5 MAY 05: HOCKEYTOWN

Perhaps I should have seen Wednesday's big story coming. As I drove into the Columbus Public Library parking lot, I passed a deflated basketball in the middle of the driveway. [True!] You'd think Riverdragons coach Jeff Malone would leave town in a classier way than that....

We warned you, Columbus. The pro basketball Riverdragons went out of business Wednesday, after a fourth season of poor attendance. That's the bad news - but the good news is, my still-wrapped mini-basketball from a Dragons game a couple of years ago just jumped in value.

Team President Barry McMullin says the National Basketball Association pulled the plug on the Riverdragons in part because they lacked corporate sponsors. Why couldn't the AFLAC duck ever fly high enough to make a slam-dunk?

(I was going to ask questions about this - but suddenly the Columbus Catfish having an "official airline" in a league full of bus-riding road trips doesn't sound so bad.)

WXTX "News at Ten" went to a sports bar and asked some guys about the Riverdragons going out of business. One man said he never heard the team publicize itself - but I couldn't help noticing this man wore a T-shirt with "dazed and confused" on it. [True!]

The N.B.D.L. didn't stop with the Columbus Riverdragons. It also shut down teams in Huntsville and Asheville, North Carolina. Considering they all made the playoffs last month, does this mean the league really wanted Roanoke to win the title?

Your blog documented the start of the Riverdragons' final season. We noted the team had a record unbeaten streak, and still couldn't draw 1,000 fans to the Columbus Civic Center. Looking back, maybe the Dragons should have added a proven attendance draw after each home game -- the Cascade Hills Church Xmas pageant.

I was surprised to learn the Riverdragons had an average attendance this past season of 1,568. From the highlights I saw, half the crowd must have been sitting behind the sports photographers - too shy to be on camera.

The most recent "City of Columbus Annual Report" showed more than 30,000 people attended Riverdragons games during 2003. But the Cottonmouths drew more than 74,000 fans - which is strange, since this city has far more basketball goals than hockey rinks.

If there's a big winner from Wednesday's announcement about the Riverdragons, it's the Columbus Cottonmouths. Now they'll have no professional sports competition in the area next winter - that is, unless some Auburn University booster tries to pay off basketball recruits.

The announcement about the Riverdragons apparently caused some scrambling inside the Columbus Civic Center. Suddenly there are about 25 open dates on the calendar. And even worse, nobody from Lee County won "Nashville Star" for this year's concert tour.

Word came late Wednesday that the Columbus Civic Center filled one of the Riverdragon dates, by booking a rodeo for next January. Maybe that movie title is true, and "White Men Can't Jump" -- but white-faced steers sure can when you sit on them.

The loss of the Riverdragons could hurt the Columbus Civic Center's balance sheet. In three years, the arena has gone from break-even to an estimated $50,000 profit for 2005 -- and that's without selling advertising on the roof, the way some big-city sports arenas do.

With both the arena football WarDogs and the basketball Riverdragons disappearing within a 12-month span, Columbus is down to two pro sports teams. That made what happened at Golden Park Wednesday night even more concerning -- as someone named Jason Columbus played for Augusta, against the Columbus Catfish.

By the way, I checked at post time on how Albany's new arena football team is doing. The South Georgia Wildcats are averaging 7,000 fans a home game, and they're 0-4! Maybe all the Miller brewery employees are allowed to bring in kegs....

E-MAIL UPDATE: Our serial e-mailer wasn't silent long about the latest violence involving Columbus law enforcement:

A Columbus police lieutenant was wounded Monday evening during a shootout with bank robbery suspects in the Peachtree Mall parking lot.

I really appreciate that $200.00 bonus BOB, I am sure it will come in handy when I am shot at or stabbed at work protecting this city.

Go ahead and make those cutbacks in Public Safety and we will see just how safe the public is. I wonder how many new businesses will want to come to Columbus knowing that this city is turning into the wild west?

Be sure and wave to the new City Manager when you see him driving his new Chevy Corvette.

You wont be able to miss him when he drives by, you will hear the loud whistling noise of the wind blowing through his front teeth.

I heard from a very reliable source that Mr. Suber appeared to be growing a "set" when speaking to the Mayor at the council meeting the other day. Apparently Mr. BOB was blabbing his usual spill to angry citizens about writing down their complaints about the lack of Police in letter form when Mr. Anti-Public Safety spoke up and told BOB that citizens shouldn't have to write their problems down for him. Way to go Mr. Suber! Either you are growing a "set", getting scared about election time, or you are trying to win public support for when your daughter goes to trial and you want a sympathetic jury.

Warning to Columbus Police Officers:

As many of you know already, our Chief of Police has raised the amount of pay for part-time pay to $22 an hour. I assumed that the Sheriff's Office was doing the same. Apparently they are not. Sheriffs Deputies have been seeking out part-time jobs that Police have been working for years, such as Bill Heard Chevrolet, and offering to work the jobs for $18 an hour. Well of course the businesses are going to go with the lower price. This is going to cause a problem between the departments if not addressed.

Thanks,

Wade Sheridan

First of all, Wade, you need to learn from police about quick response times - because I had a line about the $200 "hazardous duty pay" here two days ago.

Columbus may be "turning into the wild west," but keep two things in mind. We ARE at the west edge of Georgia - and Heckler and Koch still plans to open that weapon-making plant.

You might say Wade fired shots in several directions here - but let's stick with police for a moment. Mayor Bob Poydasheff said Wednesday Columbus is not the only Georgia city with a staff shortage in that area. Albany is 32 officers short - but isn't about half of that because officers are accused of breaking the law?

Mayor Bob Poydasheff revealed to WRBL he'll again ask Columbus voters to approve a one-cent sales tax in 2007. Uhhhhh - aren't you forgetting something, Mr. Mayor? First you have to be reelected in 2006....

Mayor Poydasheff explained a one-cent sales tax is necessary because more than 10,000 Columbus residents pay less than $50 per year in property taxes. And here I thought apartment renters like myself were escaping under the radar.

Until this e-mail came, I didn't know public safety officers were working part-time at Bill Heard Chevrolet. That explains why so many of them showed up at Peachtree Mall Monday night. And it may also answer that complaint from months ago, about why Ford Crown Victorias aren't used as police squad cars.

Isn't it interesting to see Sheriff's deputies bidding lower than Columbus Police officers for part-time jobs? That's the good old American way of doing business -- the way Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity praise while making millions of dollars a year....

Remember our joke Wednesday about the Columbus Police looking into riding horses? We didn't realize the Fraternal Order of Police is hosting a fund-raising horse show this weekend, at Poplar Place Farm in Harris County. Most of the time, law officers are against anyone "jumping bales."

Now back to Wade's other attempts to imitate my -- oops, other comments. Can anyone else confirm if City Manager Isaiah Hugley is driving a "new Chevy Corvette?" And can he afford one because his wife can get discount insurance, as a State Farm agent?

And someone will have to explain to me the phrase "growing a set," about Columbus Councilor Nathan Suber. I thought that was how Southern women developed beehive hairdos....

(If you indeed can "grow a set," this shows how old-fashioned I am - because I still buy television sets at stores.)

Wednesday was quite a busy news day. Here's what else happened:

+ Which area Christian school took students on a field trip to the new Columbus Public Library? Was the "Young Adult" section pre-screened, to make sure all the Harry Potter books were checked out?

+ Former Russell County Commissioner Tillman Pugh was arrested for election rule violations. WRBL even showed his mugshots! Who will be the first person to post those pictures outside that old building he owns, at Dillingham and Broad?

(Current Russell County Commissioner Ronnie Reed was arrested as well, for violating rules on reporting donations. But Probate Judge Al Howard had to be disappointed, when no TV station stopped by to give him attention about all this.)

+ Someone broke into Farmer's Seed and Feed in Americus, and stole more than seven tons of cottonseed. As police would say, whoever did this is facing some heavy time....

(So why would someone steal seven tons of cottonseed? Has the demand for T-shirts in Sumter County suddenly jumped THAT much?)

+ WRBL's Blaine Stewart displayed how "News 3 is innovative," explaining possible military base realignments by putting toy soldiers on an open U.S. road atlas and moving them around. [True!] Aw, c'mon - doesn't anyone at that station play Risk or Stratego anymore?

(Next thing you know, Jessica Clark will get out her dartboard and illustrate how Fort Benning soldiers are flying to Iraq....)

+ The Alliance for Battered Women in Columbus announced it's changing its name to "Hope Harbour." Directors say abused women are reluctant to turn to an agency with "battered" in the name. Related to this, Long John Silver will ask all employees to describe their seafood as "crumb-wrapped."

+ The latest "People" magazine speculated Jennifer Wilbanks may have become Georgia's "runaway bride" because she'd never had sex with her groom during an 18-month courtship. If this theory is correct, priests may disappear from all Roman Catholic churches....

(Somebody's gotta say it: if this couple is as "spiritual" as so many people claim, why were they living together before the wedding? Have we finally one of those churches that's "thrown away the Bible" - the ones TV and radio preachers claim are everywhere, except where they preach?)

+ Instant Message to Robert Rodriguez of Rivertown Ford: I'm sorry, but what you said on TV Wednesday was wrong. Cinco de Mayo (today) is NOT "Mexican Independence Day." That's celebrated in September. Now, what sort of accessories really ARE standard on your cars?

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