The Boston Red Sox have postponed Friday night’s game against the Kansas city Royals at Fenway Park because of the manhunt for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.
The night game between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Boston’s TD Garden, was also postponed and tentatively rescheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Bruins also announced that the sale of playoff tickets, scheduled to start at 11 a.m. on Friday, has been put off until 11 a.m. on Monday.
The Red Sox were scheduled to play the Royals at 7:10 p.m. ET. Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg said the Royals have been in town since Wednesday night and spent their off day in the city Thursday.
The bombings near the marathon finish line on Monday killed three people and wounded more than 180. Police identified two suspects. One was killed during a shootout with police and the other was being sought in a massive manhunt Friday that virtually shut down the city and some suburbs.
The Royals are staying at the Westin Copley Place hotel, about a block from the marathon finish line.
“We’ve been told not to go outside. We’ve been told the hotel has been locked down, although I’ve seen a handful of people moving around,” Royals vice president Mike Swanson said. “The streets are just, wow. It’s numbingly quiet for a noon hour in Boston.”
The New England Patriots postponed for the second time a news conference with director of player personnel Nick Caserio about next week’s NFL draft. The news conference originally had been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed after the bombings. It has been rescheduled for Monday.
The bombings had previously resulted in two major pro sports games in Boston being scratched — the Bruins against the Ottawa Senators on April 15 and the Indiana Pacers against the Celtics on April 16. The Bruins game was rescheduled for April 28. The Celtics game was canceled outright, and the NBA’s regular season ended on Wednesday.
The Celtics are scheduled to begin the first round of the playoffs Saturday in New York against the Knicks.
The Bruins resumed play on Wednesday night at home against the Buffalo Sabres. Before the game, there was a moment of silence, a slideshow of marathon scenes on the video scoreboard above center ice and a stirring rendition of the national anthem, which was started by longtime Bruins vocalist Rene Rancourt. He sang a few lines then gestured for the fans to join in — which they did.
“We are trying to put on a show for the fans and, hopefully, give them some sort of escape,” Buffalo’s Drew Stafford said after the game. “With everything that happened, emotions were extremely high tonight. I am sure that there were not a lot of dry eyes in the stands during the anthem.”
After the game, players gathered at center ice and raised their sticks in a salute to the fans who had chanted “U-S-A” and “We are Boston.”
The Red Sox had finished their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday about 45 minutes before the explosions occurred about a mile away from Fenway. They boarded a plane to Cleveland after their 3-2 victory, heading for a three-game series against the Indians. Boston completed a sweep of that series on Thursday night then returned for a 10-game homestand.
All area universities including Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Boston College and Boston University have canceled classes on Friday and suspended or postponed athletic events.
A posting on the Harvard Crimson website said, “The University has also canceled shuttle services and all athletic events and practices, indefinitely.”
Another posting on the Boston College website said, “State emergency management officials have asked businesses, schools and colleges in six cities and towns — Allston/Brighton, Cambridge, Belmont, Newton, Waltham and Watertown — to remain closed Friday morning, as a manhunt continues in the Watertown area for an at-large suspect in the Marathon Monday bombing attack.”
Students from Boston College had planned a memorial walk on Friday to honor the victims of Monday’s bombing, but on Wednesday made the decision to postpone the event.
Source: FOX Sports