Red Sox, Bruins Games Postponed As Manhunt Continues
Updated Friday, April 19 at 2:14 p.m.
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox and Bruins postponed their games scheduled for Friday night because of the manhunt for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.
The Red Sox were scheduled to host the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park, while the Bruins were supposed to host the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. Both games have been postponed to help support efforts of law enforcement officers as they continue to search for the at-large suspect. Boston residents have been urged to stay home.
The bombings 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 during a massive manhunt across the city and surrounding areas.
Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg said the Royals have been in town since Wednesday night and spent their off day in the city on Thursday.
The Bruins also announced that the sale of playoff tickets, scheduled to start at 11 a.m. on Friday, has been postponed until 11 a.m. on Monday.
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 already have resulted in two major pro sports games in Boston getting scratched — the Bruins against the Ottawa Senators last Monday night and the Indiana Pacers against the Celtics on Tuesday night. 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 long-time 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 for a three-game series against the Indians. Boston completed a sweep of the series on Thursday night then returned for a 10-game homestand.
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