Sideshow | Damon identity: Sexiest man

For years - and years -

George Clooney

and

Brad Pitt

, who have each worn People mag's Sexiest Man Alive crown, have mock-campaigned for young

Matt Damon

to win the award. A sweet, but ultimately patronizing move. Well, Matt has finally won the title.

And he's won it on his terms, says People. The mag says Matt has won not for being a sexy, rakish cad and woman-killer, but for his "irresistible sense of humor," his being a "rock-solid family man," and, of course, his "heart-melting humility." Feeling nauseated, anyone?

No, it's true, the man is sweet. And he's worth a thousand

Tom Cruises

, if only for the fact that he has a private life, a life apart from publicists.

In a funny letter he sent People mag, Damon writes, "You gave an aging suburban dad the ego boost of a lifetime. My 9-year-old stepdaughter now thinks I'm cool - well, cooler."

Marie Osmond

confirmed yesterday to

Entertainment Tonight

that her 16-year-old son,

Michael

, has entered rehab to seek help for an unspecified issue, malady or illness.

"My son Michael is an amazing young man, shown through his courage in facing his issues. As his mother, I couldn't be more proud of him," she told

ET

in a report set to air last night. She asked that the press, which has "been kind and gracious in the past," respect the family's privacy.

Jay-Z

has done it again: His new album,

American Gangster

, which is inspired by

Ridley Scott

's

Denzel Washington

-starring film, has debuted No. 1 on the Billboard charts, selling 425,000 copies. (The movie's official soundtrack CD opened at No. 36.)

Gangster

is the rapper's 10th No. 1 record in as many years, and ties him with

Elvis

Presley

for the most chart-toppers by a solo artist. (

The Beatles

lead all artists, having had 19 No. 1 albums.) In other chart news, last week's top dog,

The Eagles

'

Long Road Out of Eden

, has dropped to No. 2, having sold 359,000 units.

Ultimate Hits

by

Garth Brooks

sold 352,000 copies to open at No. 3.

WMGK (102.9 FM) morning-show host

John DeBella

, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary as a radio dude in Philly, was reflective yesterday when asked to comment on his air birthday. He was philosophical.

But mind you, not morose.

"After 25 years of doing radio in one city you find yourself asking was I smart or was I lucky?" he asked rhetorically via e-mail.

"It took a while but I now know that I was lucky to be asked to come to Philadelphia," said DeBella, who debuted on our airwaves on Nov. 15, 1982, at WMMR-FM (93.3).

Last Thursday,

Britney Spears

ran a red light while her two sons,

Sean Preston

and

Jayden James

, were in the car - and the paparazzi caught it on film. (Us Weekly says there was also a court-appointed monitor in the car.)

This has given

Kevin Federline

leverage to demand that the court re-re-reevaluate Brit's fitness to be mummy. Again.

And so, the feuding parents' absurd, obscene fight over their kids will continue with another emergency custody hearing tomorrow in L.A. Superior Court.

As far as

K-Fed

is concerned, it'll probably be totally fine if

Brit

just ups and disappears. After all, the never-was rapper has a perfectly adequate pair of experienced female hands to help him raise his boys.

That'd be K-Fed's ex,

Shar Jackson

, to whom the studly former backup dancer gave two

- Kori

, 5, and

Kaleb

, 3 - before leaving her for Brit. Shar, 31, told reporters on Tuesday night that she's totally lending Kev a helping hand.

"We definitely make sure the kids all bond together," she said.

Sir

Paul McCartney

tells Billboard.com that plans to take the

Beatles

catalog digital are moving along swimmingly. "It's all happening soon. Most of us are all sort of ready. The whole thing is primed, ready to go," said

Heather Mills

' nemesis. "I'm pretty sure it'll be happening next year, 2008."

Jada Pinkett Smith

will make her directorial debut with

The Human Contract

, which began production yesterday. The film, which she also wrote, is being backed by Philadelphia developers

David Grasso

(through his company, Tycoon Entertainment) and

David Dinenberg

.

"Pretty doggone good."

So says investment banker

David Linch

about the existential state of his wife,

Nancy Grace

, 49, who was taken to an Atlanta hospital Sunday with complications from her recent pregnancy.

The Headline News talk anchor, who is famous for her warm, bubbly on-screen persona, gave birth prematurely to twins

John David

and

Lucy Elizabeth

on Nov. 4.

On Sunday, Grace began experiencing trouble breathing while she was on her way to church. Two blood clots were later found in her lungs.

"She is breathing effortlessly now," Linch says. He said Grace will stay on medication to "prevent any other clots."

It happened Friday, but news is just coming out that the soft heart of

Grey's Anatomy

,

Ellen Pompeo

, married record producer

Chris Ivery

at a - no-doubt - lavish do in a so-called ceremonial office at City Hall in Manhattan. Mayor

Michael Bloomberg

and Deputy Mayor

Patti Harris

served as the two witnesses. Pompeo, 38, who had been dating Ivery for three years, told an interviewer in August she would not have a big celeb wedding: "We want one thing to ourselves."

Don Imus

will be back on the radio Dec. 3, but Philadelphia-area residents won't be able to hear him. However, they will be able to see him, as long as they have DirecTV or the Dish network.

Imus' show, which will air from 6 to 10 a.m. on WABC-AM in New York, will be syndicated nationally by the ABC Radio Network on Citadel Broadcasting-owned stations. Currently there are no Citadel radio stations in the Philly area.

The show also will be televised by RFD-TV, a seven-year-old cable and satellite station with offices in Nashville and Omaha, Neb. RFD-TV, which bills itself as a "Rural America's most important network," is available in our area on satellite. An RFD rep said the network was in negotiations with Comcast Cable, but had yet to reach an agreement.

Imus' show used to be simulcast by MSNBC, which dumped him after he made offensive racial comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.