The Associated Press NEW YORK -- A visibly nervous Marv Albert made a low-key return to broadcasting Monday night, a year after his career imploded in a lurid scandal that made his sex life the punch line for comedians and tabloid headlines. The veteran New York broadcaster, who became the NBA's lead announcer, returned home, anchoring a 30-minute New York sports highlight show for the MSG cable network. ''Great to be back. I'm Marv Albert, thanks for tuning in,'' he said at the show's conclusion, his only reference to his enforced sabbatical. A year earlier, Albert had resigned from MSG and was fired by NBC after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge. He was accused of throwing his former girlfriend on a bed in a Virginia hotel room in February 1997, biting her on the back more than a dozen times and forcing her to perform oral sex. He was hired back by MSG this summer, and capped a year of therapy by getting married earlier this month. Sitting alone behind a desk, Albert introduced a ''new look'' version of the show, MSG Sports Desk. ''I'm still trying to figure out some of the mechanics, but I'm told they know what to do in the control room,'' he said. The lapel of Albert's gray sports jacket shook slightly as he read sports results. He appeared rusty, announcing one baseball score as 3-0 when an on-screen graphic read 7-0. Albert presided over a long, awkward interview with New York Yankees announcer Jim Kaat, but seemed more comfortable bantering with sportswriter Steve Serby about New York's losing football teams. Only then did Albert briefly flash his cutting sense of humor. ''Let's not get crazy, Steve,'' he told Serby when the sportswriter suggested he and Albert could do a better job tackling than the New York Jets. Albert visibly stiffened, however, when Serby said he wanted to welcome Albert back and reached under his desk for a memento. It was an old, dirty baseball -- not hit by Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa -- but what Serby said was the 12th home run of New York Met Edgardo Alfonzo.
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