Ice hockey legend Howe resting after stroke

Canadian ice hockey legend Gordie Howe suffered a serious stroke that left the 86-year-old icon partially paralyzed on one side of his body, US media reported.
Howe, a former Detroit Red Wings great known affectionately in North America as "Mr. Hockey", is also having trouble speaking after the stroke. He was resting at his daughter's home in Lubbock, Texas, his son Murray Howe told the Detroit News.
"Basically, sometime in the early morning on Sunday he suffered a pretty bad stroke," said Dr. Murray Howe, who heads the department of radiology at Toledo Hospital.
"The right side of his body is very, very weak. He's unable to stand without help. He's able to speak, but very, very difficult to speak.
"He knows who he is. He knows the people around him. But it is very difficult for him to get up and walk around."
Howe played 25 seasons (1946-71) with the Red Wings, won four Stanley Cups, six Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable Player and six Art Ross Trophies as the NHL leading scorer.
With Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay, and later Alex Delvecchio and Lindsay, Howe comprised "The Production Line", the most potent offensive scoring unit in the NHL from the late 1940s through the mid-1950s.
Howe is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, as is his son Mark.
Messages of support to the Howe family were plentiful on social media on Tuesday.
"Wishing my friend Gordie Howe all the best, you're in all of our thoughts and prayers," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Twitter.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also tweeted: "The NHL family sends prayers for strength and healing to our revered Gordie Howe. We wish him a speedy and full recovery".
Howe came out of retirement in 1973 to play with the Houston Aeros of the newly-formed World Hockey Association.
It was with the Aeros and later the New England Whalers that he got the chance to play on a line with Mark and another son Marty.
In 1997, Howe signed a one-game contract with the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League at almost 70 years of age. In doing so he became the only player in history to play pro hockey in six different decades.
Howe has had a series of health issues the past few years. He suffers from dementia and he underwent spinal surgery earlier this year. But Murray Howe said he had regained fitness and was walking as much a mile per day before Sunday's stroke.
Howe's daughter Cathy Purnell told ESPN.com that her father "had a few moments of clarity" on Tuesday.
"It was really good to see the resilience in him," she said. "He's a tough old bird. His spirits are high."
Howe's wife, Colleen, who did a lot to promote the sport in non-traditional hockey markets like Texas, died in 2009.
Source: AFP