Marv Albert Makes a Comeback

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No second acts in American lives? Ask comeback celebs such as Woody Allen, Eddie Murphy -- and now, Marv Albert. The disgraced sportscaster, just named as a new radio voice of the New York Knicks, is back. Yesss! Allen outlasted his image as a cradle-robbing lech, and Murphy lived down his alleged encounter with a transvestite prostitute. So even though it took just 10 months, Albert's return after the infamous back-biting incident is hardly the most spectacular rehabilitation in American public life.

It's also not the most succesful. Murphy has had a string of well-received movies -- "Dr. Doolittle," "The Nutty Professor" -- since the transvestite scandal, and Allen has found success "Deconstructing Harry," among other things. For Albert, once the lead basketball announcer for NBC, local New York City radio must be a comedown. (He'll also be manning the sports desk for Madison Square Garden's cable network.) On the other hand, it's a big step up from oblivion. Remember Jimmy the Greek and Al Campanis, two guys who got a one-way ticket to showbiz oblivion after making impolitic remarks about race. On the basis of this admittedly small survey, transgressions of the flesh seem more easily forgiven by the American public than bigotry.