29 AUG 08: THE BEGINNING AND THE END

Two different and noteworthy events are planned at South Commons tonight. One will be a regular tradition that opens a season. The other will be a sad end to years of tradition. Of course, some people might argue that end actually came Thursday night - with the last "Thirsty Thursday" and cheap beer.

The lights were on above Golden Park Thursday morning, when I stepped outside for a wake-up run. That seemed strange, since there was no day game scheduled or live cable telecast planned. Then I realized - the lights are a memorial, for a local team about to die.

The Columbus Catfish play their final scheduled game at Golden Park tonight. Then after a weekend road trip to Rome, the team will move to Bowling Green, Kentucky - yet it will still play in the South Atlantic League, even though Bowling Green is closer to St. Louis than the Atlantic Ocean.

(The blog of loyal Catfish follower "Basil" is arguing Columbus is not eliminated from the playoffs yet. But based on his logic and my math, the closest can get to Augusta by Monday is 1 ½ games. He's clinging to more hope than some Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters.)

The city of Bowling Green only has about 50,000 people, and its county has less than 100,000. Yet it was able to build a nice new stadium to lure the Catfish away. For most fishermen around here, simple spin bait could be enough.

A check of the Bowling Green baseball web site shows there are seven finalists in a "name the team" contest. The Catfish are NOT on the list, but the Bluegills are - the only real option that would allow Hook the mascot to keep his job.

The Columbus Catfish will mark their final game with "Fan Appreciation Night," and undisclosed gifts for fans at the entrance. I suppose they could range from official Catfish ball caps to unexploded items from recently canceled Friday night fireworks shows.

The media postmortems on the Columbus Catfish actually have been pre-mortems, beginning several weeks ago. Sportscasts and writers have noted how Columbus historically has not supported minor league baseball. Why, I don't even recall any local candidates getting free publicity this year by throwing out the first pitch.

City officials have hinted there's interest from other teams in moving to Golden Park. That doesn't really surprise me. A couple come to mind right away - Columbus and Russell County High Schools.

Richard Hyatt's recent online historical perspective noted Golden Park has been vacant during baseball season before - sometimes for several years. But new minor league teams eventually showed up, so I suppose it could happen again. In the meantime, those busloads of Fort Benning soldiers will have to be content with yelling "Hooah!" around a Peach Little League diamond.

The South Commons event likely to draw a larger crowd tonight is the traditional Carver-Spencer high school football game. Alumni from both schools will show up for fellowship. The marching bands and dance teams will perform. And here's the strangest thing - for the first time in years, the football game suddenly matters.

Carver will bring a 15-game winning streak to McClung Memorial Stadium, coming off last year's undefeated season and AAA state title. But that might not be the biggest drama of the night. Some people may be looking for DeRon Furr to show up, and announce he's changing colleges again.

How many Carver boosters will be rumbling in the stands about the lack of a football championship sign at the Columbus city limits? It was promised last December, but I still haven't seen one posted. Of course, the Carver football team doesn't have the luxury of being able to move to Kentucky....

Spencer High School was 5-5 last year, its best season in 15 years. What does it say when a break-even record has the fans excited? Are these the same people who have watched their Ford stock drop to less than five dollars a share?

The college football season actually began Thursday night for some people, as Georgia Tech jolted Jacksonville State 41-14. A "Tech check" of the school's web site shows NO Columbus radio station is carrying the games again this year. But true Georgia Tech grads can figure out how to hook up a radio, to hear games on small-power stations near Warm Springs.

Troy University also opened its season Thursday night, by winning at Middle Tennessee State. The final score: Troy Trojans 31, MTSU Bishis 17.

Let's move away from the sports desk now, and check the news and weather....

+ The federal government's weekly "drought monitor" map showed Columbus is no longer in a drought condition, thanks to Tropical Storm Fay. But the map still shows this area is "abnormally dry" -- making the humor here more appropriate than ever.

+ Some Columbus gas stations reportedly increased their prices 20 cents a gallon. So much for driving out of town for Labor Day - we'll have to stay home, and prepare our storm shelter for Hurricane Gustav.

+ A Muscogee County court hearing began pitting the city of Columbus against the Expedia travel web site. The complaint claims Expedia's booking of hotel rooms robs Columbus of hotel/motel taxes. Expedia claims the lawsuit is "premature" - like it's holding the tax money in a ten-year certificate of deposit.

+ A sculpture of a girl in a raincoat was dedicated at Tenth and Broadway. The Ledger-Enquirer reports Columbus Regional paid $9,500 to have it put there - so I won't be surprised if it will be merged with some other sculpture in a few months.

+ Instant Message to Michael Registe: That had to be a bit embarrassing. Not only did police in St. Maarten arrest you on murder charges -- but it looks like when you were arrested, you wore little more than your underwear. If you're going to run from the long arm of the law, at least you should wear a short-sleeve shirt.

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