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It's Wednesday, March the 10th.

Another day.

Another punch in the head for the NHL. This time, it's a sucker punch roundhouse from Todd Bertuzzi of the Canucks that left Steve Moore of the Avalanche in a pool of blood.

Currently, accident re-creation specialists are working over the scene trying to find out what happened. They're trying to figure out how a player gets hurt that bad when he isn't even a French Guy or a European -- but he IS wearing a visor.

This is The Current.

Hockey - Former Enforcer

There was already speculation that something might happen when the Vancouver Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche took to the ice on Monday night. There's been an ongoing rivalry ever since Avalanche forward Steve Moore knocked Vancouver captain Markus Naslund out in a game last month. Tensions were high when the two teams met again on Monday but nobody was quite prepared for what happened when one Canuck player, Todd Bertuzzi came up behind Steve Moore.

Steve Moore is now in hospital with a fractured neck and Todd Bertuzzi has been suspended. He's in Toronto this morning for a hearing at the NHL. This latest round of violence has stunned even some of the toughest guys to ever play in the NHL. During the 1970's if there was a fight on the ice chances were good one of the fists belonged to Dave " The Hammer " Schultz. During his career, the Saskatchewan native led the way in penalty minutes in both a single season and a play-off game. Dave Shultz is a former Philadelphia Flyer and two-time Stanley Cup winner. This morning he was at home in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

Hockey Debate

In the history of the game of hockey, the level of violence has gone through its own ebb and flow. At times fans and players have become disillusioned, leagues have been forced to rethink their guidelines.

But now some are saying it may be time for more drastic action.

To give us some historical context to this dilemma, we invited Michel Vigneault - a hockey historian and a Professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal. He was in our CBC studio there.

And Professor Ron Watson - a specialist in Sport and the Law at the University of Western Ontario. He was on the line from his office there.

Listen to The Current: Part 1

The Current: Part 2

SARS Documentary

You can divide their lives into the time before and the time after SARS. Last year, a small group of doctors and politicians were thrust into the international spotlight. They became the public face of the fight against a new disease that was spreading through Canada's biggest city.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome went on to kill 44 Canadians, 400 were infected. This morning we'll hear some stories behind the headlines. The private reflections of 4 people who were leaders of the fight against SARS. CBC radio reporter Piya Chattopadhyay has been covering the SARS story for much of the past year.

The voices you heard were those of Dr. Donald Lowe, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Dr. James Young and former Ontario health minister Tony Clement.

Listen to The Current: Part 2

The Current: Part 3

Michael Byers

Yesterday, Canada played host to the world.

Yesterday, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to a special joint session of Parliament after a warm welcome from Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Mr. Annan's vision of Canada as a world leader and as a leading supporter of the United Nations is a lot to live up to. But he's not the only one with great expectations for this country.

Michael Byers is a Canadian academic who has been living abroad for the past several years in England and, most recently, in the United States where he's been teaching international law at Duke University in North Carolina.

But now, this thirty-something thinker on world affairs is getting ready to come home … lured, he says, by the promise of a new era for Canada on the world stage.

He has accepted a Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law, which will be based at the University of British Columbia. He will also serve as Academic Director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues. He joined us in studio.

Music Bridge

Artist: Conjure One
Cut: CD11 “Premonition”
CD: “Conjure One”
Label: Nettwerk
Spine #: 0 6700 30289 2 9

Last Word

Earlier in the show we were talking about hockey and violence and fights. Sounded to us like it might be time to hear from Don Cherry, or, at least, a reasonable facsimile....

Listen to the Current: Part 3

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