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Yesss! It's Official!
Marv Is Back Home At MSG

By George Stahl

"It's great to be back. I'm Marv Albert. Thanks for tuning in."

With those closing words last night, Marv Albert signaled that he had returned home to Madison Square Garden, where he began his career in the 1960s as voice of the New York Knicks and Rangers and where he is now trying to resurrect that same career as host of “SportsDesk,” a half-hour local sports news show in New York City.

Actually, the show’s official title is the “National Finance MSK SportsDesk," but who’s nibbling, I mean, quibbling?

Albert, though, seemed quite unfamiliar in his new home, a “virtual studio” that the Madison Square Garden network created for its revamped "SportsDesk" show.

With all the money that the virtual studio must have cost, one would think that MSG could have afforded a teleprompter to keep Albert from constantly having to look down at his notes. As a matter of fact, Albert looked up and down so much, you got the impression that he was trying to act out his trademark call of "Yesss!" throughout the whole show.

(For the record, Albert wore a gray sportscoat, a white shirt and red-checkered tie. And, yesss, he was wearing his toupee.)

At times last night, it was painful to watch Albert struggle.

Before he became better known for biting backs than for his biting wit, I always had considered Albert one of the best sportscasters of his time. Last night, though, Albert disappointed his fans like Willie Mays did in the early 1970s and Mickey Mantle in the late 1960s. Albert misstated scores and stats, mispronounced names and appeared confused at times.

Yesss, it was only opening night, so there's plenty of time for Albert to improve. Yesss, he hasn't done sports highlights since being an anchor for WNBC-TV in 1987, so it's logical that he is a little rusty. And Yesss, I should wait until I hear him return as radio voice of the Knicks...

But, nonetheless, last night made me consider that maybe it isn't so easy to go home after all.

Of course, the 57-year-old was forced to leave home a year ago because of a kinky sex scandel that included accusations of sexual attacks and bizarre fetishes.

Albert was accused of throwing a former girlfriend on a bed in a Virginia hotel room in February 1997, biting her and forcing her to perform oral sex. He eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor assault charge after a second woman stepped forward in court to make a similar accusation against him.

An Arlington, Va., judge gave the Brooklyn-born sportscaster no jail time and said he would wipe his record if completed a year of therapy. Albert reportedly has said he would continue therapy sessions even after the court order expires in October.

Tonight was Albert’s first working television appearance in exactly a year. Coincidence? Before tonight's telecast, he last called a Baltimore Ravens-New York Giants game for NBC on Sept. 14, 1997. Albert was fired Sept. 25 by NBC and resigned from the Madison Square Garden network after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor.

MSG network hired Albert back in July to anchor its “SportsDesk” and to do some radio play-by-play of New York Knicks games.

Of course, Albert has plenty of experience to employ in both positions. From 1966 to 1985, he was the Knicks radio voice. At the time of his departure last year, he was NBC’s lead NBA announcer and the Knicks’ television play-by-play announcer. Albert also was the sports anchor on WNBC-TV in New York from 1975 to 1987.

At a news conference announcing his return in July, Albert apologized for his actions.

“What I did was wrong,” Albert said. “I hurt many people, including my fiancee [now wife; they married last week], my family, my friends and my employers. For that, I am sorry.”

Financial terms of his new contract have not been disclosed, although it is reported to be much less than the $2 million he was making from NBC and MSG combined before last September.
The Associated Press, New York Times and other news sources contributed information to this story.

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