Lionel Richie was in Santa Monica to accept the “Icon” honor at last Sunday night’s taping of the TV Land Awards, when he received a different round of applause for being the dad of daughter Nicole.

“Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business,” he told the audience. “Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie has been a struggle-and-a-half, I want to tell you. I stand here as a survivor, I want you to know, for all the parents out there.”

Guess he is still recovering from all the nonsense his daughter put him through in 2007. Nicole served 82 minutes in jail after being convicted of DUI of drugs. She was arrested in December 2006 after witnesses reported seeing her Benz SUV driving down the wrong way on a freeway in Burbank, Calif.

Nicole, who became famous in her own right for her stint on Fox’s “The Simple Life” along with Paris Hilton, has been behaving herself ever since. Well sort of… she gave birth to her daughter Harlow with Joel Madden three months ago.

The sixth annual TV Land Awards are scheduled to air June 15 on the cable network.

Despite his attorney arguing on his behalf, Chad Kroeger was convicted and will be sentenced May 1st.

 Kroeger’s lawyer, told the court  that when Canadian cops pulled him over in June, 2006 for speeding in his red Lamborghini Diablo, one of the officers asked him to blow in his face to see whether or not Chad had alcohol on his breath.

Chad was convicted. He’ll be sentenced May 1.  The man can afford to drive a lamborghini, why didn’t he just hire a cab, or a limo after he started drinking? A person is sober until he takes that first drink, and when they decide to take that sip, they should also decide to find a safe ride home.