The real challenge is when a baseball player comes up to you to do an interview and then drops his towel just as you’re about to ask your first question. I know it’s difficult for you guys out there to understand, just because it may be a fantasy of yours for a woman to come up to you in a locker room somewhere and drop her towel. But the opposite does not hold true. It really doesn’t. In fact, it’s a little creepy.” One of America’s most successful female anchors lays bare her hard-fought rise to the top of the sportscasting boys’ club and her life inside the ESPN empire. She talks candidly about her own successes and missteps, and reveals her humorous, rewarding, and frightening interviews with sports personalities. Growing up in a dysfunctional family, Linda Cohn became a diehard sports fan and a goalie on her high school (boys’) hockey team—setting the stage for college hockey stardom, when she was affectionately known as “Cohn-Head” by her teammates. She got her first break in sportscasting by covering a team she hated. She discusses the sexual tension all too present both in the workplace and the locker room, and her close encounters with the likes of Michael Jordan, Matthew McConaughey, and Jay-Z.
Written with verve, Cohn-Head is a riveting read—a must for sports fans of both sexes, as well as anyone who seeks insight into how one woman made a man’s world her own.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Fast, funny, entertaining and revealing. The best part? The unavoidable image in the reader’s mind of Linda herself machine-gunning her own story at you like a fascinating edition of Sportscenter…Dah Dah Dah, Dah Dah Dah.”
Kurt Russell – Award nominated actor, star of “Miracle” and former second baseman for the California Angels
“Lets put it this way. After reading her book I now know things about Linda Cohn I couldn’t even have suspected from roughly 1000 hours of SportsCenters. And I have reached the following conclusion: Linda is the top Cohn-Head since Larraine Newman.”
Bob Costas – Sportscaster, author of Fair Ball: A Fan’s Case for Baseball, winner of the Curt Gowdy Award, the Dick Schapp Award for Outstanding Journalism, and multiple Emmy Award and National Sportscaster of the year Award winner
“Life isn’t always pretty, but Linda’s story is a beautiful one. It’s a compelling tale of courage, perseverance, and ultimately hope. Her humor and authenticity shine through in every page and make it impossible not to become a fan. And truth be told, Mark Messier notwithstanding, Linda is the reason we won the Stanley Cup in ’94.”
Mike Richter – Former NY Rangers goaltender and 2007 Yale graduate
“While reading Cohn-Head you will discover what I already know, Linda Cohn is not your typical sports journalist. She is genuine and passionate about sports, especially when it comes to the teams she grew up with like the Mets. Linda doesn’t throw you a curve, just explosive heat in her inspirational yet comical journey.”
Willie Randolph – NY Mets Manager, former All-Star for the National and American Leagues, winner of the Silver Slugger Award
"Wow!!! Linda Cohn’s fascinating narrative of life and love in the testosterone driven world of American sports and ESPN is an excellent tale of one dynamic woman’s charging crusade to have it her way. Cohn-Head bares it all personally and professionally; from battles won and lost, to dreams realized and shattered. As with all things Linda Cohn, we can’t wait for what’s next, and Cohn-Head is our time traveling spaceship with Linda at the controls…Hold on everybody and enjoy the ride!!!"
Bill Walton- Hall of Fame Basketball Player, former All-Star and MVP, ABC/ESPN sports commentator
“Linda Cohn is far hotter than her 'girl in the locker room' persona would suggest. I’ve been with her backstage at a rock and roll show….I know.”
Kevin Cronin – Lead vocalist for REO Speedwagon
“I enjoyed Linda Cohn delivering the sports on radio and TV before she ever made it to ESPN, and after all these years working alongside of her, the enjoyment is tenfold! She does it the old-fashioned way…Sports by a sports fan for the sports fan.”
Chris Berman – ESPN Personality
“Cohn-Head is both painfully honest and laugh out loud funny, filled with anecdotes and insights. Come along for the journey of a self proclaimed child geek who grew up to be the swan of sports.”
Leslie Visser – CBS Sportscaster, first female sportscaster on “Monday Night Football,” winner of Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award and Billie Award.
“Linda Cohn grew up on Long Island yet becomes a Big New York Rangers fan, then she goes to college at the snowiest place on earth where she excels as a goaltender. Out of college she gets into the man’s world of TV sports and becomes a star. Who wouldn’t want to read about this lady.”
Barry Melrose – ESPN NHL Analyst, former NHL player and head coach
“Linda Cohn has been instrumental in the advancement of women in the media. Her wonderful book tells her story so well.”
Tim Kurkjian – ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” analyst, author of Is This a Great Game, or What?
“Cohn-Head is a candid, sweet, humorous and intensely personal story of one of America’s most recognized and well-liked sports media personalities. Linda Cohn is courageous enough to be introspective in a way that gives us insight into her personal evolution, from the difficulty of busting into the boy’s club that is the sports television industry to battling through her inner conflicts to become a mother and role model. The kind of juggling act her male colleagues can observe but never experience.”
Michael Wilbon – Co-host of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption”, sports columnist for The Washington Post
From the Inside Flap
Written with verve, Cohn-Head is a riveting read—a must for sports fans of both sexes, as well as anyone who seeks insight into how one woman made a man’s world her own.
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Customer Reviews
Cohn gives a lot of credit to some of the women who went before her into a profession traditionally dominated by men. And she also takes time to credit the men who helped open doors for her--including her husband, who sadly, at the time this book was written, was no longer with her. Although that marriage has apparently come to an end, Cohn understands quite clearly what she lost and why she lost it.
But to get into and stay in the broadcasting business, Cohn definitely paid her dues--working multiple radio and TV gigs, moving across the country for more lucrative work, and doing stories on sports that were less exciting than what she liked. That's why she's one of the best in the business, in my opinion, and why she's such a treat to watch. Women like Linda Cohn are worth their weight in gold, to me, because they not only understand sports, they love sports. "Cohn-Head" is a good book, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Would have been nice if she mentioned SportsChannel, though.
She should be proud of want she has accomplished.
