WITH WIFE'S APPROVAL, SCULLY STAYS ON.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH The Media

It's not like Vin Scully was just going to take his ball and go home after 56 years. That's not his style.

Besides, he was under contract to the Dodgers for a 57th season. Then, the Hall of Fame broadcaster was free to do whatever he wanted once October came.

The McCourts wanted him back. He really did want to come back, too. But first, he had to make sure it was OK with his wife, Sandi.

``I asked her if I could share a little more of my baseball life, and if she said I couldn't, then I'd pack it in,'' the 78-year-old Scully admitted at Wednesday's Dodger Stadium press gathering to announce he had agreed to a two-year contract extension - without a pay raise from his annual salary that's in the $3 million a year ballpark.

Last month, the Dodgers gave a five-year extension to Hall of Fame Spanish-language broadcaster Jamie Jarrin, who has been with the team for 47 seasons. Scully said he can't look that far ahead.

``Extensions are always funny to me,'' he said. ``Two years seemed the right amount. It just came down to (Dodgers owner) Frank (McCourt) asking me, 'What do you want?' I thought, let's do two years and see how it goes.''

Meaning, despite what some may speculate, this isn't necessarily a two-year-and-out proposition. Once Scully finishes these next three seasons - and McCourt helps him out by putting the names of the players back on the uniforms in 2007 - he says he easily could decide that it's worth coming back for what would be an astonishing 60th season with the franchise as he moves into his early 80s.

``There's the old proverb, talk about next year and make the devil laugh,'' said Scully. ``I'll just wait and see what his plans are for me.''

God, and his wife, who promised she'll make more of the road trips with him this season.

Scully's next venture is to Vero Beach, Fla., where he'll be from March 16 until the team returns to home at the end of the month. He likely will do the four KCAL Channel 9 exhibition telecasts set for March 19, 25, 26 and 30 - the last one in Las Vegas before the Freeway Series against the Angels. He'll also do the two games in Anaheim (on KCAL, April 1 and on FSN West 2, April 2) before the April 3 home opener, the first of a three-game series against Atlanta.

But that's when his modified schedule will kick in. He won't be going on the team's first road trip, which has stops in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In all, Scully will end up broadcasting about 100 games in 2006, factoring in the times Fox Channel 11 and ESPN has exclusive telecasts of games Scully would normally do.

Meanwhile, part of the new arrangement for Dodgers' spring training games starting next Thursday is the elimination of weekday delayed broadcasts on KFWB-AM (980). Instead, those games called by Charley Steiner and Rick Monday will be heard only the Dodgers' Web site during the week. KFWB plans to carry weekend games live from Florida.

--In the other part of Los Angeles: Angels radio play-by-play man Rory Markas has agreed to a five-year extension with the team after his contract to do games on KSPN-AM (710) expired. Renewals for Markas' partner, Terry Smith, and for TV broadcasters Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler are imminent.

So, too, is a reported 10-year agreement between the Angels and FSN West, which not only extends the current deal that ends in 2008 but also increases the exposure on the cable channel. FSN West is expected to soon announce it will have nearly 150 Angels games in this year's package, and it can then sell those games to an over-the-air channel. KCAL Channel 9 ended its partnership with the team and picked up the Dodgers in a deal announced last year.

``We are optimistic about the talks and expect to have an announcement very soon,'' said Steve Simpson, FSN West and West 2 vice president and general manager.

The Dodgers have about 100 games on FSN West 2 and nearly 50 with KCAL Channel 9 in 2006.

--The audience is listening: Maybe it is only a gimmick to draw some attention, but NBA TV is serious about airing Sunday afternoon's Houston-Orlando game without broadcasters for the first time.

NBA TV head of programming Steve Herbst said the idea for what its calling ``The Silent Game'' came from the Magic's end, as they're promoting one of those ``hardwood classic'' retro-games with throwback jerseys and piping in organ music.

``We decided that, from an NBA TV perspective, we'd try to capture the same feel with some enhanced audio to let the fans at home hear the coaches yelling out plays, the refs making calls, the sounds of the shoes and the snap of the nets,'' said Herbst. ``That's our goal in this exercise. We think it'll be an interesting experiment.''

So without a play-by-play man or an analyst, the fans will only be able to follow the game via graphics and the public-address announcer. If there's decent viewer feedback, Herbst said he could see doing this on a regular basis.

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

--With Howard Stern's highly publicized navigation from free-radio stardom to help jumpstart one of the two main satellite radio services to date, there are rumblings that the next big name considering that kind of move is Jim Rome. It has been a thread of conversation on his syndicated sports-talk show (heard locally on 570-AM), and Rome isn't squashing it. ``I have an incredible situation where I am, but there are things that definitely intrigue me about satellite radio,'' Rome said Thursday. Rome said he was not at liberty to discuss the terms of his current deal with the Premiere Radio Network, but the fact he has a window to negotiate with other suitors means a decision might be coming soon.

--Smooth move by Fox to up its equity ownership of the AVP pro beach volleyball tournament (to 18 percent) and announce it will air the finals of the men's tournament from Santa Barbara on May 20 and the women's final from Sacramento on June 17, both with a regional Major League Baseball game as a lead-in. The AVP will continue to call FSN cable its main home, with 10 of its 16 events for 2006 booked on the channel. NBC will also have four events.

WHAT CHOKES

--Reports that multi-billionaire Paul Allen is sifting through offers to sell off The Sporting News magazine and all of its related properties - including the Santa-Monica based 1540-AM The Ticket - has led to some erroneous media speculation in the past couple of days. According to Rick Allen, the CEO and president of Vulcan Sports Media, which is The Sporting News' parent company, a story in The New York Times this week that said Paul Allen (no relation) is ``officially seeking a buyer'' for the company isn't quite accurate. Rick Allen said there is no pending sale, only an announcement publicly that the company has hired a financial adviser to decide how to react to some ``substantial unsolicited interest'' in the business. That could lead to a sale, but it also may not. Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, bought TSN six years ago for about $85 million, keeping the 120-year-old weekly sports magazine alive, as well as its annual yearbook division, Web site and three radio stations - WSNR in New York and WWZN in Boston, in addition to KMPC 1540-AM in L.A. Paul Allen also owns the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, the latter of which is in financial trouble.

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SOUND BYTES (see text)

BY TOM HOFFARTH