Load Up the Truck, Move Away From Beverly

The Michigan Wolverines are coming to town for their second consecutive Rose Bowl appearance. But this time they won’t be coming so early -- and they won’t be staying at the posh Beverly Wilshire hotel.

Too many distractions, according to Coach Lloyd Carr. “I mean, Los Angeles -- there’s a few things to do,” he told the Detroit News. “You know, you could go 24 hours a day and not do all there is to do. I’m sure some of you [reporters] probably tried to do that, and maybe you didn’t write as well as you normally would have written.”

Last year, the Wolverines arrived Dec. 20 and enjoyed beach living in Dana Point until moving on Christmas Eve to the Beverly Wilshire, where they mingled with Hollywood celebrities and visiting NBA teams. On New Year’s Day in Pasadena, they lost to USC, 28-14.

Said Carr: “It was different than any other trip, beginning with the fact that we were staying at a different type of place.”

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Trivia time: The Louisiana Tech women’s basketball team fell from the top 25 this week, ending a string of 221 consecutive poll appearances dating to the 1991-92 season. Which team holds the record for appearances and how many weeks has it been ranked?

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Not that desperate: Philadelphia Eagle receiver Terrell Owens celebrated his 31st birthday Monday night at Knowlton Mansion in suburban Fox Chase, telling the Philadelphia Inquirer that he wanted “to do something big and bring a little California flavor to Philly.”

In attendance were celebrities and teammates. Most prominent among the no-shows was “Desperate Housewives” actress Nicollette Sheridan.

Alas, she probably couldn’t find a thing to wear.

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Alter-egos: The New York Post claims to have intercepted travel documents from the Denver Nuggets, which included the aliases players use when they check into hotels. For example, Carmelo Anthony reportedly registers as Paul Frank, Voshon Leonard as (the outlaw) Josey Wales, and Kenyon Martin as Peter Parker -- a.k.a. Spider Man.

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Grand slam: From Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, in a column entitled Random Evidence of a Cluttered Mind: “Cooperstown is struggling with how to deal with the steroids issue when inevitable inductee Barry Bonds is enshrined. May Random Evidence suggest placing Barry’s plaque directly above a urinal?”

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Fashionable: Nobody knows how far Jennifer Rosales will go as an LPGA golfer, but Golf World columnist Ron Sirak says she’ll look good getting there.

“The Filipino by way of Los Angeles wears shades, a headband and tight clothes drawing on a color scheme reminiscent of the land Dorothy woke up in after she landed in Oz,” Sirak wrote.

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Trivia answer: Tennessee, with 344 consecutive appearances.

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And finally: Portuguese soccer player Paolo Diogo lost a finger this week when his wedding ring got caught on a fence he was climbing in jubilation after his team had won its game. Adding insult to injury, he was cited for excessive celebration. Afterward, he tried looking on the bright side: “I’m not dead and life goes on,” he said.