US moves to cancel events in wake of attacks

Sports events were cancelled across the United States yesterday in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Major League Baseball postponed its entire schedule of 15 games, while the minor leagues, with their regular season completed, postponed the post-season games in all nine leagues that were scheduled for yesterday.

The PGA Tour cancelled tomorrow's starts of the World Golf Championship and two other tournaments.

The American Express Championship in St Louis, featuring Tiger Woods and other leading players, would begin on Friday with 36 holes.

The Tampa Bay Classic will open with 18 holes each on Friday and Saturday and a 36-hole conclusion. The same schedule has been applied to the Buy.com Tour event in Oregon. With air traffic shut across the country, several golfers were unable to get to St Louis. Among those stranded were the PGA champion David Toms, Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III.

In ice hockey, the Toronto Maple Leafs postponed their trip to training camp in Newfoundland after the Canadian airports grounded all outgoing flights.

Major League Soccer postponed all four games scheduled for last night, while a women's tournament in Columbia, Ohio, that involved national teams from the United States, Japan, Germany and China, was also put off.

The National Football League was considering whether to postpone this weekend's schedule.

* A minute's silence was held at last night's Champions' League football matches, while the sport's European governing body, Uefa, will make a statement this morning in relation to the games scheduled for today and tomorrow. The German television channel Premiere World ran its live matches with no commentary as a mark of respect.