Back without a bang

Was anyone else surprised to find the NHL season had already begun? Seeing hockey highlights on TV again for the first time in more than a year is kind of like seeing an old classmate you were never really friends with at a party. You know, the one who somehow remembers your name but all you can say is "Hey ... you." It's not like you don't want to see them, it's just that you don't really care one way or the other. If they're at the party, fine, if not, no biggie. That's the way I feel about hockey. I don't mind that it's back, I may even watch a game or two, but I certainly didn't miss it while it was gone and probably wouldn't notice if the players went on strike again unless someone told me.

Purple and Gold perspective

I'm not quite sure I understand the logic used by people who say the Lakers are lowering their expectations this season after Phil Jackson said the team's goal was to make the playoffs. I understand Jackson won three championships during his first stint as the Lakers coach, but anyone who watched L.A. last season certainly wouldn't call a playoff berth a low expectation. In fact, it's pretty lofty considering the talent on the roster outside of Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom is thinner than Kate Moss. Kobe and Phil may have "made up" (we'll see about that), but unless they've found players besides Aaron McKie, Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm to round out their starting lineup, they're still in trouble. And let's not even talk about the bench. The way I see it, Jackson should be a strong candidate for Coach of the Year if the Lakers are contending for a playoff spot come April.

Newlyweds not done, yet

It seems like Sports Illustrated on Campus caused a bit of a stir at USC on Tuesday week when Nick Lachey showed up at Heritage Hall for a photo shoot with Leinart for the cover of the magazine's next issue. I sat down with both of them for the cover story and thought a couple of rumors that came out the next day were a bit premature, if not completely false.

First, Us Weekly reported that Lachey and his wife Jessica Simpson had split up saying the two had been separated for some time. Lachey, still wearing his wedding ring, not only told me that things were fine between the two of them, but that he was missing Game 1 of the ALDS between the Angels and Yankees to be with her. So you have to take him at his word, at least for now. And I would put very little stock into the rumor that Lachey and Leinart are about to move in together, unless Leinart's planning to move to Calabasas or Lachey is planning to leave Jessica and move into a downtown apartment. Both are about as likely to happen as Lachey playing tailback at USC, which he said was the position he tried out for when he walked on to the team in 1993, John Robinson's first year back as USC's coach. "I quit after a week," said Lachey, who had never played organized football before. "There were five guys who had no business being out there and I was one of them."