Due to the tragedies in New York and Washington, as well as the rest of the East Coast, Major League Baseball cancelled all 15 scheduled games Tuesday.
'In the interest of security and out of a sense of deep mourning for the national tragedy that has occurred today, all Major League Baseball games for today have been cancelled,' baseball commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. 'I will continue to monitor the situation from a baseball perspective on a daily basis and make ongoing decisions accordingly.'
Continuing on, the commissioner said, 'My deepest sympathy and prayers go out to the families and victims of this horrendous series of events.'
In addition to the cancellation of games, baseball owners cancelled a previously scheduled meeting tonight in Milwaukee.
Other major sports also cancelled events Tuesday evening.
Major League Soccer postponed four games scheduled for Wednesday and the U.S. national women's soccer game against Japan in the Nike Cup, scheduled to be held in Chicago Tuesday, has also been cancelled.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said the American Express Championship in St. Louis, featuring Tiger Woods and top players from tours around the world, would begin Friday with 36 holes.
'This is a sad, sad day in America,' Woods said after playing a practice round, which he began about two hours after the initial attack on the World Trade Center.
No casualties or injuries related to sports figures have been reported, although no full accounting of tragedies in New York, Pennsylvania and elsewhere has been catalogued yet. New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani has described the death toll related to the collapse of the World Trade Center as 'immense'.
The league offices for Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL and NHL are not located in the same part of Manhattan as the World Trade Center. It hasn't been announced whether other sports-related organizations are headquartered in those buildings.
The uncertainty could prevent Major League Baseball from completing its 162-game schedule for the first time since the labor interruption of 1994. Several ballclubs have no more off days between now and the end of the season, making the scheduling of makeup games difficult.
Complicating matters, nine teams had off days on Monday, so many players remain at their homes away from the cities where they play. Nationwide, airports were shut down shortly after the attacks, and many players live beyond a short driving distance from their teams.
The events also may have an impact on some of the biggest stories in sports this year. Barry Bonds is on pace to break the record for single-season home runs, for instance.
The Big Ten has scheduled an emergency conference call for Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. CDT to make a decision on whether to play sports the rest of this week, including college football Saturday. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney was stranded in Philadelphia Tuesday as he tried to get back to the Chicago-based office for the conference.
As of press time Tuesday, there was no decision regarding the Wisconsin-Western Kentucky game Saturday.
