SCOREBOARD
Sunday, Jan. 27
All-Star game at Atlanta (6 p.m., EST). The Western Conference won last year, 12-9.
SURPRISE ACCOUNT
Former Vancouver coach Marc Crawford will testify that he yelled at Todd Bertuzzi to get off the ice before the attack on Colorado player Steve Moore, an Ontario court heard Friday. The statement shocked a pretrial hearing in Moore’s multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Bertuzzi and Orca Bay Hockey which stemmed from an incident on March 8, 2004, in which Bertuzzi grabbed Moore from behind, punched him in the head and landed on top of him during a game. Moore had three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a concussion and facial cuts, and hasn’t played since. The disclosure came on the heels of a claim by Bertuzzi, contained in court documents, that during the second intermission of the game, Crawford pointed to Moore’s name on a roster board and said, “He must pay the price”.
SIDELINED
Toronto center Alex Steen is expected to miss 10 to 14 days because of a separated right shoulder, and center Darryl Boyce is out indefinitely with a separated left shoulder. They were injured Thursday night in the Maple Leafs’ loss in Washington.
SPEAKING
“I didn’t really learn a lot about Mr. O’Ree until I got to the NHL and realized he was the first. I know that his path was a lot harder. He had a lot more difficulties. I had it a lot smoother, and he was a big part of that. I’m very thankful for his determination and his courage and perseverance because I do know that looking up to those guys when I was younger helped a lot.” – Calgary captain Jarome Iginla on Willie O’Ree, who was honored at Friday’s NHL diversity luncheon for breaking the color barrier 52 years ago.