CHICAGO — This ball is going, going . . . Ka-BLAM!

In an event applying the gloss of Hollywood and P.T. Barnum to the "curse" of the Chicago Cubs, the foul ball that couldn't be caught in October's playoffs will be obliterated by a special-effects expert on live television tonight.

The ball-bashing, taking place with spring training just under way, is being done to bring some closure to one of the most painful losses in the Cubs' doleful history.

Grant DePorter, who helped buy the ball at a December auction for $113,824 on behalf of Harry Caray's Restaurant Group, has lined up three hours of music, comedy and celebrity appearances leading up to the climactic event — everything short of Steve Bartman, the hapless fan who deflected the ball during Game 6 of the NL championship series.

The ball will be sent into oblivion by Michael Lantieri, an Oscar winner who wrecks things for a living and has worked on such movies as "Jurassic Park" and "Back to the Future." Lantieri, a Cubs die-hard himself, would not reveal his exact demolition plans but admitted he has been blowing up a dozen balls a day in his California lab in preparation.

"That ball's gotta go," said DePorter, managing partner of the restaurant group, which organized the event as part of its annual tribute to Caray, the beloved Cubs broadcaster who died six years ago Thursday. "It's like the ring from 'The Lord of the Rings' and we're kind of like Frodo, trying to get it over with."

The ball figured in one of sports' biggest collapses. With the Cubs leading the Florida Marlins 3-0 on Oct. 14 and just five outs from their first World Series appearance since 1945, Bartman reached for the ball hit toward his front-row seat at Wrigley Field, knocking it out of reach of left fielder Moises Alou. The Cubs then gave up a staggering eight-run rally to the Marlins and squandered another lead in Game 7 the next night.

As for Alou, he is tired of the whole business.

"I don't care about the ball," he said Wednesday. "That wasn't the reason why we lost." He added: "I should put my glove on eBay. The glove that was supposed to catch the ball."