CASPER
THE FRIENDLY GHOST
LOS ANGELES – North American pro sports teams were juggling travel plans Monday after a blizzard along the US East Coast dumped heavy snow in major cities like New York and Philadelphia.
The National Football League, which plays the majority of its games on Sunday's, was the worst affected by the blizzard that left over 30 centimetres (two feet) of the white stuff in some cities.
The New York Jets, New England Patriots and New York Giants all missed their flights home Sunday and were planning to travel on Monday.
The game between the host Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings was pushed back two days, making for the first NFL game on a Tuesday in over 60 years.
US college teams' travel schedules were also disrupted with a football game between Fairfield and Florida schools in Fairfield, Connecticut having to be cancelled.
Atlanta-based Georgia Tech's game against Fordham was cancelled when Fordham couldn't get a flight into Atlanta.
An airport closure in Long Island, New York forced the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens to spend and extra night in New York after beating the Islanders 4-1 on Sunday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a similar problems in New Jersey after their game when their team bus got stranded in a blizzard on the way back to the hotel. Police had closed the freeway resulting in a normal 20-minute trip taking five hours.
The forecast is for temperatures to warm up over the week, which could cause another set of problems for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, who are planning to stage an outdoor hockey game in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Weather forecasters are calling for rain and temperatures of about 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) on New Year's Day.
Organizers say they are prepared to move the annual outdoor contest to Sunday if need be.