Growing up as a teenager playing goalie for a boys' hockey team, Linda Cohn gained the courage she needed to become the first full-time female sportscaster in U.S. history.
"If I was not a hockey player and a goalie, I would never have had the confidence to do what I do now," Cohn, ESPN SportsCenter anchor, said Thursday during the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner at Wheeling Park's White Palace.
Though she had "tremendously low self-esteem" while growing up in Long Island, N.Y., Cohn said her love of sports gave her something to which she could look forward.
Describing her time as a goalie on the team, Cohn said she wanted to put forth her best effort to help the team succeed.
"I was willing to risk being a goat to be a hero," she said.
As she entered college, Cohn said, people laughed when she told them she wanted to be a sportscaster.
"When I went to college in the late '70s and early '80s, there were no women sportscasters," she said.
But Cohn never wavered from the path toward her goal, as hard work and determination, along with her love of sports, gave her the ability to succeed.
"Your breaks happen when you put yourself in a position to be lucky," Cohn said, noting that socializing with people can help advance your career.
A self-proclaimed "obsessive sports fanatic," Cohn also evaluated the Pittsburgh Penguins' chances of winning Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings tonight.
"I grew up a big New York Rangers fan - it is hard for me to root for the Penguins," Cohn said, noting she believes the Penguins will win the game.
Cohn also believes the 2009 West Virginia University Mountaineers football team will do well.
"There is no team better in the Big East right now than West Virginia," she said.
In another matter at the dinner, Cheryl Dean Riley received the 2009 Kathy Fortunato Award from the chamber in recognition of her community service. Fortunato died unexpectedly in 2006 and was well known for giving of her time and talents in support of various community events.
"I am quite honored to receive this award from the chamber of commerce," Riley said.