Monsters & Critics brought our attention to the latest on the "brains vs. brawn" verbal tiff between Barry Bonds, who's just about to break one of baseballs' most precious records, and Bob Costas, veteran sports journalist and all-around smart cookie.

Barry, who in recent years has been angry when people make comments about his size/stature, went ahead and made a comment about Costas' size/stature, calling him a "midget man" and saying he doesn't know anything about baseball (hmm, writing top-selling books about the game doesn't count?).

Costas' response:

As anyone can plainly see, I'm 5-6 1/2 and a strapping 150, and unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally"

More snappy verbiage from Costas, which was garnered from AP reports, is quoted in the M&C piece. We especially love how Costas finished his thoughts in a classy, de-escalating manner, though:

[Bonds is] under tremendous scrutiny and some pressure. It's no big deal

Barry -- you're about to achieve something amazing. Just shut up and do it.