QUIBBLES & BITS

. . . Editor Gloria Steinem, on Michael Jackson’s KABC TalkRadio show, defended Ms. magazine’s “15 Dumbest Men” list rather loftily as a device that can help males “empathize” with women who suffer sexist put-downs. And we thought it was to help sell magazines.

. . . Farewell to Arm: Announcing last Tuesday’s Paul Gonzales-Lucilo Nolasco fight for Prime Ticket (Gonzales won, barely), Chick Hearn declared, “I’ll guarantee you, Gonzales would give his left arm to have a (knockout) punch!”

. . . Whew! We worried that all the nasty pit bull publicity might have Bud Light pitchman Spuds MacKenzie in the doghouse. But an Anheuser-Busch rep reminds us: “Spuds is not a pit bull but an English Bull Terrier, so there’s no plan to change the ad campaign.” He also denied rumors that Spuds was in the family way (while again confirming that Spuds is a she).

. . . Whoops! Last week’s item about “Moonlighting’s” plans for a “Honeymooners” homage brought a letter from a “Head of the Class” rep, who reports that the ABC series beat “Moonlighting” to the bell. In fact, in the same episode that paid tribute to the Great One (in a black-and-white sequence that took place in a run-down Brooklyn apartment), there was even a brief spoof of . . . “Moonlighting”!