NEW YORK.  Barry Bonds has courted controversy in a variety of ways over the course of his career, but he underestimated the force of the reaction he's received after he called HBO announcer Bob Costas a "midget".

Eddie Gaedel and Bob Costas:  No comparison.

"Costas?  Please--don't make me laugh," said Rachel Wilner of the Little People of America, a group whose members include both midgets--short, normally-proportioned people--and disproportioned short persons or dwarfs.  "Maybe a mental midget if you're talking about 'Fair Ball'," a book by Costas, she added with contempt.

Bonds' comment came in response to an interview between Costas and Curt Schilling in which the Red Sox pitcher said Bonds' refusal to address accusations of steroid use was tantamount to an admission of guilt.  Logic-Impaired Americans, which provides support to individuals whose cognitive skills prevent them from making sense, came to Bonds' defense.  "Barry has a right to confuse the message and the messenger," said James Robinson, the group's executive director.  "Those two words share many of the same letters." 

"I'm sorry, okay?  I didn't mean to compare you to Bob Costas."

While Eddie Gaedel--a midget sent to bat as a member of the St. Louis Browns by owner Bill Veeck--holds a hallowed place in baseball history, there has never been a midget broadcaster, and Bonds issued a press release to clarify his comment.  "I did not mean, nor did I intend to suggest or imply, that Bob Costas could ever qualify as a midget.  I regret any offense I have given to any actual midget."

Marvin "Bad News" Barnes

Costas began his career as play-by-play announcer for the Spirits of St. Louis, an American Basketball Association team led by Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, the 1975 ABA Rookie of the Year who once composed the following limerick about Julius Erving on the eve o####ame between the Spirits and the New York Nets.

Bad News Barnes and Dr. J.

There once was a doctor named Erving,
Whose slam dunks were especially unnerving,
But when Marvin gets movin',
And the crowd gets to groovin',
For the Doctor a hospital bed they'll be reserving.

During his college career Barnes was suspended from the Providence College Friars after beating his roommate with a tire iron.  "News will be back," Barnes said at the time, "'cause his fans be demandin' it."

Spirits of St. Louis jersey

When reached for comment, Costas declined to respond to a question posed by a reporter for Gerbil Sports Network.  "Ooo--Mr. On-Line Journalist," he sneered.  "You started out writing about Barry Bonds, then got completely sidetracked with a stupid digression about Marvin Barnes.  You have the attention span of a chipmunk," he said before pausing.  "Actually, that means you're highly qualified to write a blog."

Copyright 2007, Con Chapman