11/30/06 - Tacoma

AP - Nick Lachey visited the City of Destiny yesterday. The celebrity recently purchased 1/3 of the Seattle Mariners' farm team in Tacoma, and stopped through town to get connected with the area.

Solo artist, former singer in the band 98 Degrees and ex-husband of Jessica Simpson, Lachey is a passionate sports fanatic and has been very interested in baseball his whole life. In recent years he has tried to buy into the Cincinnati Reds, and views this as the next best thing to playing organized baseball.

Lachey insists that he will enjoy getting involved with the team yet insists he will not meddle obsessively. He seems to recognize that owners have a time and a place to be involved and it doesn't sound like too much is going to change.

One interesting thing from the press conference yesterday (besides all the young girls swarming the area) was that Nick Lachey referenced the aspect of "entertainment" at the games.. could a future live performance be on the horizon? Tacoma youngsters can dream.

An unnamed correspondent of NorthTacoma.net was present for the press conference and offers an interesting view into the new owner's possible motives. "It doesn't appear to be a P.R. move," says our source, as "he is a passionate sports fan and seems genuinely interested in working with the team."

Our source also added that Lachey arrived late Tuesday, stayed at the new Marriott hotel, and was in town less than 48 hours. Duty called in his hometown of Cincinnati; he performed the National Anthem for the Thursday night NFL football game between the Bengals and Ravens.