THE MEDIA : NIGHTTIME ANCHOR IS DAYTIME MOM.

Byline: Tom Hoffarth

Linda Cohn is at work. Her daughter, Samantha, has an earache at the day-care center.

What's a mom to do?

No question. Go pick up her kid.

Even when the job you're leaving is at ESPN ``SportsCenter,'' where ``important'' news is breaking all over the place and the frantic nature of the business takes over.

Mother's Day is Sunday, and according to ESPN's schedule, Cohn doesn't have to work. At least in ``SportsCenter'' terms.

It seems only right.

``Actually, having kids has made me a better broadcaster because I have a life,'' said the mother of Samantha, 5, and Daniel, who turned four months on Thursday.

``My job isn't the end-all. (Children) have taken the edge off work in a good way.

``I've always been hard on myself as a broadcaster. As a woman, you always feel a mistake - even a technical one - will come back to you. Now that I can come home to what I do, it reminds me of what's the most important thing and who cares.

``Before I was a parent, I didn't listen to other parents who talked like that. Now I know.''

Women aspiring to get into the sports broadcasting field may already look to Cohn as a role model. But add to it that the 36-year-old is a full-time working mom - one of the few, if indeed not the only one doing it on a high-profile national forum.

Sam and Daniel's mom feeds them Honey-Nut Cheerios and formula in the morning, then feeds a bunch of sports nuts a formula of NHL highlights later that night.

There's no TelePrompTer to follow for this kind of lifestyle. Yet it's one more and more women sportscasters must consider when starting a lifestyle where tradition collides with the fast-track.

``Sure, it's a balancing act,'' Cohn laughs from her Southberry, Conn., home, about a half-hour away from the ESPN studios. ``And the house looks like a tornado hit. But who cares? Hey, I have no social life.''

(We'll overlook the fact that Tuesday night, she was able to leave the kids with husband, Stewart, and sneak off with some colleagues to Madison Square Garden to watch her favorite team, the New York Rangers, meet Pittsburgh in a playoff game. But that counts as work, right?)

Other working moms in the upside-down business of TV sports - ESPN and Prime's Ann Meyers and Nancy Liebermann-Cline, ESPN's Shelley Smith, CBS' Mary Carillo and NBC's Chris Evert and Tracy Austin to name a few - are reporters who do color work on games. Another, Prime Sports general manager Kitty Cohen, celebrates her first Mother's Day Sunday after having a son, Kyle, in September.

But Cohn, whose husband does marketing research in a relatively normal 7:30 a.m.-to-4:30 p.m. schedule, ends up pulling up anchor shifts on the 11 p.m. (EST)/8 p.m. (PST) ``SportsCenter'' shift, as she'll do tonight and Saturday.

But that's by design. Nighttime work means more daytime spent with the kids.

``People who aren't parents don't always get it,'' she said. ``But this job in this business - working all hours - really got me prepared for parenthood.''

``SportsCenter'' viewers got to watch the progression of Cohn's second pregnancy during the final months of '95. The joke around the office was that she could co-host the show by herself.

She actually worked a Saturday night ``SportsCenter'' and delivered her son the following Monday. After three months off with the newborn - ``We shared all the big moments in sports the last few months watching `SportsCenter' together,'' said Cohn - she's been back in a regular ``SportsCenter'' rotation this month.

``I have a great appreciation for what she's doing,'' said ``SportsCenter'' colleague Dan Patrick, a pop to his own threesome aged 4, 3 and 10 months. ``When you see her, (kids are) the first thing to talk about. So I don't feel as guilty when I'm talking about my kids.

``(Fellow anchor) Gary Miller always says that if kids are such a miracle, why is it that everyone has them? Until you see your kid born in a delivery room, you'll never understand it.

``To Miller, Gibson's home run (in the '88 World Series) is a miracle.''

Cohn brings Daniel onto the set where he can sleep through a Sunday morning ``SportsCenter'' shift. Uncle Dan, or Uncle Charley, or Uncle Keith are all willing participants in the Bristol baby-sitters' club.

``I mean this in a nice way, but I'd think twice about leaving my kids with any of those guys for any extended period,'' said Cohn. ``My fear is by the time Daniel is six months old, he'll be saying, `From way downtown - BANG!' I don't need that.''

Daniel even got a cameo in one of the newest ``SportsCenter'' ads, a take-off of the ``We Are The World'' studio chorus. A ``SportsCenter'' spot on the drawing board actually uses Cohn's family matters as the subject. Cohn will talk about what a great family atmosphere it is at ESPN, then they'll show Dennis Rodman as the company's day-care center leader.

Cohn's first experience in separation anxiety came having her daughter during a time she was a weekend sports anchor/reporter at KIRO-TV in Seattle. She talked her husband, who is no great sports fan whatsoever, into relocating to Connecticut for the start of her ESPN career in July '92.

So Mother's Day isn't really new. But it's something Cohn looks forward to, a day the kids won't see her on TV talking about Marge Schott's latest faux pas or Albert Belle's latest run-in. They can all watch Nickelodeon together instead.

``Mother's Day is where I will be in all my glory with my husband and kids,'' said Cohn. ``And I didn't even ask for it off. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.''

STATION BREAK

May we _ might we _ check the media's pulse for May 1996:

What smokes: ESPN2 exotic fitness kitten Kiana Tom (no relation) as the cover girl and centerfold in the July issue of Muscular magazine (on her obsession to workout while a student at UCLA, Tom admits she ``wouldn't go out to the parties until I finished every last set of calf raises'' _ despite the fact raising calves in Westwood violates almost every city and farm livestock ordinance); KWNK's options to expand sports-talk (they've been dealing with Fred Wallin, the former KABC, KMPC and current KIEV host who would be a natural fit and great Valley resource, and another Valley man, Joe McDonnell, the booming voice in the L.A. establishment); the Bob Golic sports-talk show (with Rich Herrera) goes back to a national feed on Prime Sports Radio (staying on KWNK, picking up about 60 affiliates, plus moving to a remote studio at the Westside Billiards Cafe in the Beverly Hills' Beverly Center).

What chokes: ABC elder statesman Jim McKay, already compromising his integrity in a HealthRider infomercial, as himself in a futuristic commercial for All-Sport drink (it's the only chance he'll get doing the 2020 Olympics, since NBC is close to buying the rights at last report); Leslie Visser's horse-racing hat collection; Chris Marlowe's post-Prime career (see him on ESPN doing team handball trials. . . . a far cry from UCLA and beach volleyball); HBO using Rob Fitzgerald, the Bud Light ``I Love You, Man'' guy, in ads for tonight's boxing telecast (I loathe you, dude); following the lead of Prime, KCAL (Channel 9)'s plan to jazz up Angels coverage with celebrity analysts, especially during sweeps week (recently, it was Jerry Springer, Saturday it's Cleveland native Drew Carey _ no relation to Harry _ for the Indians game, and in the future, Maury Povich and Charlie Sheen come aboard for their insight . . . stay tuned for those adorable Olsen twins when Minnesota comes into town.)

Book review: If your appetite for football isn't satisfied this time of year by the World League on fX or the Arena League on Prime _ and, by the way, what is Sports Illustrated doing with a Dan Marino-Jimmy Johnson cover in May? _ try a sampling of the new book ``All-Pro Recipes Presented by the Great `Chefs' of the NFL'' (Masters press, 151 pages, $14.95, (800) 9-SPORTS, compiled by Paul Sheehy, R. Warren Schmidt and Marna Davis at Athlete's Financial Management Services. The book is broken up into four quarters (appetizers, soups and stews, side dishes and entrees), plus overtime (desserts), followed by a ``playbook'' of cooking techniques (you know, the best way to peel a tomato before throwing it at an official is blanch it in boiling water for 15 seconds, then dunk it in cold water).

For a taste of the unofficial grool of the NFL, we suggest this gut-filling sit-down: Whet the palate with Moose Johnston's mushroom sausage croustades (p. 14) and Tom Rathman's carbonnade a la flamade (beef in beer stew) (p. 46), slide over to the caloric nightmare of Troy Aikman's famous potatoes and eggs with cheese (p. 59), then inhale Chris Zorich's Aunt Helen's great game-day chicken (p. 90) or Art Donovan's famous meatloaf (p. 87). A hunk of Sam Wyche's key lime pie (p. 132) washed down with Kevin Greene's patented protein shake (p. 124 _ and best not disclose the ingredients) tops it off. About the only thing missing from the menu is Tagliabue tagliolini a la pig skin.

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Photo, Box

PHOTO COHN

Box: Station Break (see text)