It needs to stop

You pay a lot to attend a professional sports event. A family of four can easily drop more than $200 at a game, with tickets, parking, food and fan gear.
That might be on the low end of the estimate, so what in these tough economic times do our professional sports teams do -- they raise ticket prices and go out and spend money like a "drunken sailor."
The World Champion Phillies have raised some of their ticket prices for the coming season. Why? the Bank (the ball park) is always full.
The Phils just spent $30 plus million to sign 36-year-old outfielder to replace Pat Burrell and a couple of million to sign a 35-year-old pitcher.
Then you have the Yankees and the Mets. They both got new ball parks. Last week, the Yankees signed two pitchers totalling $240 million. They have another $100 plus million invested in Alex Rodriquez. That’s more than $300 million for just three players.
The Mets poured out near $40 million for one of the game’s top relief pitchers.
So who pays?
The fans. Many of whom may not have jobs or the money to afford the tickets.
It’s not just baseball that I am talking about, its other pro sports as well. Read something last week that the NFL is laying off 15 percent or 15 people from the league office. They are the most profitable venture in pro sports.
It has to stop. The czars of the game have the ability to say enough is enough. The fans have only one way to stop the insanity -- stop going to the games and stop paying the outlandish ticket prices.
I can remember when you could go to the Phillies for $5 for a ticket in the 200 level at the vet. Now that same ticket goes for around $45. You can’t get that today.
The only way to beat the pros, is not go to the games, stay home and watch them on the tube or go back to the old days and listen to them on radio. But, then the pros will find a way to beat that too.
It’s a "no win" situation for the "Regular Joe Fan" (no relation to "Joe the Plumber").
Maybe the teams that are loading the Brinks’ truck up to their stadiums or fields every day (and yes, the Phillies) are one of them should think of the fan first and not walk out of their "yard" or "barn," into their limo and have someone take them home.
If conditions don’t improve, no one will have the bucks to attend any pro event.

Another opening

Looks like there is another L-L Football coaching job open.

Published reports indicate that Jeff Polites is stepping down after 11 years at E-town.

Got to no Jeff whn I briefly worked in E-town. Good guy, solid coach. Wish him well.

Other opening exist at Donegal, Cedar Crest and Conestoga Valley.

For more, check out the website of our sister paper, the Elizabeth Chronicle, through this website and click on Bear Facts, or through Jeff Reinhart's LNP news web page.

CHS sports update

Here is this week's update on games played so far.
Boys' Basketball: The Tide hosted Reading Central Catholic on Tuesday night and lost to the Cardinals 45-42.
The game was close throughout, as the Tide had a chance to win it at the end. The Tide turned the ball over in the final seconds.
Girls' Basketball: Columbia fell to 0-3 with a 53-32 loss to Octorara.
Bowling: The Tide swept ELCO, 4-0.
Wrestling: Columbia lost a tough non-league match last night to C.D. East 40-34.

For more, watch next week's Columbia Ledger.

Football banquet

Walt Price, a 1956 graduate of Columbia High School and a recent inductee into the first CHS Athletic Hall of Fame, was the featured speaker at Sunday’s high school football banquet held at the Taste of Styles.
Price, who taught 40 years in the Donegal School District, was proud of his induction into the CHS Hall of Fame.
“I’ve been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and out of all the ones I’ve been in, nothing is more special than Columbia High School,” Price said.
He spoke of the four people, who were also inducted into the Hall of Fame that put the desire, determination and instilled discipline in him -- Harry Smoker, Elmer Kreiser, Tom Donan and Hubie Peters.
Smoker was the principal at CHS while Price was a student; Kreiser was the junior high football coach, while Donan was the varsity coach and Price met Peters during the summers on the playgrounds in Columbia.
“They made an impression on me and helped shape by future,” Price said.
The former educator and wrestling coach at Donegal and Manheim Central said he taught more than 7,00 kids and they all left an impression on him.
He also spoke to the seniors, underclassmen, parents and coaches. He urged the parents to be supportive on their son’s sport and not try to make their son into something they are not, or relive their high school days through their sons.
“Parents need to help promote the sport and be supportive,” Price said.
He concluded his remarks saying that getting an education at Columbia helped make him successful.
“The opportunities are here. I believe in it and don’t ever make excuses about being from Columbia,” he said.
The varsity coaching staff presented the following awards:
Players of the Game
• Daniel Boone: Marcus Fischer and Dakota Lightfoot.
• Pequea Valley: Yahya McIntyre and Lightfoot.
• Donegal: Kevin McCarty and Lightfoot.
Season Awards
• Offensive Back of the Year: Lightfoot.
“He had a great season offensively. Other coaches in the section told me they weren’t looking forward to facing him,” said head coach Jason Shoff.
• Offensive Lineman of the Year: McCarty.
“He played every position and had the highest blocking grade,” said Adam Aston, assistant coach.
• Wide Receiver of the Year: McIntyre.
• Defensive Back of the Year and Leading Tackler: Lightfoot.
• Defensive Lineman of the Year: McCarty.
• Linebacker of the Year: Joey Charles.
• Special Teams Most Valuable Player: Clark Meshey.
• Scout Team Most Valuable Player: John Markley.
• Rookie of the Year: Marcus Fischer.
• Helmet Awards for participating in the program in grades 9-12: Jason Combs, Matt Kreiser, Lightfoot, McCarty, McIntyre and Bobby Schoelkopf.
The varsity coaching staff made remarks about the season and introduced the freshman team that went undefeated this past season.
Former Columbia quarterback Ray McCarty served as master of ceremonies, while the Rev. Ron Bachman gave the invocation.

Winter season arrives

The winter sports season opened Friday night and for me it was a rugged opening weekend.
Friday night, I spent the night at home, watching the Columbia girls’ tip-off tournament.
All four teams in the tournament -- the Tide, Hempfield, Central Dauphin East and Lampeter-Strasburg made the District 3 playoffs last year. Three of the four teams, the lone exception being the host Tide, went into the state playoffs.
Hempfield won the L-L League and L-S is favored to win it this year. They were the Tide’s first two games.
Not a great way to start the season for the Tide.
Saturday, I had a game plan all mapped out.
I was planning to get up early and head north to Reading and the outlets to get a Michael Jack Schmidt autograph, then head northwest to Upper Dauphin to watch the Tide wrestle in the Upper Dauphin Duals, and then head off Peters Mountain to Hanover to watch the Tide boys play in the Hanover tournament.
Well, two out of three isn’t bad.
I didn’t get to Reading. I wanted to be out the door by six, but it was more like seven and since they were giving tickets out at eight, I didn’t want to chance it.
So, instead I headed north, up Peters Mountain to Upper Dauphin. Not a bad trip mind you, but UDA is out in the middle of no where.
Made it there in about 90 minutes and took in three of the Tide’s five matches. One thing about the UDA Duals, it was tough competition for the Tide, who will only benefit from it later in the season.
Then the fun started.
It was a little overcast, okay, a lot overcast as I began the trip from UDA to Hanover. As I hit the Harrisburg area, it started snowing. The farther down Route 581 I got and onto 11-15 South, the worse it got.
I basically went from doing  60 down to 10. That’s how bad it was. There were a few accidents along the way and I did slip and slide a little bit, almost three hours after I left UDA, I arrived in Hanover. Map Quest said it was a 90 minute trip!
I wasn’t the only one who struggled to get there. The Tide boys took well over 2.5 hours and I talked to a few fans who said it 1.5 hours just to get to Hellam and they turned around and went home.
Someone asked me Sunday why I just didn’t turn around and come back to Columbia. Well, I have to admit that I thought about it, but I was on very unfamiliar roads and with it snowing, I didn’t want to get off on a road and get lost or stuck.
Driving Saturday, at least eh last 90 minutes or so, was like me driving over certain bridges where I can look over the side and see down. I was gripping the steering wheel that hard, I had nail marks on my palms.
While going from UDA to Hanover was no treat, the trip home wasn’t as stressful as the roads were fine.
I did take it easy going to and coming home from Hanover. But I won’t do it again, because it just wasn’t perhaps the safest thing to do.
And this is just the first week of the season, it could be a long winter!

Columbia All-stars

Football all-stars were announced last night at the annual L-L League football banquet at the Timber's Lodge.
First team on offense were running back Dakota Lightfoot and wide receiver Yahya McIntyre on offense and Lightfoot as a defensive back on first team defense.

McIntyre was second team as a kick returner.

Honorable mention picks on offense were Joey Charles, tight end; Clark Meshey, place kicker and Kevin McCarty as a lineman.

On defense, McCarty, line; Charles, linebacker and McIntyre, defensive back were honorable mention picks.

Lightfoot tied Lancaster Catholic's Kyle Smith in voting for the Section Three Offfensive Back of the Year.

ELCO's Mark Evans was named Coach of the Year.

Baseball Hall of Fame

Hard to believe, but its been 13 years since I visited the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Was on the Internet this morning and read a story about Richie/Dick Allen on his Hall of Fame nomination by the Veteran's Committee, which will be announced Monday.

Also saw a list of recently retired players, who are eligible for the Hall. I am more impressed with the "old timers" than the current list.

Not sure what Allen's chances are on the list of 10, but he would be in my top three. Others would be Ron Santo, Maury Wills (hard to believe he's not already in), Joe Torre and possibly Lius Tiant.
Others on the list are Gil Hodges, Tony Olivia, Al Oliver and Vada Pinson.

From the current list, tough sledding here folks.

Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, Mark McGwire, Ricky Henderson, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Tommy John, Don Mattlingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Rock Raines, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Jay Bell, David Cone, Ron Gant, Mark Grace, Jesse Orosco, Dan Plesac, Greg Vaughn, Mo Vaughn and Matt Williams.

Top 5 would be Rice, Dawson, Smith, Henderson and Blyleven.
From the why are they on the list group: Jay Bell, Gant, Orsoco, Pleasac, the Vaughns, Dave Parker and Matt Williams.

Like I said from the above list, its tough.