How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris told People magazine that there is an opportunity for Britney Spears to return to the sitcom, saying, "The door is open for her. We would love [guest stars] who get in the show’s world to stick around if they want to."  The really weird part of it is that it makes her seem more normal to be a TV star…

Usher’s new CD Here I Stand is standing atop Billboard’s album chart, where it debuted with first-week sales of nearly a half-million.  Mr. Raymond says he doesn’t really care if it doesn’t sell, "a bazillion-gazillion records"–it’s just rewarding to get the album’s message out…

Miley Cyrus’ papa Billy Ray says that paparazzi salivating over the $150,000 they could get for a photo of her first kiss are too late–only he won’t say who it was.  It’s probably because of the settlement agreement he made after clobbering the kid…

Entertainment Tonight is looking a little foolish after falsely reporting Angelina Jolie gave birth to twins last week–based on information that came from an imposter posing as Jolie’s assistant.  For TV’s oldest and best-known celebrity news show, it’s kinda like catching your dad with your Aunt Velma…

Former Tonight Show sidekick and long-time pitchman Ed McMahon is facing foreclosure on his Hollywood home after falling behind on his mortgage payments.  Maybe he can move in with Doc Severinsen…

ABC’s The View will welcome Michelle Obama–wife of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama–as a guest host June 18, where she will participate in the show’s "Hot Topics" segment and interview guests.  Hopefully she won’t have to explain to Elisabeth Hasselbeck why she doesn’t dress like other Muslim women…

• Mariah Carey talked to Ellen DeGeneres yesterday and told her that since her wedding to Nick Cannon was a very private affair, they’re e planning to do the ceremony again in a year so more people can share in their happiness.  Plus, think of all the extra wedding shower presents she can score…
• CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother got another "Britney Boost" from Britney Spears’ guest appearance on the show Monday night, with another half million more viewers tuning in than normal.  This may very well lead to more episodes featuring her next season–and a new way for K-Fed to experience career humiliation…
• Taylor Swift will be the spokesperson for a new line of jeans sold at Wal-Mart called L.E.I., which stands for Life, Energy, Intelligence.  Add those to the doll they sell in her likeness, and Taylor is jazzed that fans can now find her in the toy, fashion and music departments…
• Is reality TV is starting to fade in popularity? Survivor’s finale Sunday failed to make the Top Ten and American Idol–still the most popular show on TV–has suffered a steady decline in viewers this season.  Could it be that hype–the fuel that makes reality programming go–has finally jumped the shark?
• Drew Barrymore was recently the victim of a hit-and-run driver, and instead of dutifully waiting for the police to arrive, she chased the other vehicle to a restaurant and had a heated exchange with the driver. Apparently all that training for those Charlie’s Angels movies just kicked in…
• Model Marissa Miller tops Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 list of the world’s most beautiful women, with the magazine’s editor commenting, "To see her in person is to see somebody who could not look bad if their life depended on it."  In other words, the flip side of Joan Rivers…

• Britney Spears makes her return to CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother tonight, and the show’s creator says the episode leaves open the chance for her to return next season.  This is easily the best thing to happen to her since she kicked K-Fed to the curb…
• Colbie Caillat, who hit the big time thanks to being discovered on MySpace, tried out not once but twice for American Idol and was rejected both times–not even getting past the first line of producers.  In other words, Colbie got all the glory–with none of the humiliation…
• Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said recently that 15-year-old Miley Cyrus–recently featured in a suggestive Vanity Fair photo shoot –would be, "welcomed in [Playboy] magazine" and the outcry over her photos shows, "how schizophrenic America is about sexuality."  I think the kindest thing I can is that Hef’s senility has obviously set in…
• Leona Lewis’ huge hit Bleeding Love has set another chart record–it’s been #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks, something no British solo female artist has ever done. For Lenora, there’s no bleeding, but plenty of love–at least from her accountant…
• Justin Timberlake is teaming with MTV to produce a reality game show called The Phone–where 2 contestants will answer cell phones at opposite ends of a big city, and an unseen guide will direct them through a "race against time" for a big cash prize.  This sounds suspiciously like my teenager’s last shopping trip…
• It’s official–when Late Night host Conan O’Brien takes over for Jay Leno on The Tonight Show next year, Jimmy Fallon of Saturday Night Live fame is set to replace O’Brien.  So much for Phil Donohue’s comback hopes…

• Britney Spears returns to court today to ask for more time with her two children.  Her attorneys seem confident that she will soon return to her responsibilities as a parent and Kevin Federline will return to bumming drinks at clubs…
• Britney Spears also talked about reprising her role on How I Met Your Mother in an episode set to air this coming Monday, saying,  "I had such a great experience last time I was on the show that I couldn’t wait to come back… Everyone was so nice!"  That’s because no one there was trying to sleep with her or get her money….
• Prince is about to become an author, as his book 21 Nights, billed as a "photographic essay", hits stores this fall.  I’ll guess the book is short, very elegant, and just a bit sleazy…
• Scarlett Johansson’s year-long relationship with Ryan Reynolds got a lot more serious–her publicist announced that Johansson is engaged to Reynolds, the star of the recently-released romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe.  I just hope that his committment isn’t anything like that film title…
• Rosie O’Donnell said on The Today Show yesterday that she is "trying" to keep in touch by email with The View host Elisabeth Hasselback, with whom Rosie had a heated on-air exchange that led to her leaving the show a year ago.  By "trying", Rosie means that she attempted to educate Hasselback on the proper way to think…
• An organization called Mingling Moms has named Dina Lohan–the mother of Lindsay Lohan–a "Top Mom" apparently because she raised a child who became a superstar.  Lucky for her she didn’t have to actually act like a mom…

• Hard Candy, Madonna’s 11th album, is out today and you can get a free preview of all the tracks on her MySpace page. But bootleggers should beware–anyone caught illegally downloading her music is subject to nonstop lectures on macrobiotic diets and the Kaballah…
• Jordin Sparks told MTV in an email that she’s almost healed from a vocal cord hemorrhage and that she should be back on tour in a few more days.  She wrote that full vocal rest for two weeks has been pretty tough on her, meaning "no talking, laughing, giggling and singing. Can I tell you how hard that is?"…
• Britney Spears is definitely returning to How I Met Your Mother–she’ll be featured on the sticom in a May 12 episode.  She reportedly will have a lot of screen time with star Neil Patrick Harris, which will make him almost as happy as being called  "Doogie Howser"…
• Saturday Night Live’s Amy Poehler, who stars in box office hit Baby Mama as a surrogate mother for co-star Tina Fey’s character, is actually pregnant herself.  So how often can an actor use a performance to enhance their real life?
• Famed photographer Annie Liebowitz is defending that controversial photo of Miley Cyrus in Vanity Fair that Miley told fans she was sorry she did.  Liebowitz says the shot has been "misinterpreted"–but I wonder if she’d feel the same way if it was her 15-year-old who looked topless in a fashion magazine…
• Grey’s Anatomy suffered its smallest audience ever for an original episode when it returned last week, and star Patrick Dempsey suggested that the wirter’s strike was the reason.  It’s just a guess, but I think McDreamy is McDreaming…