ALBERT ADMITS GUILT; FIRED BY NBC.

Byline: Michelle Boorstein Associated Press

After three days that put the details of his kinky sex life on trial, Marv Albert pleaded guilty Thursday to assault and battery charges that could bring him a year behind bars and, perhaps, a lifetime of humiliation. Within hours, NBC fired him.

``From my point of view, I just felt like I had to end this ordeal,'' Albert said outside court in a weary voice after agreeing to a deal in which prosecutors dropped the more serious charge of forcible sodomy, punishable by a term from five years to life.

Albert, 56, was accused by a longtime lover of flinging her onto a bed, viciously biting her back and forcing her to perform oral sex in an Arlington hotel room Feb. 12 because she failed to bring another man into their bed.

His plea came a day after a surprise witness came forward with similar accusations: that Albert - wearing white panties and a garter belt - bit her on the neck and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him during a 1994 struggle in a Dallas hotel room that left her holding the sportscaster's toupee.

``The significance of that testimony is profound,'' said Arlington County Commonwealth's Attorney Richard Trodden, adding that the plea bargain was endorsed by Albert's 42-year-old accuser.

As he left court, Albert thanked NBC for standing by him. But less than four hours later, the network issued a statement saying it stood by Albert only because he gave assurances the charges were untrue. ``Today, given Mr. Albert's plea . . . NBC terminates its relationship with Marv Albert.''

Albert, who for three decades has been one of America's most distinctive play-by-play voices - with his exuberant ``Yess!''' call - later issued a statement of his own, resigning from the regional MSG cable network as the voice of basketball's New York Knicks.

``I fully understand the position in which the networks found themselves due to my very painful situation,'' Albert said. ``In the interest of my family, my friends and my many supporters, I step aside with deep humility and will seek to reconstruct my personal and professional life.''

Albert's lawyer, Roy Black, said his client accepted the deal because the judge had gutted his case.

``If all our evidence had been allowed, we wouldn't be in this position,'' said Black, who successfully defended William Kennedy Smith against a rape charge in 1991. ``I thought it was the best way for Marv to end this matter.''

Under Virginia's rape shield law, the judge is allowed to bar evidence of a sex assault victim's past. The defense intended to introduce evidence that Albert's accuser had a pattern of threatening past boyfriends and that she was mentally unstable.

In their biggest coup, they played a tape for jurors Tuesday in which she appeared to coach and bribe a potential witness, a cab driver, into backing her claim that Albert was trying to procure another man for three-way sex.

Outside court, cabbie Walter ``Biggie'' Brodie confirmed that the woman wanted him to go to prosecutors with a fabricated story and she would give him a share of her award from a planned $3 million lawsuit against Albert.

``She said, `(Your) broke and I'm broke and you got to do something for me,' '' Brodie said. `` `You got to call this (prosecutor) and tell her that one of the times you took Marv Albert back to the Washington Hilton he asked you to get a boy.' I said, `OK.' ''

The accuser did not return phone calls to her home Thursday night, but her attorney, George DePolo, released a statement saying ``she believes the disposition of this matter is an appropriate one'' and ``she feels vindicated.''

As Albert made his plea before Circuit Judge Benjamin N.A. Kendrick, his family and other supporters sat stoically in three rows of the courtroom, showing no visible reaction. His fiancee, ESPN producer Heather Faulkiner, sat with her hands clasped in her lap.

Sentencing was set for Oct. 24; he could receive up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for the single misdemeanor count. The judge ordered a presentencing investigation. Albert has no prior convictions.

``Judge Kendrick is a tough sentencing judge in cases of this type,'' said Henry Hudson, a former Arlington County prosecutor and former U.S. attorney in Alexandria. ``On the other hand, this is a first offender with a good record, except for some of the testimony that came out at trial,''

The plea came after a morning of closed-door meetings between Albert's lawyers and prosecutors. Trodden said the deal Albert accepted was the same one he had offered him before the trial, but Black later said that wasn't true.

``No, it was a much different plea than was offered today,'' Black said on CNN's ``Larry King Live.''

Juror Kerri Nelson told Fox News Channel that she ``did not feel there was enough evidence to convict Albert.''

``The tape presented by the defense attorneys raised questions in my mind about (the alleged victim's) motive and credibility,'' she said. ``Because of how compelling the tape was, I was shocked by the fact they plea-bargained.''

ALBERT PROFILE

NAME:Marv Albert.

AGE: 56.

BACKGROUND: Born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

EDUCATION: Syracuse, 1960-63; bachelor's in journalism, New York University, 1964.

FAMILY: Divorced; engaged to ESPN producer Heather Faulkiner. Sons: Kenny, announcer for Fox Sports and Washington Capitals; Brian, recent Columbia University graduate. Daughters: Denise, senior at Boston University majoring in broadcast journalism; Jackie, pastry chef in Manhattan. Brothers: Al, announcer for USA Boxing and Denver Nuggets; Steve, called play-by-play for Golden State Warriors and now boxing announcer for Showtime.

CAREER: Writer, producer for hockey's Rangers Radio, 1963-65; writer, producer for basketball's Knicks Radio, 1963-65; radio play by play for New York Giants football, 1973-76; sports director, anchor for WNBC-TV, 1975-87; NBC Sports from 1977, doing play by play for college basketball, boxing, NFL games, NBA games (starting in 1990-91), NHL All-Star games; New York Rangers announcer, from 1967; New York Knicks announcer, from 1970.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Announcing the Knicks' first NBA championship in 1970; covering Dream Team at 1992 Barcelona Olympics; calling Rangers' Stanley Cup championship in 1994.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, box

PHOTO (1) Marv Albert and his fiancee, Heather Faulkiner, leave court Thursday.

Associated Press

(2) Marv Albert

`I had to end this ordeal'

BOX: Albert profile (see text)