In the very early stages of working in sports, I was sick of being referred to as "the Barbie doll" because I had long, blond, fake hair. So I went and bought a boxed hair color, dyed my hair black, and put on glasses. And I looked ridiculous. I looked like a completely different person. I was trying to get away from the stereotype but what I realized in doing that is that what I say and how I conduct myself in what I do will speak for itself, and I don't need to apologize for being a woman in that space.

I made a mock newscast with my friend Amy. We'd set up the camera, an old VHS camcorder, and I did the sports section and interviewed my brother who pretended to be Jay Buhner... against his will, of course.

I don't have to alter the way I look - I can still wear a short, tight dress, but if what I'm saying is correct, then hopefully you garner respect.

In the very early stages of working in sports, I was sick of being referred to as "the Barbie doll" because I had long, blond, fake hair. So I went and bought a boxed hair color, dyed my hair black, and put on glasses. And I looked ridiculous. I looked like a completely different person. I was trying to get away from the stereotype but what I realized in doing that is that what I say and how I conduct myself in what I do will speak for itself, and I don't need to apologize for being a woman in that space.

I had spent over 10 years in sports, and there's such a natural crossover between entertainment and sports. It's more common to have both of those in your arsenal.

I have the best of both worlds. I can talk about Taylor Swift during the day, and at night I can sit in front of the TV and watch Thursday night football. At some point, if the two converge and it becomes one job where I can still talk about both, that would be amazing.

I was obsessed with my dad, and my dad would refuse to go to church with us on Sundays because football was on. So I thought to myself, how could I spend more time with my dad? I started watching football with him every Sunday, and it was just something I fell in love with.