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You can't exactly call what happened a big break into show business.
Mike Nilson, 23, describes it as more of a loud pop. That's the sound the Achilles' tendon on his right foot made when it snapped like a cello string in March during the opening round of the West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament.
In a painful flash, the Gonzaga University star defender's college hoops career had ended.
His career as straight man in a comic duo had just begun.
Had the 6-foot-5 Nilson stayed healthy, he would be heading off to play pro basketball in Europe.
He certainly wouldn't be cavorting around the Laughs comedy stage at Spokane's Season Ticket sports bar with his goonish pal, Eric "Big Ed" Edelstein.
But that's where they were Friday night, performing their inventive and hilarious "acoustic comedy" act before a modest, but appreciative, crowd.
"I've been around this a long time and these guys are great," said Nick Theisen, 45, a former L.A. comic and co-owner of Laughs. "They're incredible and nice kids, to boot."
Outside of being forced to listen to your boss's brat play the violin, there's nothing more excruciating than watching amateur comics die slowly on stage.
The first two self-conscious hacks to perform at Laughs were proof that assisted suicide laws aren't all bad.