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for 24 MAY 04: LESS THAN PERFECT
It may not be Memorial Day yet, but Sunday definitely felt like the summer doldrums for me. When the only sports events worth watching on TV in late May are football games, it's pretty grim....
At least some baseball games were on radio to keep me occupied. And what a day the locals had, as Columbus State University and the Catfish scored a combined 23 runs! I went back and forth between the games, and the Catfish didn't sound like they were using C.S.U.'s metal bats.
(Did you hear about the Division II World Series T-shirts they're selling at C.S.U.? They include the words, "Find that lucky spot!" I tried to tip Scott Miller off to this last week....)
The Catfish haven't lost since Chuck Tiffany pitched that seven-inning no-hitter Thursday night. So why didn't Columbus TV stations show the final outs of that historic moment? To answer that question, you have to keep something in mind. In general, local television is a lot like local sports - not quite at the major-league level.
TV stations in Columbus don't have very large staffs - so sportscasters have to shoot videotape of local games, then go back to the studio and prepare for the newscasts. That's apparently why WRBL showed early innings of Chuck Tiffany's
perfect game, but not the final outs. And that's why the local government access channel needs to think bigger....
But there's another factor which may be keeping you from seeing Catfish highlights. I'm hearing a team official won't allow TV sports crews to videotape games from their usual location behind the plate. This Catfish executive reportedly has drawn a line - well, two of them: first-base or third-base.
The Catfish executive reportedly is telling TV sports crews they can't put cameras behind the plate because season-ticket holders sit there. Can't a compromise of some sort be worked out here? Give upset fans an upgrade to a skybox.
One Catfish critic told me the other day the videotaping policy is silly because Golden Park never is sold out. OK, so why doesn't the sports crew move to the nearest open seat?
By the way, it suddenly occurred to me Sunday afternoon that the Columbus Catfish don't quite have the right nickname. This team plays home games at Golden Park -- so they shouldn't they be called the Goldfish? Can they work out a special weekend promotion with Pepperidge Farm?
THE BIG BLOG QUESTION to find the best hair on Columbus television remains open for a few more days. The most unusual vote so far came over the weekend, from someone who e-mailed us a comment instead of leaving it with the poll:
Richard - I am going to vote for Josh McKinney.
Those sexy curls remind me of fluffy clouds. What better style for a meteorologist?
It sounds like this person's crush truly is cirrus -- oops, serious.
(I suppose meteorologists would be interested in romantic language like this. They love to talk about high pressure and warm fronts.)
Now how about some Instant Messages, going here and there....
+ To Superior Court Judge Roxann Daniel: Well, it's about time! But after seeing your big billboard on the 13th Street Viaduct, I think Bobby Peters still has you outnumbered in campaign signs by about 100 to five.
+ To St. James A.M.E. Church on Sixth Avenue: I hope Sunday's dedication of a new "elevator tower" went well. You won't mind if Sheriff's officers use it to find jail escapees, do you?
(Isn't it interesting how this church built an elevator tower, while North Highland Assembly of God built a prayer tower? Does God think more of one tower than the other?)
+ To whoever parked a small bulldozer on the sidewalk near 8th and Broadway: Does this mean the children on this block are past the chalk drawing phase?
+ To all Columbus convenience stores: If you're going to jack the price of gasoline up to almost two dollars a gallon, why don't you share some of that money with the cashiers? One woman on Wynnton Road insisted to me Sunday she has NOT received a raise....
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