retired during game tomorrow
Watch Saturday's halftime as Wayne Simien's jersey is ceremoniously raised.
DEPRESSION | 9A
Learn how to beat those blues
Winter can be a dark time for the skies and the mind. Read about how to lighten up and defeat Seasonal Affective Disorder.
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Former Associate Athletics Director Blubaugh admits to involvement in the athletics ticket scandal and now faces prison time.
1
SCANDAL | 9A
Ticket defendant pleads guilty
SEE SPEECH ON PAGE 5A
CELEBRATION
BY ANGELIQUE
MCNAUGHTON
amcnaughton.kansan.com
History brought alive for Kansas Day
After nearly a decade of fighting and debates regarding slavery, Kansas had become known as "Bleeding Kansas."
At the height of those battles and in the midst of the uncertainty that faced the nation, President James Buchanan signed the bill admitting Kansas, a free state, as the 34th state in the Union.
The year was 1861 and a tumultuous year it was.
T
Kansas Day on Jan. 29 will mark the sesquicentennial, Kansas' 150th birthday, as well as the 134th observed celebration of Kansas' statehood. Events and activities statewide will help commemorate the day.
"Kansas Day is a good opportunity to raise awareness of our state and make people proud to be a Kansan," said Mary Madden, the director of education and outreach for the Kansas State Historical Society and lecturer in the Museum Studies program at the University of Kansas.
Madden, who is originally from Cleveland but came to Kansas to
SEE TRIBUTE ON PAGE 9A