Sports Beat

According to actress-singer Mandy Moore, her ex-boyfriend Andy Roddick broke up with her because he didn't like Los Angeles. But Roddick, 21, seemed to have a change of heart last week while making the rounds in Hollywood-appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Big Idea with Donnie Deutsch and filming a segment for the ESPYs with model Brooke Burke at the Playboy mansion. "The offer was made, so I had to go," Roddick said of his trip to Hef's place, where he squired his new flame, model Lauren Bedford, 20, around the grounds. Bedford, a former girlfriend of golfer Ty Tryon's, has been cheering on Roddick since the French Open....

Bronx Bomber captain Derek Jeter also has a new female friend. After dating actress Jordana Brewster for more than a year and then MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo, Jeter has lately been seeing Honey star Jessica Alba (left). Jeter, 30, was spotted with Alba, 23, at Hollywood's Spider Club last month, and the pair showed up the next night at XES Club. If you're keeping score at home, Alba previously dated golfer Sergio Garc�a.

? Larry Bird was trumped in his bid to build a casino in his hometown of French Lick, Ind. The state gaming commission voted 4-2 for Donald Trump's $108 million proposal, which includes a golf course designed by Fuzzy Zoeller. (An Indianapolis development company was also in the running.) "Trump did the extra work," said commission member Maurice Ndukwu. "[His people] got out into the community and talked to the people that are going to be impacted." The casino is expected to open in January 2006.

?Hot in Herre rapper Nelly was getting sweaty in New Mexico last week filming scenes for the remake of The Longest Yard. The fledgling actor plays a running back, which means he spent time being hit by costars Brian Bosworth, Michael Irvin and Stone Cold Steve Austin. (The film, which stars Adam Sandler, is scheduled to open next Memorial Day.) Nelly also followed in Jay-Z's footsteps last week when he became a part-owner of a basketball team, in this case the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. The team's majority owner is BET founder Robert Johnson. "Bob and I share the same commitment to diversity, and we are both self-made, having worked up from the very bottom to reach where we are today," Nelly, a native of St. Louis, says. Among Johnson's other partners are former NBA player M.L. Carr and NASCAR team owner Felix Sabates.

? Rip Hamilton had LASIK surgery at the Assil Sinskey Eye Institute in Santa Monica, meaning he won't have to wear contacts next season. Will that be a problem for the Pistons? The superstitious Hamilton was supposed to change his contacts every two months last year, but he wore one set for six months because the team was doing so well. He even went so far as to change back to an old set at half-time of a playoff game because he was shooting so poorly. Today he's seeing 20-15 (his vision used to be 20-200), and he's so happy he's talked LeBron James into visiting his doctor after the Olympics. Says Hamilton of the procedure, "This is as big as winning the NBA championship."