COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Crew and FC Dallas paused before their scoreless draw Sunday to support the recovery of a firefighter who was struck by lightning in the southwest parking lot of Crew Stadium. The Major League Soccer teams were scheduled to play on Saturday night, but their game was rescheduled after Stu Tudor was hit during a pregame storm. The 54-year-old lieutenant in the Columbus Fire Department is in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Ohio State Medical Center. The Crew and FC Dallas held a moment of silence before their game, and fans held up signs in support of Tudor, who was off duty at the time of the strike. "Here, you have a man like that who saves lives on a regular basis, who comes out on his off day to see us play," Crew forward Justin Meram said. "For something like that to happen to him, were hoping for the best for him and his family." Dallas defender Zach Lloyd said he and his teammates were affected by the situation. "I know a lot of guys were thinking about his family and their well-being," he said. "That was tough for our group. I think we did a good job of refocusing for the game." Columbus Fire Department Battalion Chief Tracy Smith said its not known if Tudor was struck directly but he had to be resuscitated. Smith said it takes between two and three days to determine the effects of a possible lightning strike. "Were all in (Tudors) corner. Hes one of us," said Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter, who sported a small red ribbon on his shirt during the game as a sign of support. "He was certainly on our minds the last 24 hours." A brief, heavy downpour began 18 minutes into Sundays game, but it was quickly replaced by sunshine for the remainder of the match. There was a chance for more thunderstorms later in the afternoon as the temperature reached the mid-80s with high humidity. The weather was not a deterrent for Tim Hoehnke of the Columbus suburb of Bexley, who brought his family back to Crew Stadium for a second straight day. "Im not worried," he said before the game. "It was kind of a freak storm (Saturday) that popped up real quick." Stadium officials directed Hoehnkes family to go underneath the stands for cover when rain and lighting moved into the area Saturday, but he was still outside the entrance. "I saw the flash of the guy who got struck by lightning," he said. "They took care of him quickly when he got struck." A Crew spokesman said the team followed MLS policy when it learned lightning strikes were within range of the stadium and immediately ordered fans to exit the double-deck venue in which the majority of the seating is aluminum bleachers. "They handled everything quite well," Hoehnke said. "They got everybody out of the stadium all right. No one panicked." The match was not officially rescheduled until 12:45 a.m. Sunday and the crowd of 4,680 for the 2 p.m. start was far less than the sellout of 20,672 the Crew said it would have had for Saturdays match. MLS Executive Vice-President Dan Courtemanche said in a statement it is league protocol to try and play rescheduled games the next day. Crew defender Eric Gehrig had no problem with the decision to postpone the game once he heard of the circumstances. "Our minds were off soccer at that point," he said. There was a subdued atmosphere before Sundays game, and it was evident Tudor was on the minds of many. Some people paused to stare at the spot where Tudor was struck before continuing to the gates and two Columbus Division of Police officers working the stadium plaza said they visited Tudor earlier that morning. In one corner of the parking lot members of the teams support groups -- collectively known as the Nordecke -- painted black words on two gold banners an hour before the kickoff. They later moved to the northeast corner of the stadium and before the Star Spangled Banner unfurled their work, "Nordeckes with Stu" and "Get well Stu." Seahawks #15 Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Luke Willson Seahawks Jersey . Amarista celebrated his 25th birthday by delivering a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the San Diego Padres to a 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday. http://www.seahawksstore.us.com/Black-37-Shaun-Alexander-Womens-Jersey/. -- The LPGA Tour waived its age requirement Monday for Lydia Ko, clearing the way for the 16-year-old from New Zealand to join the tour in 2014. Patrick Kerney Seahawks Jersey . - The Tampa Bay Times is reporting Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams was stabbed in the thigh at his home and an arrest warrant has been issued for his brother. Seahawks #76 Jersey .H. -- Brad Stevens will celebrate his first NBA coaching victory when it counts. OTTAWA -- For the second straight game the Toronto Maple Leafs allowed 50 shots against in a hockey game. For the second straight game they emerged with a victory James Van Riemsdyk and Mason Raymond scored in the shootout Saturday night while James Reimer stopped both shots he faced as the Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3. Reimer was the best player for the Leafs (15-11-3) making 47 saves during regulation and overtime. He was supported with goals from Van Riemsdyk, Phil Kessel and Jake Gardiner. The game came on the heels of a 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars Thursday when they were outshot 50-24. Jonathan Bernier made 48 saves in that game and stopped the Leafs five-game losing streak in the process. "My job is to stop them whether theres 10 shots or 100 shots," Reimer said. "Its our (his and Berniers) job to get in front of them and give the team a chance and thats it. We dont really care how many shots were giving up. Our job is to stop the puck from going in the net." Clarke MacArthur, Erik Condra and Erik Karlsson scored for the Senators (11-14-4), and Craig Anderson made 28 saves. The Senators scored twice in the third period to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Greening was in the corner and found Condra alone in the slot and he beat Reimer high glove side at 2:23 to make the score 3-2. Karlsson tied the game on a power play at 10:30 of the third after sneaking in from the point and scoring from the top of the crease following a pass from Mika Zibanejad. "There were two power play goals that we should have had coverage on but we found a way to win the hockey game," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said after his team gave the Senators eight power-play opportunities. "Weve had some down times of late so were going to take the points and move on. We need to continue to focus on the things we do well and when we skate and attack we can be a hockey club that can have success. When we sit back and receive the game we allow the opposition to dictate the pace of the game." Senators forward Zack Smith would just as soon forget everything related to the Leafs second goal, starting when he was knocked down just inside the Toronto blueline and turned the puck over. Van Riemsdyk was the initial recipient of the turnover as he gained control of the loose puck and started up ice on a 2-on-1 that was eventually turned into a goal by Kessel at 3:05 of the second period. The bad news didnt end there for Smith. Following the goal, thinking there should have been a penalty on the play, he was given a two-minute uunsportsmanlike conduct penalty along with a 10-minute misconduct.dddddddddddd "What we think doesnt matter. Only when the guy with the orange armbands puts his hand up in the air and calls it a penalty, thats the only time its a penalty," Senators coach Paul MacLean said. "We can all argue and say (Nazem Kadri) had his stick in between (Smiths) legs and he up falling down and they ended up with a 2-on-1 going the other way, but the guy with the orange armbands didnt put his arm up so its not a penalty, its a good defensive play." The Leafs then scored another semi-controversial goal at 11:37 of the second period as Gardiner scored his first goal of the season with Van Riemsdyk lying in the Senators net partially on top of Anderson. Problem was Senators defenceman Marc Methot was the one who shoved Van Riemsdyk into the net. The teams had emerged from the first period tied 1-1 after both teams capitalized on early power plays. In the middle of traffic in front of Anderson, Van Riemsdyk was able to get his stick on a loose puck and put a backhand shot through the goaltenders legs at 1:37.A little more than eight minutes later MacArthur drew the Senators even with a one-timer off a pass from Zibanejad through the legs of Reimer. Despite the loss, Senators captain Jason Spezza feels the club has performed well in their past half dozen games, even if the results are not as positive as they would like having won just twice in those six games. "This has probably been our best six block game of the season with our effort, so youd like to think that first comes the process and then comes the result," Spezza said. "Weve been going through the process and I think weve been getting better. We cant hang our heads. We have to build and we have three games in four nights so its a lot of hockey coming." It starts Monday night when the Senators host the Philadelphia Flyers Notes: The game was the second of four meetings between the teams this season. Toronto won the first meeting 5-4 in a shootout on Oct. 5 at the Air Canada CentreaSenators forwards Bobby Ryan and Milan Michalek, who turned 29 Saturday, havent scored in eight games ... Forward Matt Kassian was in the lineup for the first time in the Senators last 11 gamesaThe Maple Leafs have the third youngest roster in the NHL with an average age of 26.8 yearsaPaul Ranger and Morgan Rielly were scratches for the Leafs while Eric Gryba and Cory Conacher were scratches for the SenatorsaThe Leafs have lost 80 man games to injury this season compared to just 15 for the Senators. ' ' '
