All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Big-screen director Michael Mann is in talks to direct HBO’s drama pilot about horse racing, which is being written by Deadwood creator David Milch.

– Boo: CBS has greenlit a comedy pilot that sounds like yet another Friends knock-off …

… but, yay, Fox has given a thumbs up to Ridealong, a cop drama pilot by Shawn Ryan, creator of one of the best cop dramas of all time, The Shield.

– Just when you thought Carlos Menstealia Mencia was gone from TV land for good after Comedy Central dropped Mind of Mencia, he’s baaaack. Why, ABC, why?

– NBC doesn’t seem willing to admit that The Jay Leno Show five nights a week was a bad idea yet, but the fact that the network is producing 18 pilots for consideration for the 2010-11 fall season suggests they’re looking to fix more than just the 8-10PM primetime hours (especially since they do have some programming that’s working, i.e. The Biggest Loser and the Thursday night comedies).

– CNN denies the network has banned Kathy Griffin after her cheeky remarks during her New Year’s Eve coverage with Anderson Cooper, and Griffin herself discussed the “scandal” with Craig Ferguson.

– Speaking of scandals, can you believe “Boobgate,” fallout (literally!) from Janet Jackson‘s 2004 Super Bowl oopsie, is still going on?

– Is Fox’s new kids trivia series, Our Little Genius, exploiting its junior game show contestants? Consider it this way: Would you let your kid be a participant on the show?

– The next big thing? ESPN, Discovery, Imax, Sony and DirecTV are all planning to unleash 3-D TV on us, though tech insiders wonder if having to wear those dorky special glasses will prevent viewers from totally embracing the technology. I’m thinking that having to buy pricey new TV sets, especially until the economy rebounds in a major way, will be a bigger deterrent.

– Funny chick Sandra Bullock will present one of the all-time funniest chicks, Golden Girls and Mary Tyler Moore Show legend Betty White (also Bullock’s co-star in The Proposal), with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards telecast on Jan. 23 (TNT and TBS).

– Law & Order: SVU guest cast news: Sharon Stone is going to play a cop-turned-lawyer, while Mischa Barton is going to play a hooker.

– More than 2,000 Lost fans have signed a petition to get Disney to create a theme park attraction inspired by the ABC drama.

– And tonight in primetime: CBS’ new reality series I Get That a Lot (8PM ET) features D-list celebs – Paris Hilton, Gene Simmons, Julie Chen, etc. – pretending they’re not celebs to fool the public; Fox has back-to-back Glee repeats (8 and 9PM); Brooke Shields guest stars as the Hecks’ neighbor on The Middle (8:30PM, ABC); Queen Latifah hosts the People’s Choice Awards on CBS (9PM); Benjamin Bratt guests as Manny’s dad on Modern Family (9PM, ABC); It’s a mini Friends reunion on Cougar Town (9:30PM, ABC), when Lisa Kudrow guests as Jules’ dermatologist; The seventh and final season premiere of Nip/Tuck (10PM, FX) revolves around flashbacks to Sean and Christian’s college days, and could spell the beginning of the end for their friendship and professional partnership; New housemates Ashley and Mike hook up on The Real World (10PM, MTV); and Lady Gaga guest stars on Launch My Line (10PM, Bravo).