And on top of it all hersquos been productive

Christmas is all about comebacks and overcoming adversity against all odds. OK, it’s really nothing about comebacks and overcoming adversity against all odds, but is about love, peace on earth, goodwill toward men, opening presents, then drinking all day long and passing out underneath the tree as an ornament falls and pierces one of your eyeballs, sending you screaming down the street bloody, naked and in horrifying pain.Ah, Christmas.One of the brightest, heartwarming stories of the week, though, is Jonathan Bender ’s return to the world of basketball after not playing a game in four years. And on top of it all, he’s been productive.The Knicks, too, are on the comeback trail after starting out at 1-9. Louis Browns, was brought back for one game as a publicity stunt by Charlie Finley at the approximate age of 59 (after not being on the field for 12 years) to pitch for the Kansas City A’s.One of the great actors of our time (or any time really), Craig T.

Nelson starred in Poltergeist , All the Right Moves ,and Coach during the ’80s and ’90s, but then disappeared until his triumphant, should-have-been-award-winning return in Blades of Glory and as the warden in My Name is Earl .And, of course, we can’t leave out the greatest comeback of all Jesus of Nazareth. Sure, they might not rank up there with the greatest story ever told, but not every tale can be the best. Playoffs Plaaayyyoffs!The Giants’ playoff hopes rose, as they gained a game on Green Bay with their blowout win in Washington, while the Jets blew a golden opportunity to move up and away from the pack with their disappointing loss.Interceptions, missed field goals, and penalties added up to a loss for Gang Green, and their great defense just can’t make the big stop at the end. That’s all she wrote for the Jets unless there’s a Christmas miracle in there somewhere.The Giants stomped all over division rival Washington, and now they need two wins and a loss by either Dallas or Green Bay. The odds are against them, but it’s not exactly miracle territory. And they hold the tiebreaker against those two teams. Surging KnicksThey won on Friday against the Clippers, they won on Sunday against Charlotte, and they won on Tuesday against Chicago.

They’re doing it with defense, threes, and spreading the ball around.It’s a different hero every night, and Mike D’Antoni ’s tight rotation is working. Bender has cracked the lineup (though he suffered a mild injury the other night), but Nate Robinson may never play again with all this winning going on. He knows he’s not going to make it onto the court so he props up a cardboard cutout of himself on the bench before the opening tipoff and then goes to work at his part-time job at the Duane Reade on 33rd and eighthto make himself feel useful. EntitlementThe only one questioning Wade-Gate at the garden with the Rangers is Wade Redden himself, who was clueless for the reasons of his benching. The Rangers are also on the comeback trail, with a four-game winning streak, and they played one of their best games of the year last night.With John Tortorella declaring the end of the entitlement era for the Rangers, does that mean he gets to scratch Glen Sather from his GM duties Doesn’t the "no entitlement" thing apply to Sather, too SawchukianMartin Brodeur broke Terry Sawchuk ’s shutout record, with his 104th this week. There’s no word yet on whether Sean Avery sent the Devils goalie a congratulatory text (“Hey Fatso..."). Hot StoveThe Yankees struck again, by acquiring Javier Vazquez from the Braves for Melky Cabrera. If this means we’ll never hear John Sterling say “the Melkman!” again, then the trade will be worth it.As for the Mets, making a big splash for the sake of getting onto the back pages is not the way to go, so good for them for taking their time, but they do know that they have plenty of holes to fill, don’t they There’s no rule that says you have to wait for Jason Bay to make up his mind before you can get some pitching Or a catcher. Or anything else they may need. Or are they just hibernating for the winter Maybe Omar Minaya ’s a “warm-weather” GM. This article is also featured on Hot Stove New York.

Stocks coming off last week's 6 percent gains Stocks Bonds Global Markets AT&T, Verizon fall on fears about wireless sales Dow falls 1 percent, S&P down 1 percent, Nasdaq off 1.5percent For up to the minute market news, please click onSTXNEWS/US. (Updates to market open) By Chris Sanders NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday asinvestors took profits on strong gains racked up in thintrading last week and shares of the largest telecommunicationscompanies sank on worries about slowing cellphone sales. Stocks had closed out a holiday-shortened week with a morethan 6 percent gain as investors bet a recovery is on thehorizon after their worst year since the Great Depression U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, seeking to drum upsupport from both political parties, plans to propose up to$310 billion in tax cuts as part of a massive stimulus package,senior Democratic aides said on Sunday For details seeID:nN04350872.