Fans, players remember Sept. 11 attacks

Sports marked the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with moments of silence and poignant reminders, from American flags on the greens at the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic to the names of victims displayed on the scoreboard at Tampa's Tropicana Field.\nEach hole on Tournament Players Club golf course in Silvis, Ill., flew an American flag instead of the traditional yellow numbered ones. At Tampa, two message boards said, "We Remember" and "9-11-01," and the names of victims slowly scrolled over a waving flag.\nWith flags at Yankee Stadium at half-staff, the New York Yankees had a moment of silence during a low-key ceremony before their game against Detroit. Color guards from the New York City Police Department and Fire Department were on the field as "God Bless America" was sung, and a pair of fans behind home plate held up an American flag.\n"It's a sad day, yet it's a proud day," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "You never want to forget what happened two years ago. I'm sure our lives will never be the same again."\nA recording of "God Bless America" was played during the seventh-inning stretch -- which happened to come at exactly 9:11 p.m. -- and the crowd chanted "U-S-A! U-S-A!"\nAll major league teams displayed baseball's red, white and blue ribbon logo and there were special commemorative decorations on the four sides of each base.\n-- In Cincinnati and Milwaukee, players observed a moment of silence wore caps with the U.S. flag stitched onto the left side.\n-- In Kansas City, the Royals offered their best available seats at no charge to police, firefighters and emergency workers.\n-- In Chicago, a video was shown of U.S. Naval Capt. David Johnson raising a flag outside U.S. Cellular Field that had flown above the Pentagon earlier Thursday. Johnson was at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists slammed a plane into the building.\n-- In St. Louis, fans saw a video replay of a poem read by the late broadcaster Jack Buck on the day baseball resumed following the attacks.\n-- In Oakland, a brief video featuring interviews with A's players was shown, and both the A's and Anaheim Angels stood along the baselines while a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" and placed a single baseball on the mound.\n-- In San Diego, the New York Fire Department color guard was on hand and the New York Police Department baseball team appeared at home plate before the Padres played San Francisco.\n-- In Seattle, representatives of regional fire, police and EMT departments joined the Mariners and Texas Rangers on the baselines during a moment of silence and the national anthem as a giant flag was unfurled in center field. Also, the poles where team pennants usually fly above left field at Safeco Field were adorned with United States flags.\n-- In Phoenix, the Diamondbacks displayed a nearly three-stories tall "unity flag" on an outside wall of Bank One Ballpark after being signed by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano earlier in the day. The flag was crafted by a Glendale, Ariz., teacher and her students. It's fashioned of all 50 state flags and is signed by all 100 U.S. senators.