Meet "Her Airness."

If Michael Jordan could hopscotch from basketball to baseball to basketball again, why should former Atlantan Hannah Storm's professional life be any different?

The onetime sports anchor (CNN, NBC) turned network morning show host (CBS' "The Early Show") makes her sports comeback on ESPN today at 9 a.m.

That's when the jock-around-the-clock cable behemoth launches a live, six-hour daytime version of its iconic "SportsCenter."

Storm, 46, will ride herd (with co-anchor Josh Elliott) over the first three hours. Before her debut, we talked to this daughter of an ex-Atlanta Hawks president about leaving news, being in bed with the competition (her husband, NBC Sports' Dan Hicks) and what she has in common with . . . Buzz Lightyear?

Q. Is this kind of like getting to play center field for the Yankees?

A. What other job in America can you say to people, "I'm going to ESPN to do SportsCenter," and you get, "Whoa!" and high fives? Maybe with TV news and "60 Minutes" you might get that reaction: "No way!"

Q. And you're batting leadoff. Got a great opening line scripted for Monday?

A. I'm not a catchphrase person, and that's definitely not what they hired me for! I'm basically coming back into this with a great, broad perspective on the world at large. Sports touches on areas everywhere from Hollywood to Capitol Hill, and that was my bailiwick over the last six years. Every day that I was at CBS, someone would ask me if I missed sports, and my answer was always yes. For my family life, I wanted to stay in daytime TV. So when this opportunity opened up, it was like my two worlds colliding.

Q. Still, even elite athletes have to regain certain skills after a long layoff. What's your broadcasting equivalent?

A. You don't do a lot of highlights when you're sitting at the news desk. Let's hope it's like riding a bike. They're so well done here, so getting back in the chair and writing and doing a lot of highlights . . . those are like old muscles that I've got to rekindle.

Q. Your husband, whom you met at CNN in Atlanta, is missing your big debut because he's in Beijing anchoring rival NBC's swimming coverage. Can this marriage be saved?

A. The only drag for me is that I probably won't see a lot of his race calls [at night] because I'll be in bed. I'll be TiVo-ing it. I have no idea what the TV situation is over there or if he'll be able to see me. It's sort of funny, but that's our reality, our life together, and we're not going to stress out about it.

Q. Yeah, it must be stressful enough being the mother of three girls [ages 11, 9 and 7]. Do they like your new gig?

A. They're big sports fans. I taught them all to fill out [Final Four] brackets. This year, I think I'm going to teach them to fill out baseball scorecards. I think it's really comforting for them, because in the morning they can flip the TV on and see me. They're anxious to come visit ESPN, although they're a little upset that I'm not interviewing the Jonas Brothers anymore. They'll get over that.

Q. Does being a former high school mascot make you an even more natural fit at ESPN, which is part of Disney?

A. My dad [former ABA commissioner Mike Storen] was president of the Atlanta Hawks. He was fired right after we moved there, but we stayed in Atlanta and I graduated from Westminster in 1979. I ran track and I was the Westminster Wildcat. I have a lot of energy. In fact, Duke wanted me to come there and be their mascot, but I went to Notre Dame, where the Irish [mascot] guy is always a guy. But I think I'm going to demand mascot rights here. Buzz Lightyear and me —- we get the same stuff.

Q. Speaking of the Hawks: Can these Atlanta Hawks be saved?

A. That is an age-old question that has yet to be solved. But I'm pretty grateful for the Hawks, for all those years I spent in Atlanta because of them.

THE STORM STORY

> Born: Hannah Storen. A boss at the Texas rock station where she deejayed after college dubbed her "Storm."

> Duly noted: First female host of "CNN Sports Tonight" (1989-92); at NBC (1992-2002) hosted Major League Baseball coverage, "The NBA on NBC" and four Olympic Games; at CBS (2002-07), co-hosted "The Early Show" and coverage of the Thanksgiving Day Parade

> Book it: Has written two books, "Go Girl: Raising Healthy, Confident and Successful Daughters Through Sports" (Sourcebooks, 2002) and "Notre Dame Inspirations" (Doubleday, 2006)

> Giving back: Recently created the Hannah Storm Foundation to raise awareness of and provide treatment for children suffering from debilitating and disfiguring vascular birthmarks (Storm was born with a port wine stain under her left eye).

> Home cooking: Storm returns "a ton" to visit Atlanta. "I'm still emotionally attached to Chick-fil-A," moans the Connecticut resident. "That's one big hole in my heart."

—- Jill Vejnoska