Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly Play Under the Lights in Texas

Derek Jeter, newly relieved of his duties to play baseball for a while now that his New York Yankees are out of the playoffs, is spending time with "Friday Night Lights" star Minka Kelly. Jeter, the 34-year-old shortstop for the Evil Empire, was recently spotted with the 28-year-old hottie in Austin, Texas at the city’s "Momo’s" music club. People Magazine points out that an onlooker described the couple as "together and happy." We can only take them at their word, though in our view being together with Minka Kelly is generally cause for happiness. Jeter…well, he’s at least better than A-Rod.

Jeter and Kelly were also seen at the University of Texas football game on Saturday night, where they took in the college football scene with Jeter’s former teammate Roger Clemens. While the sighting of the couple in Texas is being hashed out and talked about in the media, it is actually not the first time the two have been seen together – they were also spotted in a Starbucks in Austin’s trendy SoCo section last August.

With stories of strippers, divorce and the now-ancient Madonna surrounding his teammate Alex Rodriguez, Jeter’s attachment to Kelly seems mundane in comparison, though the media attention surrounding the two Yankees seems to be in keeping with the general persona of each – Jeter the down-to-earth, team-first scrapper vs. Rodriguez, the gun-for-hire prima donna with an attitude. Whether the labels are fair or not, we don’t actually know, but since perception is more important than reality in such celebrity circles, that really doesn’t seem to matter so much, does it?