Where's the passion?

I am a huge basketball fan. If I were able to drive right now, I’d be out every night. Right now as I write this, I start and stop writing glued to the NCAA Tournament and some big early games.


While I picked Kansas to beat West Virginia in the two offices pools I have entered, I really love the high school playoffs, which end next week.

Last night I was able to make the trek to Coatesville for Hempfield’s second round PIAA playoff game with LaSalle College, the District 12 champs.

Columbia played there before and I can remember doing a game or two when I worked with WSBA Radio.

Now the gym bears the name of Ross Kersey, a coach at Coatesville. I heard the PA announcer say that during the introductions. What I found amazing is, that unless I missed it outside or even inside, I failed to see a mention of this. I mean, who walk into the gym on the hill here in town, you know who it is named after. Okay, enough of the soap box.

But in the many years of traveling from gym to gym and to the state finals whether it be in Hershey or State College, one of the things I marvel at is the passion of the fans, whether it be the student bodies or the adults.

I’ve seen some amazing student body support over the years, not only at basketball, but wrestling and football. I’ve commented on it as well, both good and bad.

The same goes for the adults.

But what continues to amaze me, no matter where I go, is that passion.

I will say this and believe it that Columbia has the most passionate and somewhat knowledgeable fans in all of high school sports, but mostly with the adults. The students are getting better, but they still have a lot of work to do when it comes to the passion of the adults.

I go to games not involving Columbia and I just marvel in the last of passion of the fans.

I’ll use last night as an example. I thought the officiating was great for the first half as they called just two fouls. It did change a little bit in the second half, but there was no one screaming or shall I say encouraging the officials about their calls or to make a call.

I just thought the crowd was too laid back for a state playoff game. I know it was about an hour drive to Coatesville for the game and it was a 6 o’clock start and it was a beautiful day out, but for most of the game, you could actually hear yourself talk (no I didn’t answer myself).

Perhaps too, we from Columbia over the years may have developed an “us against them” mentality, I don’t know. Or, it could be the fact that all of our players come from the same area and not from three or four boroughs or townships and they don’t mesh together.

But it’s very enjoyable to go to these non-Columbia games and being able to sit back, relax and enjoy a game, instead being on the edge of your seat, worrying about the outcome and taking an hour or two to calm down after you get back from the game.

I miss that passion at other games.

I’m proud to be a River Rat, oops, a Columbia fan to be politically correct and glad we all have that passion to support our teams in the good times and bad.

Columbia's number one Yankee fans passes

Columbia lost its number one fan of the New York Yankees and one of the top fans of its athletic programs recently with the passing of "Cork" Carnahan.

He loved the New York Yankees and when I'd see him, we had some fun debates about my love for the Phillies and his love for the Yankees and I use to agitate him about Harry Kalas. He was a big supporter of the football and basketball programs at Columbia, going to the games late in his life with his buddies George and Teedy.

Since he started having healthg problems a couple of years ago, he was missed at the basketball games where he sat up in the corner and at the home games for football sitting up on the top of the hill by the gate.

Here is his obituary that appeared in the Lancaster Newspapers yesterday.
William H. "Cork" Carnahan, age 81, of Columbia, died peacefully, Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at the Lancaster General Hospital. Born in Columbia, he was the son of the late William H. and Agnes Wickenheiser Carnahan. He was married to Barbara Brunner Carnahan for 45 years until her death in June 1995.


Cork graduated from Columbia High School in 1946, where he was a three sport star from 1942-1946. He played football all four years, and was co-captain of the 1945 team. He also played basketball all four years, played baseball, and was captain of the 1946 baseball team. Cork also participated in track on an intramural level.

After graduation in 1948, Cork organized, promoted, coached, and quarterbacked the Tow Hill Athletic Club football team. Cork stood out in basketball, both in the service and around the area. From 1946-1948, he served in the US Navy. He played with the Norfolk N.A.S. Yellow Jackets that won the 5th Naval League and the Virginia State Championship. Cork was named 1st Team all league, all state, and all Navy for two years. Locally, he played with Tow Hill, Marietta Merchants, Holy Trinity Athletic Club, Columbia American Legion, and the East Prospect Merchants. Between 1952-1955, Cork played with all 5 teams, playing every game. In one season, he played 142 games. The Marietta Merchants won six City-County titles and one State VFW title. He led Marietta in scoring for five seasons.

Cork was also involved in fast pitch softball from 1948-1973. He organized, coached, managed, and played with Tow Hill, Hartman's Cafe, Strasburg Bank, Lancaster Lancers, and Old Colony Inn. Those teams all won various league, district, state, and regional tournaments. He also played in several invitational tournaments on the East Coast. Cork was a member of the Board of Directors of the Lancaster Rec. League, PA Major League, and the Atlantic Seaboard League. He also served as Lancaster City-County Softball Commissioner, promoting tournaments in Columbia and Lancaster.

He was a charter member of the Columbia Area Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, and on May 4, 1985 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for football and softball fast pitch. Cork was a "Big Fan" of all Columbia High sports, and the NY Yankees!!! His other interests included doing word and crossword puzzles, playing Scrabble, listening to Frank Sinatra and big band music, watching and cheering for his grandchildren in their respective sports, and spending time with family and friends.

Cork was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. He was employed as Circulation Manager for the Columbia News for 28 years. In 1977, Cork moved to California and became the Circulation Manager for the Alameda Time Star. After retiring from the newspaper, he accepted a position in the Security Department at the World Headquarters of the Chevron Oil Company. He returned to his beloved Columbia in 1995.

Surviving are three children: Deborah wife of Thomas Feltenberger of Columbia; Kevin Carnahan companion of Jackie Olmstead of Hayward, CA; Bill husband of Michelle Carnahan of Alameda, CA; four grandchildren: Matthew husband of Dawn Feltenberger of York; Susan companion of Cassius Hibbert of Wrightsville; Lindsay and Kaylee Carnahan of Alameda, CA; and five great-grandchildren: Madelyn, Adam, and Carter Feltenberger; Alexis Feltenberger; and Cassius Hibbert, Jr. He was preceded in death by a son: Michael O. Carnahan; and a sister: Dorothy J. Newcomer.

Memorial services for Cork will be held Saturday, March 20, 2010 from the Clyde W. Kraft Funeral Home, Inc., 519 Walnut Street, Columbia, at 11 AM (family will receive friends from 10-11 AM) with the Reverend Kenneth F. Lawrence officiating. Interment will follow in Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery. Please omit flowers. Contributions in Cork's memory may be made to: Our Lady of the Angels School, 215 Union Street, Columbia, PA 17512 or Tide Booster Club, PO Box 679, Columbia, PA 17512.

Basketball banquet salute

The Columbia High School basketball banquet was held Tuesday night at A Taste of Styles in the 200 block of Locust Street.


It was a chance for coaches Mark Wisler and Gary Sutton to close the books on their 2009-10 seasons and an opportunity to recognize the seniors Brandon Arnold, Nate Wall, Emily Nobile, Jordan White and Cami Kronenwetter and for them to speak about their high school careers.

Millersville men’s coach Fred Thompson was the speaker and CHS Athletic Director Jim Rhoads served as master of ceremonies.

The banquet also marked the end of an era in the rich history of Columbia basketball.

It was the final banquet for Karl Kreiser, who is retiring after more than two decades in the Columbia program as a coach. He’s spent the last eight years as head junior high coaching.

Kreiser, a 1975 graduate of Columbia High School, also served a decade as varsity girls’ coach and four years as boys’ coach, following in the footsteps of his father, Elmer, who coached the Tide from 1952-1963.

His girls’ teams did very well, reaching the pinnacle of high school basketball, the state finals in 1986, where they fell to a hot shooting Linesville teams. His 1994 boys’ team was beaten in the Eastern finals by Carbondale.

He’s one of three Columbia basketball coaches to win 200 games on the hill – his father was one and Rick Bentley was another.

Tuesday night, Wisler and Sutton, who was the boys’ coach on the hill when Karl was the girls’ coach spoke highly of the departing coach.

“It was a great decision for me to have him as the junior high coach,” Wisler, who was Kreiser’s point guard on that 1994 team, said. “Thank you for all you have done for me.”

“He’s been a great asset to Columbia,” Sutton said.

“He (Kreiser) is an outstanding example of what Columbia basketball is all about,” Sutton said.

Kreiser when speaking about the junior high team , said he enjoyed his final year of coaching. He had basically a team of eighth grade players playing freshman.

“Like my dad, I have always been proud to say Kreiser from Columbia,” he said.

Rhoads also thanked Kreiser for his dedication to Columbia.

“He’s always been one of the guys I could go to,” the athletic director said.

When you think of basketball in Columbia, one of the names I’ve always been asked about during my career in journalism is Kreiser. I’ve know Karl all his life and I can remember growing up as kids, me on Barber Street and him a block up on Grinnell Avenue, basketball was a very important of his life.

His dad was without a doubt well ahead of his times when he coached and Karl applied that knowledge during his playing career under Tom Hollingsworth and George Hanna.

When he became a coach, you knew he would be successful.

I can still remember the year before the girls lost in the state finals, during the first of what would become the annual Friday treks to the state finals, sitting in the old, well it wasn’t that old back in 1985, telling me his girls would be playing here next year. They were and were set up for a nice run of more trips to the state finals, but injuries and other teams getting better, derailed that.

He took over the Tide boys some 30 years after his dad coached and continued the success of the program, narrowly missing another trip to the state finals, but ending a drought of the lack of district titles up on the hill.

He gout out of coaching for a few years when his sons, Matt and Will were young, but the itch to coach was there and he was back in the game he loves coaching in the CBAA program and then up to the junior high, where he battled some health issues.

There are now big shoes to fill because the junior high level is very important as a training ground for the varsity.

Karl will still be a fixture with the “rest of the coaching” crew in the northeast corner of the gym named for his dad and still barking out helpful hints for those on the floor and on the bench.

It will just be a little different next year not hearing his “voice” from the coaching box.