THE MEDIA : You Have ESP(N) If You Know Berman’s Future

Whither Chris Berman? Will it be Chris “Keep the Home Fires” Berman and a return to ESPN? Or does Chris “Ethel” Berman want to play Broadway?

The major networks are said to have made a run at Berman, one of ESPN’s brightest lights, as his contract is about to expire. Berman reportedly will stay at the cable sports network, more than tripling his $185,000 salary to $600,000.

If Berman stays at ESPN, a big part of the reason certainly will be the chance to do major-league baseball for the next four seasons -- either as part of a studio show or on play-by-play. And that certainly would be fitting, because it was with baseball that Berman first really grabbed the nation’s attention.

As a “SportsCenter” anchor, he bestowed inventive nicknames on players (Jim “Two Silhouettes on” Deshaies, Bert “Be Home” Blyleven) and called home rtns with a “back-back-back-back” that must have rousted chickens everywhere.

Now, he mostly is the solid (but not stolid) anchor of ESPN’s “NFL GameDay” and “NFL PrimeTime,” his poise and humor the centerpiece of the best way to begin and end ‘your pro football Sundays.

Earlier in the fall, when ESPN was celebrating its 10th anniversary, Berman paused for a consideration of his and the network’s accomplishments in a conference call with several reporters. Some of his thoughts:

--On ESPN’s anniversary: “Ten years is a pretty short time when you’re studying the Roman Empire, though in the cable industry it’s a millennium.”

--On the outlook of ESPN’s personnel in the beginning: “We didn’t know what road we would take. We didn’t know if there was gas in the car.”

--On his influence: “It’s amazing I can impose my sense of humor on the entire country. It’s pretty sick, really.”

--On the national approach of ESPN: “Stories are equally important all over the country. they (national viewers) hate New York being pushed on them. That’s a lesson we learned pretty early, and some people at the networks still haven’t learned it.”

--On the future: “As ESPN grows, so do I. As I grow, so does ESPN. As cable grows, so d n we. It’s like getting a better job every year without leaving.”

Hmm, maybe Berman was giving us a clue that he really will be back-back-back-back-back.

On “SportsCenter” Sunday night, Berman will interview Seattle Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth, who barely has been heard from since being injured this year.

ESPN apparently soon will add Gary Thorne and Sean McDonough to its baseball play-by-play crew. Thorne calls Chicago White Sox games on television; McDonough does the same for the Boston Red Sox.

WWOR reportedly is talking to NBC’s Bob Costas about doing a limited number of New York Mets telecasts.

CBS is involved in its exclusive, 30-day negotiating period with t’e College Football Association. Geez, can those guys have any money left? If not, NBC gets a shot at college games and ABC has a chance to do better than its Big Ten-Pac 10 package.

During Saturday’s pre-game show for the New York Gian ds-Dallas Cowboys, CBS’s Dick Butkus will have a feature on Giants linebacker Gary Reasons, whose flying tackle on a goal-line stand was a big part of his team’s victory over the Denver Broncos Sunday. At halftime, Lesley Visser will profile football at the minor-league level, looking at a semipro team in Pueblo, Colo. On Sunday, CBS’s “The NFL Today” has Irv Cross reporting on Cleveland’s reaction to Cincinnati Bengals Coach Sam Wyche’s characterization of its fans. Wyche told Cincinnati fans to stop throwing snowballs during his team’s game last week, reminding them they weren’t in Cleveland.