Mike Toth

Mike Toth is a Connected anchor and writes weekly for Sportsnet.ca.

Handling co-workers with kid gloves doesn't cut it in the sports world.

Press box poets are fond of writing that sports is simply a metaphor for life.

However, that's not always the case.

In sports, for instance, it's human nature to yell at teammates.

But in every day life, screaming at a co-worker will get you a one-way ticket to Human Resources.

That's why so many people were so upset with Chris Bosh. During another lousy effort by the Toronto Raptors earlier this week, Bosh got in the face of teammate Jamario Moon for making a couple of bonehead plays. Following the game in Atlanta, the Raptors' sixth straight loss, Bosh explained why he was mad at Moon.

"We're running out of time," he said. "We have to do it now or we're going to be watching the playoffs eating popcorn."

However, while Raptors fans acknowledge that Bosh is the leader of the club, many of them were critical of his decision to call Moon out on the court.

"Even if CB4 had a right to be frustrated," one blogger wrote, "he should have taken Jamario behind closed doors instead of ripping the poor guy in public."

But with apologies to passionate bloggers everywhere, those are the words of someone unfamiliar with the world of competitive sports.

In a previous life, I was a mediocre goalie who has proven to be much more adept at talking about pucks than stopping them. But I did play some junior and college hockey, spending a couple of years performing behind a rugged defenceman named Ron Kraft. Kraft went on to become a career coach and eventually wound up guiding the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. Underlining that you never know what life has in store, Kraft now lives in Houston, Texas and while no longer involved in hockey, he keeps his hand in coaching as an assistant with a high school football team.

Back when we were teenage teammates, however, Ron's intensity for hockey was something to behold.

If I gave up a juicy rebound?

Ron yelled at me.

Set up the puck in a bad spot behind the net?

You got it ... Ron yelled at me.

And since Kraft looked just like "The Incredible Hulk" whenever he got upset, I wasn't about to argue with him. Besides, Ron was right -- I did give up some horrible rebounds and I wasn't very good at handling the puck. But more than that, I had a deep respect for Kraft's passion. Long after our playing days were over, we maintained a friendship and I miss following the big guy around the rinks and watching the various teams he coached over the years.

Still, at least my old buddy has kept his hand in sports because it can be a major adjustment for athletes when they enter the working world. On the ice, you're often screaming at a teammate or being screamed at yourself. Let's face it: when a defenceman keeps getting beat by a speedy forward, there's just not a nice way of getting your point across.

"Sorry to be a bother, Rocky old chap. But I was wondering if you could possibly keep a closer eye on that rather talented fellow with the numeral nine on his jersey."

Granted, you don't have to go quite that far when delivering a message to a company co-worker, but there's definitely a different set of rules in play. For example, I remember being upset with a teammate for crowding the crease during practice and drilling him right between the eyes with my blocker. No big deal -- we laughed about it a few hours later. But in my early years of broadcasting, I once chucked a microphone at a producer in the middle of an argument. Like the mic, the humour of the situation went right over the guy's head and I got hauled into the boss' office.

Thanks to the wisdom of age (and the fact that I'm now heavily medicated when reporting for duty) those sorts of outbursts are in the past. But while refraining from abusing my comrades, part of me wishes there were a few Ron Krafts around the office to keep everybody on their toes. In today's business environment even the bosses are forced to handle employees with kid gloves, lest they inflict any emotional damage on the poor Bob Cratchits of the world. But in my books, it never hurts to be on the receiving end of a good ol' fashioned verbal butt kicking.

During my first year on national television, I covered the 1997 Major League All-Star game in Cleveland. Albert Belle was the feature attraction, as this was the first time he was returning to town since jumping ship and signing with the Chicago White Sox. Indians fans were ready to pounce on Albert and so was the media mob assigned to the game. Being a rookie, however, I was having problems summoning the courage to approach Belle for an interview.

Then again, could you really blame me?

Belle once hopped in his truck to chase a couple of kids who were running away from his house after egging it on Halloween.

In other words, this was a dude you definitely didn't want to mess with.

But nuts or not, my boss expected an interview with Albert and in a tone that would have made Mike Keenan proud, he told me to get my butt over to Belle, pronto. As it turned out, Albert spent his entire time in Cleveland hiding in the bowels of Jacobs Field and nobody got an interview with the moody slugger. But at least no one got run over and my boss made me realize that if I was going to make it in the TV game, I couldn't afford to be intimidated by big stars.

These days, the presence of unions and company codes of ethics have created a much quieter corporate environment.

But on a football field in Texas, I'm pretty sure my old buddy Ron Kraft is screaming at somebody for missing a block.

In Toronto, Chris Bosh is bound to get in the faces of a few more teammates before a frustrating season comes to an end.

And while some folks have criticized The Big Bosh Man's methods, there's one thing they can't question.

At least the guy cares enough to get angry.