Today, Shaquille O'Neal signed with the Boston Celtics in a controversial "veteran's minimum" deal. Shortly thereafter, Sports radio host Jim Rome blasted O'Neal on his web site. And tonight, O'Neal unleashed a barrage of attacks directed at Rome on Twitter.

It all started with a post that Rome put up on his web site which lambasted both O'Neal and his deal with the Celtics. Here's part of what Rome had to say:

Nor do I like this take from Shaq; "The good thing about me and my career is I came in, did it my way, did more than expected. For every athlete or every great person, there's a time when it has to end. When and if it ever ends it will be very graciously. We're going to have a big party. We're going to have a ceremony and the next thing I'll be waiting for is the entrance to the place where your name will never be forgotten." Oh no he didn't. Shaq O'Neal did not just say I did more than was expected in my career. That's your whole rap, Big Fella. You didn't do as much as was expected for someone with your size and ability. You could have done more. And should have done more. That's the whole point. You never fully committed to conditioning or taking care of your body. Or learning how to defend a pick and roll. Or shooting your throws. You never approached the game with the dedication and discipline of Kobe Bryant, for instance... Being a Celebrity and Entertainer was as important as being a Champion. Sure, you're going to the Hall of Fame. And you've had a great career. But it could have been even better. You may have four rings but you should probably have six. So now would be a great time to stop saying you did more than expected, because you didn't. And no one else thinks so.

*Snaps*

Shockingly, O'Neal didn't appreciate Rome's assessment of his career. Tonight, he went a bit manic on Twitter with a group of tweets directed at Rome, including a challenge for a boxing match between the two men:

By the way, the YouTube clip that O'Neal linked to is the one below, in which Rome was attacked on set by former NFL quarterback Jim Everett—who Rome had mockingly referred to as "Chris Everett" (a play on words referring to female tennis player Chris Evert)—due to his propensity for getting sacked on the field:

For what it's worth, Rome engaged O'Neal a bit on his own Twitter. Here's what he had to say in response to O'Neal's attacks:

There's nothing like a good old fashioned Twitter war, is there? Schadenfreude at its finest.

[Shaq's Twitter] [Rome's Twitter] [YouTube]