Nick Lachey is worried about his team's road to the Final Four

By: Jessie Karangu

As a Cincinnati native, former boy band star Nick Lachey has always pledged his allegiance to the Cincinnati Bearcats. So when he looked at the bracket this year, he got a little queasy. His team’s road to the Final Four, it seems, is full of tough match-ups.

“We’ve got UCLA, we’ve got Kentucky, we’ve got North Carolina all in our bracket just to get to the Final Four so we’re definitely going to have to play our best basketball of the season if we’re going to get very far this year,” Lachey said.

Lachey said he’s always been more of a college basketball fan than an NBA fan and he believes March Madness is the second marquee sporting event of the year — the first being the Super Bowl.

“It’s a whole season’s worth of work coming down to hey a chance to get hot at the right time make a run and anyone’s got a shot. It’s the best sporting event of the year,” said Lachey.

Lachey expects the madness to continue this year, picking Middle Tennessee State to beat Minnesota but he also has his eye on Princeton because they play “kind of old school, pick and roll basketball.”

There are at least two schools we know he won’t be rooting for – Xavier and Louisville.

Xavier, a rival of Cincinnati, has “become so good year in and year out” according to Lachey, he believes the school has “supplanted Louisville as my most hated school in college basketball.”

Like most fans though, he’s just mostly excited the big day is here.

“It’s almost an excused absence of work for most people and the chance to sit down and watch four games at once with a cold beer in your hand on St. Patty’s Day weekend. It just feels right.”

Nick Lachey Cradles His Newborn

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98 Degrees star Nick Lachey posted a photo with son Phoenix, 2 months, via Instagram Thursday.

“Happy to say #MarchMadness looks a little different this year for me. #GoBearcats,” the father-of-three, 43, captioned the image cuddling his newborn.

Last month, wife Vanessa Lachey introduced their son on social media. And when he turned 2-months, she Instagrammed a sweet snapshot of the napping newborn.

Nick and Vanessa welcomed their third child on December 24, they announced on social media.

“It’s a very Merry Christmas indeed! We had our Christmas Miracle. Phoenix Robert Lachey decided to show up early and was born on Christmas Eve. Mommy, Daddy, Camden & Brooklyn LOVE You very much! #LacheyPartyOf5,” Vanessa wrote.

The high-profile couple are also parents to son Camden, 4, and 2-year-old daughter Brooklyn.

SvtFoE S2 Soundtrack - Just Friends - Nick Lachey (Video)

Composer by Brian H. Kim
Sung by Nick Lachey (as Justin Towers)

98º - The Hardest Thing UK

How Have I NEVER seen this??

Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) and Layzie Bone (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony) at Style Fashion Week F/W 2017

Celebrities At 'The Today Show' In NYC (Nick Lachey)

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We Talked Potato Chips With Nick Lachey

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ELIZABETH BUXTON

What do Nick Lachey, Cincinnati's skyline chili, and Lay's potato chips all have in common? Quite a lot, actually. It was only a few weeks ago that I found myself sitting down with the former 98 Degrees singer at a hightop bar table in the basement of a dimly lit NYC comedy club. Why were we there? To chat chips.

Lachey will be returning for his second time to run the Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest, where fans from across the country can compete in creating the brand's next new flavor in hopes of winning a one million dollar prize (yep, potato chips can make you rich). And that night, he was kick-starting the competition by hosting a "pitch off" with his brother, Drew; what ensued can only be described as a rap battle on chip flavors. But before Lachey got up on stage, I was able to steal him away and pick his brain on all things deep-fried potato. Read on to find out his favorite flavor, how a bag of chips may have saved his singing career, and more. 


What are you most excited to see in the competition as you kick it off this year?
“It’s cool to kind of get into the meat of the story and find out why is this particular flavor so meaningful to them, why is it special to them, and what does it take them back to. It gives a real weight, a real backstory to what it’s all about — and a lot of times, even compliments the flavor in some weird way."

Do you get to try all the flavors?
“I don’t get to try ALL the flavors, but last time around I got to try the four finalist flavors: Reuben, Hero, Biscuits & Gravy, and Truffle Chips."

Were you scared to try any of the flavors OR were you totally game?
“No, no, no. Well I’m a HUGE fan of the Reubens, so I was super excited to get into that one. The craziest thing to me is if you close your eyes, you would swear you were eating a reuben. The flavor, the taste of them, was SO spot on. It really is kind of crazy what they’re able to pack into a chip. So yeah, I’ll eat anything, I’m game for anything.”

If you could submit a flavor yourself, what flavor would you submit?
“Oh, so I’m from Cincinnati and we have a local chili called ‘Skyline Chili,’ and it’s not like Texas chili with beans, it’s like a sweet chili and you eat it over a hot dog or spaghetti — I’ve always thought that taste of chili with the cheese and a chip would be awesome. So that would be my submission, but sadly I am not allowed to participate. So I’ve just given you a gift, you’re welcome.” 

What is your favorite Lay's flavor?
“For me, it’s classic. I’ve told this story before, but literally as a recording artist when we were recording “I Do” with 98 Degrees, I came into the studio hoarse and the producer, Keith Thomas, was like ‘eat a bag of Lay's.’ And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he said, ‘It will help coat your throat.’ And I’ll be damned, I recored ‘I Do,’ which became one of our biggest songs, with a bag of Lay's in the recording studio. I wouldn’t make that up! You can call Keith to verify.” 

Jeff Timmons on His Stunning Daughter's Fashion Week Debut & 98 Degrees' Las Vegas Plans!

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Leena Tailor , ET

Jeff Timmons' little girl is all grown up!

The 98 Degrees heartthrob proudly watched as his 18-year-old daughter, Alyssa, made her modeling debut at New York Fashion Week recently.

"It's bittersweet because she's my little girl -- I've gotten old very fast because I still remember her being born and bringing her back from the hospital like it was yesterday!" the 43-year-old singer and producer told ET following the Style Fashion Week show at Madison Square Garden. "But she's also a grown-up, doing grown-up things, so I couldn't be more proud of the way she carried herself on that stage and the response she's had. She's grown into a beautiful woman and I'm lucky to be her dad."

Despite self-doubt about whether she had what it takes to be a model, Alyssa had been contemplating giving the catwalk a go after multiple people commented on her potential. After her dad introduced her to Los Angeles label M the Movement founder Michael Herrera, she was asked to join his New York show, where she walked for designer Zoan Ash. Though it was her first official modeling gig, the young beauty confidently conquered the runway, while her dad also hit the stage, performing with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's Layzie Bone.

"As I walked onstage I was nervous, but as soon as I stepped on I was fine," Alyssa said. "It was definitely an adrenaline rush. And just being at Fashion Week was really great because I met so many different people and great personalities. There are so many false accusations about the modeling industry, which had me a little scared, but everybody was so nice.

"I definitely want to try and do more," continued Alyssa, a biological sciences major who scored straight As in her first semester and has now taken a break from studying to pursue modeling. "My biggest dream is to travel the world, and that's the great opportunity that comes with modeling -- you can do it anywhere and the possibilities are endless."

Alyssa is the eldest of Timmons' two children with ex-wife Trisha Sperry. He also has a daughter with his wife of six years, Amanda, who has two children from a previous marriage. While much of his time is now spent as a doting dad in Las Vegas, the Ohio native's experience with fame has admittedly made him anxious about having Alyssa follow his footsteps into the spotlight.

"This is a dangerous industry," the former Chippendales host and Men of the Strip co-creator reflected. "There are people out there who you can't trust, and it's very hard to keep a trustworthy circle around you. Those are things I can encourage her to be wary of, but ultimately, she's going to have to make her own judgments. The biggest thing that taught me lessons about the business was experience. I had plenty of people telling me what to do and what not to do, and some of them told me the wrong things. But you learn by falling down and picking yourself back up, and I feel like she's been influenced by myself and her mom enough that she can make those important, critical judgments on her own."

Alyssa added that growing up watching her dad's journey as a pop star has made him the perfect role model.

"He's a great example because he's always very humble, doesn't approach anyone differently and takes great care of his fans," she said. "He's one of the realest people I've met! It's crazy given all the things he's accomplished -- he's never let that blow up his ego."

As well as hitting the catwalk, Alyssa enjoyed hanging with her parents at the same venue as Kendall Jenner following the show, and fangirled when she got to meet America's Next Top Model judge Miss J. Alexander.

"I was actually freaking out and wouldn't go up to him!" she laughed. "My mom went to talk to him and said, 'Will you please take a picture with my daughter, she's such a big fan.' Then my dad also approached him!"

Speaking of fangirling, Timmons' followers have plenty to look forward to in 2017. As well as producing TV shows and touring Southeast Asia, the Dead 7 star confirmed that he's set to reunite with 98 Degrees, and they have new music planned. And, like his "great friends" the Backstreet Boys, who are kicking off a Las Vegas residency on March 1, the "Because of You" crooners may also hit The Strip.

"Look for us around Christmastime to be doing something special," he teases. "It could be in Vegas or it could be around the country. We had a phenomenal response on the MY2K tour and The Package tour, so now we've got the buzz to keep performing again, which is great."

Dad of Three Nick Lachey Dishes on Pregnancy: ‘I, As a Man, Don’t Even Pretend to Know What a Woman Goes Through’

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As a father of three, Nick Lachey has learned the ins and outs of parenting. But there’s one thing he knows he will never quite understand.

“I, as a man, don’t even pretend to know what a woman goes through during pregnancy,” the 98 Degrees frontman — who is dad to sons Phoenix Robert, 10 weeks, and Camden John, 4½, plus daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth, 2, tells PEOPLE.

“We are a witness to it,” continues the singer of his role in wife Vanessa‘s pregnancies. “I think, as a husband, you try and help them along as much as you can, but I wouldn’t know where to even begin with [pregnancy] advice.”

Lachey may not feel fit to dole out pregnancy advice, but he is at the point where he can give feedback to his daughter — although it’s a little bit simple at this point, considering she’s only 2.

“The best advice I’ve given my 2-year-old daughter is ‘Listen to Daddy,’ ” he shares. “And she doesn’t always take that advice. But as she gets older, I’m sure there will be more important life lessons — wash your hands, that’s another lesson we’re working on.”

And between him and Vanessa, Lachey admits he’s the (slightly) stricter parent. “I’m probably more the disciplinarian — maybe that’s just the old-school ‘Dad is the disciplinarian’ role that I’ve taken on,” he says. “But we both kind of share in that role as well.”

The father of three stresses he’s about “discipline with purpose,” though, and “not just blind discipline.”

“I think that kids need to be guided, they need to be disciplined, but in a way that’s constructive, so that’s what I try to do,” he explains.

Luckily for the Lacheys, Brooklyn’s big brother has kind of taken up teaching her some lessons on his own — mainly of the communication variety.

“My two oldest are starting to have conversations with each other,” the singer says. “Camden will say, ‘Brooklyn, Brooklyn, follow me!’ and she’s like, ‘Okay.’ It’s funny to see your kids talk to each other.”

Admits the proud dad, “They understand each other even when, as parents, we’re like, ‘Wait, what did they say?’ They understand each other perfectly. They have this little language they speak.”

The entertainer touches on the fact that his oldest child has definitely taken after him when it comes to appreciating music — and inheriting the performance gene.

“Every day, I take my son Cam to school and we have the radio on, and he loves to sing,” Lachey says. “He loves music, he loves to drum. Just his music sensibility, I look at him and I’m like, ‘That’s definitely my kid.’ ”

“You can tell [music]’s going to be a part of his life in one way or another,” he adds.

Like most great parents, though, regardless of the interests his kids take on and the direction life leads them in, Lachey just wants to support them in whatever they choose — and for them to be healthy and happy.

“They can do whatever they want with their life. I don’t have any expectations on what they become,” he says. “As long as they’re good people and they’re happy and they’re healthy then I think, as a parent, that’s what you want for your kids.”

Vanessa Lachey on Her Newborn's Name, Nick's Sweet Tooth & Why You Should #BakeSomeGood

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SOLANA HAWKENSON 

Vanessa and Nick Lachey are living the sweet life. Having met on the set of Nick’s music video for “What’s Left of Me” in 2006, they began dating until their intimate, surprise wedding on a tropical island in 2011. Vanessa, known for hosting shows TRL and Entertainment Tonight, and Nick, member of pop/R&B boy band 98 Degrees, even share the same birthday of November 9. The couple welcomed their third child, son Phoenix Robert Lachey, on Christmas Eve, and their middle child, daughter Brooklyn Elisabeth Lachey, turned 2 on January 5.

Her social media is flooded with photos of her three adorable kiddos (including 4-year-old Camden John Lachey), showing how much she enjoys motherhood.

Nick and Vanessa Lachey at the 2015 Entertainment Weekly Pre-Emmy Party. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty)

In addition to being a loving mom, she isn’t shy about acknowledging her husband’s good looks, either. Vanessa mentions the phoenix tattooed across Nick’s shoulders — which played a part in deciding their newborn’s name — and wonders if I know of it, quickly adding, “I’m sure you do because you’ve seen 98 Degrees pictures with his shirt off.”

The busy mama recently teamed up with Nestlé Toll House for the #BakeSomeGood campaign, an effort to inspire people to brighten someone’s day and celebrate the good in the world. Over the holiday season, Nestlé selected six bakers in Chicago, ranging from amateurs to professional chefs. Each day, for 100 days, they baked and delivered treats as a pick-me-up or thank you to others in the community.

Together they made 20,878 baked goods and spent 853 hours in the kitchen to perform the random acts of kindness. On the 100th day of the campaign, the bakers worked for 25 hours straight, setting the Guinness World Record for most consecutive hours of baking.

An avid cook and baker, Vanessa created her own recipe to contribute, a decadent Chocolate Chunk Cookie with sea salt. She spoke with Parade about balancing family and romance, Nick’s sweet tooth and how to give back with baked goods.

Congrats on welcoming baby Phoenix! How did you choose his name?

It’s so silly how it came about. Nick had just come off of Kelly Ripa’s show and I was looking at her Instagram and thinking of her son Joaquin. I was like, Joaquin, that’s a beautiful name. Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix. At that moment that I said that, Nick had walked by. He has a phoenix rising from the ashes on the back of his shoulders and it’s beautiful, symbolically, what it stands for; we’ve had so many conversations about it. With our other two we went back and forth for months and months. With this one it was the only name that we thought of. It was the only one we talked about and we just felt it right from the beginning.

What do you enjoy most about being a mom?

My favorite part is when they do things unsolicited… when Brooklyn comes out and she’s like, “Aw, mommy, you look so cute!” Then she hugs me so tight that she’s clenching her teeth. Or when Camden leans over and grabs my hand and goes, “I love you, Mama.” I just melt because I didn’t tell him to say that and I didn’t make him say that and I didn’t give him a present that made him say that. He just felt it in his heart and wanted to say it. For me and Nick, it’s seeing these things happen with these little people who one day are going to be young adults, and we hope that we instill in them good qualities. When you see bits and pieces of those good qualities it makes you feel good.

How do you balance work, family time and one-on-one time as a couple?

We constantly have to communicate and now with three, we have to visually communicate; we started a family board where we put everything so that we not only talk about everything going on, but we see everything going on. Then it’s about, when you’re with the family, making that family time. I understand that, 24/7, people can’t put away their devices, but it is important to try at times. Whether it’s meal time or it’s morning milk and cartoon time, just put your phone away.

As far as the relationship, to be honest, you have to force the time and then once you’re there it’s not forced. We force it by saying OK, next Friday we have to get a sitter, we have to make time, we’re going to go away or go out to dinner. With three kids there’s no spontaneous, “Do you wanna go grab a drink?” That’s impossible. You kind of have to think ahead and we really try to do that as often as we can.

What made you want to get involved with the Nestlé Toll House #BakeSomeGood campaign?

As a mother, all I try to do a lot in the day is teach my kids about the good in life and how they can be good people but also, how to give back and be selfless. This was an amazing opportunity because I love baking and it was the perfect time; I was pregnant and they approached me. I was absolutely excited about it because, who doesn’t want to be a positive influence, not only to their kids but to their community? [By] the simple act of giving some chocolate chip cookies to your neighbor, you can have a ripple effect of something bigger and more beautiful. I think in this time we all need to focus on positivity. We need to focus on being selfless. This is an easy, very tangible way of doing that and hopefully it sparks other ideas for people to do different things in their community.

Lachey with her Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  (Stephanie Todaro Photography)

Did Nick make special baking requests?  

He loves anything pumpkin. This campaign began in the fall/winter, so I did some pumpkin cookies and pumpkin muffins, but selfishly I made salted chocolate chip cookies because I was pregnant and wanted something salty and sweet. It was the perfect combo.

Your Chocolate Chunk Cookies are like an upgrade of classic chocolate chip. What other Nestlé flavors should we try?

They have refrigerated cookie doughs that are easy and literally take minutes to have your kids break off the pieces, put them in [the oven]. They’ve got a strawberry shortcake and blueberry lemon one right now. When I told [Nick] that they had a strawberry shortcake one he was absolutely bonkers. The guy does not discriminate and I love it. It makes it more fun for me to cook and to bake and to experiment because he eats everything.

The refrigerated dough must come in handy. Baking with three little ones in the kitchen sounds messy.

If I’m baking with them, I have to know it is what it is. I have to let go of my OCD and let them have the beautiful moment. If I want to do a good dinner for Nick or bake something specific, I wait until Camden and Brooklyn are asleep. But it’s fun for them to be a part of it because those are the memories you have growing up. That’s what you think of, those smells and those moments. That’s what I’m excited for them to have.