NEW YORK (AP) The New York Yankees are hosting about 4,000 residents of Newtown, Conn., during their game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Hoping to help the community heal from last year's shooting massacre, the team invited Newtown residents to Sunday's game, giving them free tickets and vouchers for food and drinks on ``Newtown Day at Yankee Stadium.''

During a pregame ceremony, the crowd went silent as victims from the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School were listed on the giant video board in center field. The Newtown Police Department and Sandy Hook Fire Department provided a joint color guard, and the national anthem was sung by the Newtown Youth Voices, a group of kids aged 7-17 that formed after the tragedy.

Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra says fun events like this are a very important part of the town's recovery.

American tennis star Melanie Oudin will be in Newtown this week giving a tennis lesson to children in the town's recreation program.

It's the latest in a series of appearances by famous athletes after the December tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary school.

It was set up before the town's first selectwoman recently announced Newtown would be turning down future invitations for special events there.

Pat Llodra says the community wants to enter a ``period of quiet'' and return to some kind of normalcy.

Oudin will be joined Wednesday by teaching professionals from USTA New England at Dickinson Park in Newtown.

She also will help announce the field for the upcoming New Haven Open tennis tournament, which takes place in August at Yale's Connecticut Tennis Center.