Come on, please don't say you believe Charlie Sheen could really be an "American Idol" judge.

After the (slight) disbelief that came with learning Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez are leaving the judges' panel, we've entered phase two of the grieving process: speculation.

Enter a deluge of rumors regarding potential "American Idol" judges, half of which I'm convinced are planted by insiders in hopes of generating buzz about the show. Charlie Sheen? Nah. Mariah Carey? Nope. Miley Cyrus? It ain't gonna happen.

In Tuesday's column, I wrote about my dream judges' panel: Jimmy Iovine, Stevie Nicks and Clay Aiken.

The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting slideshow of poll results about how "Idol" should reinvent itself. The most surprising statistic? Nearly 80 percent of respondents would be more likely to watch "Idol" if Simon Cowell came back.

Put me in the minority.

Sure, he'd cause some initial shock value. But I'm not sure Simon Cowell is the be all, end all solution to any problems surrounding "Idol." A lot of people overlook the fact that Simon was on auto-pilot for his last couple "Idol" seasons. It seemed like he checked out of the show long before making his official departure.

Besides, I don't know why we're having these conversations. Simon is still busy with "X Factor," right?