As noted earlier, I was kinda surprised Saturday night to see Barry Bonds acting like a giddy Little Leaguer (albeit a hulking, bald Little Leaguer with bad knees) after Ray Durham’s walk-off hit that clinched the Giants’ come from behind, 4-3 win over the Marlins. CBS Sportsline’s Gregg Doyel (above) noticed the same thing, and along with acknowledging the Sultan Of Surly’s unreported acts of kindness towards U.S. servicemen, tiny children and Rod Beck’s widow, finds a number of other reasons to commend the soon-to-be-crowned career home run king.

I like that Bonds went after Bob Costas, calling him “that little midget man who absolutely knows jack s— about baseball.” That’s a brave stand considering Costas wields a large microphone and is almost as important as he thinks he is.

I like that Bonds speaks to the media, even if he doesn’t do it every day. He doesn’t have to speak to us at all, and a smaller person — Albert Belle comes to mind — wouldn’t. The media, me included, have gone after Bonds with fury. Yet several times a week he talks to us, and sometimes he almost seems to enjoy it.

I like that Bonds grabbed teammate Ryan Klesko’s hunting bow Friday night, squinted an eye and scanned the room for a target. “Where’s Pedro Gomez?” he said quietly, referring to the ESPN reporter who has been tracking Bonds for more than a year.

I like Bonds’ response to the surprisingly petty words of shortstop Omar Vizquel, who told USA Today: “We might have someone throw a no-hitter one night and nobody will care. … Everyone will just walk over and stand by Barry Bonds’ locker.” That was Thursday night. On Friday, Bonds spent part of batting practice at short, chatting amiably with Vizquel.

So there you have it, folks. Not only is Barry actually a swell guy, but more importantly, he’s given Gregg Doyel an opportunity to take a gratuitous shot at Bob Costas.