Tattle: Chris Isaak: Enough Cowell scowl for 'Idol'?

WHO WILL replace

Simon Cowell

on "American Idol"?

The Hollywood Reporter says it could be Chris Isaak (of the 1989 hit "Wicked Game"), who's met twice with the network.

(Can a TV talent show survive if none of the judges is British?)

Also, at least one candidate has set off a tug-of-war between "Idol" exec producer Simon Fuller and Cowell, whose upcoming Fox singing competition, "The X Factor," is also seeking judges - and is very much the same concept as "American Idol" except that the judges are more hands-on.

Harry Connick Jr. has also been considered. So was Bret Michaels, but he's reportedly out of the running.

Even Donald Trump has quietly lobbied to replace Cowell, as if the Donald could do anything quietly.

The daily Mel

Sheriff's detectives in L.A. are checking extortion allegations against Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore, who issues so many statements, the guy must sleep on a cot in the office, says the agency is looking into whether Oksana Grigorieva may have tried to extort the "Braveheart" star. He declined to offer any other details on the inquiry.

* In Touch Weekly reports that the

only shoulder Mel has to cry on belongs to . . . Britney Spears.

When Britney experienced her meltdown a few years ago, Mel reached out to her, and now she's returning the favor.

Besides, Britney knows "Toxic."

The daily Lindsay

L.A. sheriff's officials say that Lindsay Lohan will spend only about two weeks of her 90-day sentence in jail - a fraction of the time that the gossip industry will spend covering her stay.

But Lindsay's rehab portion of her sentence won't be trimmed, like her jail stint, by overcrowding and credits for good behavior.

"It's a straight 90 days," said prosecutor Danette Meyers.

In Lindsay's case it might be a bi 90 days.

* Thanks to the

crackerjack reporting of TMZ.com - although in this case it might be crack-whore-jack reporting - this is what prisoners at the Lynwood Correctional Facility have to pay for their lady products: Massengil Douche, $2.10; Tampons, $2.70; Pepperoni Beef Stick, 85¢.

Vibrating Pepperoni Beef Stick? Priceless.

Other items available for under $2 include shampoo, baby oil, cocoa-butter lotion, orange drink mix, ramen spicy shrimp and a jalapeno cheese squeezer.

Jail: Great bars, great nachos.

The Bristol Stomp

Maybe the press should have left Bristol Palin alone when it had the chance. Now that she's become a media-made celebrity, she can't shut up.

Bristol told her official wedding sponsor, Us Weekly, that mom, Sarah, "doesn't really approve" of her engagement to Levi Johnston. "She's apprehensive and concerned about this. She doesn't want to see me get hurt again."

Bristol broke the news to mom by phone, after telling Us.

"What I've done is starting to sink in," Bristol told Us, "and every family member of mine has some concerns - and that is scaring me. My dad is on the same page as my mom: They don't want to see me get hurt. They don't want to see again what I already went through with Levi.

"People are more worried for me than excited for me," she said.

* Regarding rumors that Sarah Palin is so upset that she might boycott the wedding, a Sarah source told TMZ.com that it's not true.

Tattbits

* Billboard.com reports that Taylor Swift will release her third studio album, "Speak Now" on Oct. 25.

The album's first single, "Mine," will be released in mid-August.

"Ever since we put out 'Fearless,' I've been writing this one," Taylor said. "Through the past two years, I've been through a lot of things that I have been dying to write about and talk about. There were a lot of things that I wanted to say in the moment but couldn't, and this album is my opportunity to do that.

"I didn't have any co-writers, and it didn't really happen on purpose," she explained. "It just so happened that the songs that made the cut on the album were the ones I wrote myself, so, wish me luck!" she said.

We'll save our luck-wishing for people who need it.

* George Clooney will be recognized for his humanitarian efforts at the Emmy Awards next month with its Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

And here we thought that The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences was finally getting around to recognizing Clooney's work on "The Facts of Life."

Clooney is being honored for the "Hope for Haiti" TV special and his efforts to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina and raise awareness about genocide in Darfur.

In an unrelated Clooney story, no matter what you may read elsewhere, TMZ.com reports that George is not selling his home on Lake Como in Italy.

Guess that means we can stop bidding.

* CBS has ordered a new daytime topical-events talk show for the fall featuring co-hosts Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Mount Airy's Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Are they calling it "The View 2"?

No. See, it's really, really different. This show will examine contemporary issues through the eyes of mothers.

Uh, Whoopi, Joy, Sherri, Elisabeth and Barbara are mothers.

Best part of the release from CBS was that the network was excited about the show because it was looking for "a new format."

Well, it's new to CBS.

Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

E-mail gensleh@phillynews.com.