Baseball, NFL Wait to Play Ball

Baseball stadiums across the nation will remain silent today, shuttered in the heat of playoff races, as executives in virtually every sport continue to wrestle with the delicate question of how and when to resume games.

In some cases, there have been definitive answers. In some cases, not.

Baseball has postponed 45 games in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Some college football games will be played, others have been postponed, and more are in limbo because of travel concerns. The NFL has yet to make a decision on this weekend’s games. The PGA Tour canceled this weekend’s events, but the LPGA will play.

The NFL has taken a cautious approach, with Commissioner Paul Tagliabue consulting owners, union officials and the White House. League executives are well aware of the national controversy that erupted when the NFL played games on Nov. 24, 1963, two days after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

This time, the decision is complicated by the uncertain resumption of air travel and security risks posed by gathering tens of thousands of fans in a single stadium. Baltimore Raven Coach Brian Billick said he did not want “cowards to dictate what we do in this country.” But many players appeared in favor of postponement.

“You can no longer say nothing will happen at an NFL football game,” Cincinnati Bengal lineman Willie Anderson said. “Since they blew the World Trade Center up, anything can happen. Guys are definitely concerned about that.”

Opinions and decisions varied from sport to sport:

* Saturday’s exhibition game between the Kings and the Ducks at Staples Center has been canceled, as were the other 10 NHL exhibition games scheduled that day. Ten Sunday games are under review.

* In college football, major conferences from the Big Sky to the Big East have postponed athletic events through the weekend. Northwestern canceled its home football opener against Navy, which was to include a tribute to Rashidi Wheeler, the Wildcat player from Ontario who died during preseason workouts.

But the Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern Conference decided to carry on with most of their football games, including a marquee SEC matchup between No. 2 Florida and No. 8 Tennessee.

Conference officials said the games “present a meaningful opportunity to bring our people together in a common expression of sympathy and mourning.”

* In golf, the PGA Tour canceled four tournaments. The LPGA Tour, however, will play its Oregon event beginning Friday as scheduled.

The tough decision to play or postpone, it seems, has extended beyond the United States. The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, criticized European soccer authorities for allowing eight Champions League matches to be played Tuesday. Wednesday matches were postponed.

Major league baseball postponed its games through today but declined to set a return date. The games missed will probably be made up after the season ends Sept. 30.

That could push the World Series into November for the first time. By the same token, an extended season could mean that Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn will play their final games before retiring at home.

Either way, Commissioner Bud Selig seemed adamant about taking his time to decide, saying his sport will remain “very sensitive to the aftereffects of the terrible tragedy that has struck our nation.”

“I think many people would hope we’d start Friday,” he said. “But I haven’t made that judgment yet. I’m not close to making it.”

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Times wire services contributed to this story.