He’s the Best There Is--and That <i> Is </i> Bull

Barry Larkin and Mo Vaughn are the MVPs, but Dodge Bodacious is the MVB.

Most valuable bull, that is.

For the second year in a row, Dodge Bodacious was named the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assn. bucking bull of the year by the association’s top bull riders.

“It’s quite an honor,” said Sammy Andrews, head of Andrews Rodeo Co., owner of Dodge Bodacious. “He’s earned the respect as an athlete.”

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Trivia time: What is the largest crowd to watch a USC-UCLA football game?

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He’s a collumist: Terry Bradshaw has been hired to write a column for TV Guide during the football season.

The former Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback will begin writing for the Nov. 25 issue with evaluations of the week’s televised games and issues relevant to the season.

Although he has become a glib TV commentator, as a player, Bradshaw’s alleged lack of mental prowess was legendary. Super Bowl opponent Hollywood Henderson was once moved to utter, “Terry couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the C and the A.”

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B-O-R-E-D: With fan cynicism at an all-time high, it figures that in Paul Owens’ new book on acronyms, sports comes out as Spectacle of Players (Overpaid) Romping Through Stadia.

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Were they al dente? Two people were slightly injured when a 100-pound spaghetti-box display blew down outside Tavern on the Green in New York City, where a carbo-loading pasta party for New York Marathon runners had been held.

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Excuse me? Ronney Jenkins of Oxnard, the high school running back who set a national record by rushing for 619 yards in a game last week, has been inundated with college recruiting offers.

Jenkins said he prefers to stay in the Pacific 10 and is especially looking for schools with high graduation rates. He lists his top choices as Arizona, BYU, Washington and . . . UNLV.

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Trivia answer: 103,303 for the 1939 game at the Coliseum, a scoreless tie.

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Quotebook: Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley on his team’s reputation for thuggery: “I really take offense that people think we’re a dirty team. We’re a long ways from a dirty team. We just simply get after people.”