Biggest Polesmoker EVAR !!!!!!!

[Socrefbek]

:mad: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-briefing7apr07,0,4142580.story :mad:

Gives new meaning to 'drive chart'
By Chris Foster, Times Staff Writer
April 7, 2007


Ooooo-klahoma, where the wins come sweepin' down the plain … followed closely by the hot pursuit breeze of player scandals, internal investigations, NCAA probes, and, possibly, probation.

Call it the "Full Switzer."

The Sooners football program does have that retro look, harkening back to those heady Barry Switzer days when the soothing sound of Uzis being fired off dorm roofs gently rocked players to sleep.

The Big Red Sports/Imports scandal continues to leave Sooners officials crimson-faced. Brad McRae, the former manager at the car dealership, already had been accused of paying players for not working. Now comes a Dallas Morning News report that players joke about how Big Red was the Big Easy and claim they took home cars.

Logan Brosky, who roomed with Sooners player Jermaine Hardison, said players told him, "They'd just sit there and not do anything and let [others] do all the detailing. They'd clock in and go eat."

It's worth noting that Hardison was a walk-on player.

Makes you pine for those innocent days when all a walk-on did was get beat up in practice and take exams for the first team.

McRae has denied letting Hardison take home cars.

"If he did, he stole 'em," McRae said.

Well, if he did, then Hardison apparently could be the lead in the "Gone in Sixty Seconds" remake.

"Every two to three weeks he had a different car," Brosky said.

Under self-imposed penalties, Oklahoma officials have banned McRae from contact with the university until August 2011. So mark your calendars.

The Sooners' next national title: 2013.

The Sooners' next NCAA investigation: 2015.

It's just some simple green

J.D. Quinn, one of the Sooners players kicked off the team for taking McRae's money, is still perplexed by the dismissal, telling the Tulsa World, "All I did was take cash."

Ah, the defense used by many a congressman when asked about Jack Abramoff.

[soonersweetie]

I hate the media.

[Octavian]

yawn.


You'd think a sportswriter in Los Angeles wouldn't have to look any farther than his own city limits to take cheap shots at college athletes for accepting money.


How much money did Reggie take again?? How many pro agents had free reign in Heritage Hall??


Yeah

[Mongo]

what a jackass.

a severe email jihaad should take place

[Paperclip]

Please don't. It would just be more ammo for this guy.

[Mongo]

Please don't. It would just be more ammo for this guy.


Just kidding, I forgot the :D.

I dont want to hear this dumb bastard crying about all the death threats he recieved from middle American hillbillies

[Socrefbek]

I tried to find some pictures of him on the web but to no avail. I would have posted for severe farking on the fark board and then we could Email him the link. :)

[Octavian]

Seriously, we should expect to take some heat from different corners for the BRSI deal.


But from LA??


The one media center in America that has no room to be condescending toward any other place about improprieties in college athletics is....Los Angeles.


If they're so concerned about it, they should join forces with Yahoo! Sports and make sure their own backyard is in order.


Go dig into Reggie's record

[insuranceman_22]

Agreed Octavian - This monkey may want to focus a little closer to his own backyard and pay a little more of his in-depth probing into the trojan program. Evidently the NCAA is giving ol' Pete free reign and his booster can do whatever........ Stoops is taking care of matters!

[NorthernIowaSooner]

yeah i find it odd they try to dig up crap on other schools half a country away when USC has been doing questionable stuff and getting away with it and the NCAA turns their back on it

[SoonerStormchaser]

This guy deserves the Mike ****** treatment.

[josh09]

:mad: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-briefing7apr07,0,4142580.story :mad:

Gives new meaning to 'drive chart'
By Chris Foster, Times Staff Writer
April 7, 2007


Ooooo-klahoma, where the wins come sweepin' down the plain … followed closely by the hot pursuit breeze of player scandals, internal investigations, NCAA probes, and, possibly, probation.

Call it the "Full Switzer."

The Sooners football program does have that retro look, harkening back to those heady Barry Switzer days when the soothing sound of Uzis being fired off dorm roofs gently rocked players to sleep.

The Big Red Sports/Imports scandal continues to leave Sooners officials crimson-faced. Brad McRae, the former manager at the car dealership, already had been accused of paying players for not working. Now comes a Dallas Morning News report that players joke about how Big Red was the Big Easy and claim they took home cars.

Logan Brosky, who roomed with Sooners player Jermaine Hardison, said players told him, "They'd just sit there and not do anything and let [others] do all the detailing. They'd clock in and go eat."

It's worth noting that Hardison was a walk-on player.

Makes you pine for those innocent days when all a walk-on did was get beat up in practice and take exams for the first team.

McRae has denied letting Hardison take home cars.

"If he did, he stole 'em," McRae said.

Well, if he did, then Hardison apparently could be the lead in the "Gone in Sixty Seconds" remake.

"Every two to three weeks he had a different car," Brosky said.

Under self-imposed penalties, Oklahoma officials have banned McRae from contact with the university until August 2011. So mark your calendars.

The Sooners' next national title: 2013.

The Sooners' next NCAA investigation: 2015.

It's just some simple green

J.D. Quinn, one of the Sooners players kicked off the team for taking McRae's money, is still perplexed by the dismissal, telling the Tulsa World, "All I did was take cash."

Ah, the defense used by many a congressman when asked about Jack Abramoff.

And this comes from a guy close to USC.....

[oklaclarinet]

Under self-imposed penalties, Oklahoma officials have banned McRae from contact with the university until August 2011. So mark your calendars.

The Sooners' next national title: 2013.

The Sooners' next NCAA investigation: 2015.

It's just some simple green

This has to be the most rediculous part of the article. By this logic we should have won a title in the past couple of years as a direct result of the efforts of players involved with the scandal. And there is the implication we will only win a title as the result using players of unsavory character. If I recall, all players involved with our last title were long gone by the time this incident came up, and no players who were involved at the dealership have even won a title. I guess he is just assuming all schools do it like USC.

[85Sooner]

another f'in liberal reporter from LA the land of nuts fruits and flakes.



Notice he used abramoff rather than (insert your fav democrat who has taken 80G and put them in his socks and walked out of the archives and destroyed it. I may be confusing a few different dems there but what else do i expect from the place that I hope gets whats coming to them.

[roostercogburn]

prune picker.

[goingoneight]

Please... lock... this... thread. Ghey... USC reporter... ALERT!!!

[CatfishSooner]

**** that guy

[bri]

Wow, you people are all even denser than I give you credit for. "Wah, why isn't he talking about the corruption at USC?" Because he wrote the article to DISTRACT EVERYONE FROM USC'S SCANDALS. You've got this guy (and every other 'sports reporter') mistaken for some sort of truth-gathering investigative reporter.

Oh, and 85, you have to the the only person on Earth who can make anything political. :rolleyes:

[Rogue]

Just a cheap shot. It's part of being on top.

[crimson&cream]

another f'in liberal reporter from LA the land of nuts fruits and flakes.



Notice he used abramoff rather than (insert your fav democrat who has taken 80G and put them in his socks and walked out of the archives and destroyed it. I may be confusing a few different dems there but what else do i expect from the place that I hope gets whats coming to them.

What makes him a Liberal ? just because you disagree with him.Jeez! Your as objective as this writer-which is very little.

[NorthernIowaSooner]

yeah i find it odd they try to dig up crap on other schools half a country away when USC has been doing questionable stuff and getting away with it and the NCAA turns their back on it


seriously whoevers all about negspeking me and not signing it im getting tired of it, im getting f'ed on this and no one mans up and says its me. ive never said much off base and this is getting ridiculous, man up and say who and why... i was working my way back to green till whoever neg'ed me on this page, this is all i said and i find it odd someone took offense to it, either way you'll never find a bigger sooners fan in iowa and id appreciate someone taking some responsibility for their negative claims on my posts

[SoonerRecon]

seriously whoevers all about negspeking me and not signing it im getting tired of it, im getting f'ed on this and no one mans up and says its me. ive never said much off base and this is getting ridiculous, man up and say who and why... i was working my way back to green till whoever neg'ed me on this page, this is all i said and i find it odd someone took offense to it, either way you'll never find a bigger sooners fan in iowa and id appreciate someone taking some responsibility for their negative claims on my posts


i don't know anything about negspeking, but tell Zach Johnson i said congrats. iowa state tickets went on sale today, i hope you'll be able to make it down to the game, i'll be there with the rest of the traveling tailgaters. my family has a lake house at lost island lake, not too far from you (i was born in Des Moines). BOOMER

[NorthernIowaSooner]

i don't know anything about negspeking, but tell Zach Johnson i said congrats. iowa state tickets went on sale today, i hope you'll be able to make it down to the game, i'll be there with the rest of the traveling tailgaters. my family has a lake house at lost island lake, not too far from you (i was born in Des Moines). BOOMER

yeah thats cool, ill be there

[Fraggle145]

seriously whoevers all about negspeking me and not signing it im getting tired of it, im getting f'ed on this and no one mans up and says its me. ive never said much off base and this is getting ridiculous, man up and say who and why... i was working my way back to green till whoever neg'ed me on this page, this is all i said and i find it odd someone took offense to it, either way you'll never find a bigger sooners fan in iowa and id appreciate someone taking some responsibility for their negative claims on my posts

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gif

It wasnt me, but this one is. Dont complain, if you want to know who is negging you become a sponsor.

[Collier11]

If you dont want to get the nasty neg then just use protection...scottd spreads that nasty stuff all over the place so you have to be careful cus its contagious ;)

[NorthernIowaSooner]

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gif

It wasnt me, but this one is. Dont complain, if you want to know who is negging you become a sponsor.

maybe being a poor college student i dont have the money to become a sponsor, i got on here to get sooner info, not to be treated like ****

[Fraggle145]

maybe being a poor college student i dont have the money to become a sponsor, i got on here to get sooner info, not to be treated like ****

http://users.telenet.be/kotrijk/stfunoob.jpg

Man now I'm want to do it again!! :cry: cry me a river! I am a poor grad student, meaning I have no sympathy and I probably have less money to spare than you (unless you are also a grad student, in which case yes we are dirt poor bastards). its 5 bucks a month or one $25 shot for the year, not that expensive at all, especially for what you get out of it.

[Collier11]

maybe being a poor college student i dont have the money to become a sponsor, i got on here to get sooner info, not to be treated like ****


It comes with the territory broseph, all the newbies sooner or not get treated like crap, I did and you just have to get used to it or they will neg the hell out of you!!

[Fraggle145]

It comes with the territory broseph, all the newbies sooner or not get treated like crap, I did and you just have to get used to it or they will neg the hell out of you!!

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_pos.gif

broseph is teh awesome!

[Collier11]

very niiiiccceee!!!

[Seamus]

Fraggle, you're slaying me! :D :D :D

NorIowa, d00d, you're making too much out of it. All us n00bs get the willow branch on our arse, so take your tanning like a man. The quickest way to get http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gif is to complain about it, or stand around with a collection plate begging for http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_pos.gif. Folks around here want the discussion to focus on more important matters than what color your spekometer reads. Just be a good poster, contribute to the board and don't **** with anyone toting the Mjolnir Neghammer.

But for now, I'll just :pop:

[Fraggle145]

Fraggle, you're slaying me! :D :D :D

NorIowa, d00d, you're making too much out of it. All us n00bs get the willow branch on our arse, so take your tanning like a man. The quickest way to get http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_neg.gif is to complain about it, or stand around with a collection plate begging for http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_pos.gif. Folks around here want the discussion to focus on more important matters than what color your spekometer reads. Just be a good poster, contribute to the board and don't **** with anyone toting the Mjolnir Neghammer.

But for now, I'll just :pop:

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/reputation/reputation_pos.gif

[ELP Sooner]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought you guys might be interested.
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-daniels27apr27,1,3595294.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

A writer's transformation makes the personal public

Mike Penner's account of becoming Christine Daniels liberates the columnist and strikes a chord with readers.

By James Rainey, Times Staff Writer
April 27, 2007

The security guard in the lobby of the Los Angeles Times couldn't help but ask the question. When he looked at the computer in front of him earlier this week, he saw the picture of a strapping blond man. The screen identified the employee: "Michael Penner, Editorial."

But the person flashing the ID was a tall woman, with long, strawberry blond hair. "Ma'am, whose card are you using?" the guard asked. The subject moved closer to answer quietly: "I'm Mike Penner and I'm a transitioning transsexual."

With that, security waved Penner into the newspaper where he has worked for 23 years, one of many hurdles the veteran sportswriter will be crossing in the coming weeks as he transforms into Christine Daniels.

Penner, 49, shocked many readers, fellow journalists and sports fans with a column in Thursday morning's Times Sports section that told the world of his decision to switch genders.

The revelation drew an enormous response — with the highly personal 823-word essay becoming, by mid-evening, one of the most heavily viewed stories on latimes.com in the last year, with about half a million page views.

Although some readers criticized Penner's decision and the way the newspaper announced it, the vast majority of those e-mailing and phoning The Times on Thursday said they supported the writer and the paper for letting him tell his story.

"Writing that piece, which I didn't initially want to write, ended up becoming one of the best things I have ever done," Daniels said in an interview Thursday. "And a day I dreaded all my life has ended up being one of the best days I've ever had."

As Mike Penner, the journalist covered beats as diverse as professional baseball's Angels, the Olympic Games, soccer's World Cup, tennis, the NFL and sports media. After a break of a few weeks, the reporter's next stories will appear under the Daniels byline, the new surname derived from his middle name at birth — Daniel.

She will be writing a blog about Southern California sports. Latimes.com also plans to give Daniels space to write about the experience of a gender transformation under the tentative heading "Woman in Progress."

Daniels wore pants and a green flowered blouse during the interview, along with the wig she is wearing while her hair grows out.

Wearing light makeup, muted lipstick and a trio of bracelets on one wrist, she pronounced herself tremendously relieved at shedding the male persona that made her feel trapped most of her life.

Daniels said she had felt since she was 4 or 5 years old that she was a girl. She liked dolls and wanted to wear dresses. An initial interest in sports began when she saw a display of the colorful uniforms of the old American Football League teams.

"I spent my whole life with nose pressed against the window thinking, 'Why can't I get to the other side?' " Daniels said. "I thought it would be so much easier for me" to be a woman.

"It came to the point … even though you are scared to death, you have to try to change, because staying the same is even more difficult."

Daniels said she had experimented with wearing women's clothes for years but went out in public for the first time only two or three years ago. Working largely at home on the Sports section's Morning Briefing column, the writer did not have to worry about how she dressed.

She began dressing full time as Christine in January, at roughly the same time her doctors put her on hormones.

Not all transsexuals have surgery to complete their sexual transformation, and Daniels said it was "too early" and "fairly private" for her to say publicly what she might do.

The story will undoubtedly raise many more questions. The Times turned down multiple interview requests — from ABC's "Good Morning America," ESPN radio, the BBC and CNN's "Larry King Live," among others — on the writer's behalf.

By early evening, nearly 1,000 readers had commented on the story on latimes.com. The responses posted on the message board were overwhelmingly positive.

"I cannot imagine how much courage this took, Christine," wrote one reader. "I live in Wisconsin, but it makes me want to subscribe to your paper."

A self-described "trans-girl" also praised Daniels. "I too fought that fight. Managed 24 rounds, toe to toe, but I tossed in the towel," the reader said. "Four years later, the only thing I ask is why did I wait so long? Best of luck to you."

But some sent messages calling Daniels' decision unnatural. And others criticized the Times for publicizing it.

"It's a pity you couldn't get the substantive therapy you needed," said one. "There's nothing 'natural' about what you describe, and the fact that your DNA doesn't change is proof."

A posting on the website sportsjournalists.com also questioned The Times' handling of the revelation. The writer called the column "self important" and said, "If he wants to unburden himself, the sports pages of the LA Times isn't the place to do it."

Times Managing Editor Douglas Frantz called Daniels a "valued member" of the Sports staff and said he expected her to continue with the paper "for many more years."

"We thought it best to inform our readers, particularly those who read the Sports section, that the byline would change," Frantz said. "We also wanted to give Christine the opportunity to explain this decision on her own terms, and the Sports section was the logical place to do that."

After a largely sleepless night before publication of the story, Daniels had prepared to have a friend screen her e-mails. But by day's end, Daniels said she had received only two negative responses out of 538 e-mails.

Longtime friend and co-worker Chris Foster, who covers UCLA football, said the positive response was "a reflection of someone who is very well liked and who is always willing to help. Why would you treat them different when they are the same deep down?"

Another friend, author and USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, e-mailed the "new Christine" from Washington: "You have many friends in this business, and that certainly will not change. I'm proud to be one of them."

Daniels responded with thanks and asked whether she would now be welcome in the Assn. of Women in Sports Media.

Daniels said she planned to spend a good share of her time off shopping for new clothes before her return to work. She also will get a new Times identification badge.

"I am trying to get my ID congruent," she said, "at the same time I get myself congruent."

[Collier11]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought you guys might be interested.
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-daniels27apr27,1,3595294.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

A writer's transformation makes the personal public

Mike Penner's account of becoming Christine Daniels liberates the columnist and strikes a chord with readers.

By James Rainey, Times Staff Writer
April 27, 2007

The security guard in the lobby of the Los Angeles Times couldn't help but ask the question. When he looked at the computer in front of him earlier this week, he saw the picture of a strapping blond man. The screen identified the employee: "Michael Penner, Editorial."

But the person flashing the ID was a tall woman, with long, strawberry blond hair. "Ma'am, whose card are you using?" the guard asked. The subject moved closer to answer quietly: "I'm Mike Penner and I'm a transitioning transsexual."

With that, security waved Penner into the newspaper where he has worked for 23 years, one of many hurdles the veteran sportswriter will be crossing in the coming weeks as he transforms into Christine Daniels.

Penner, 49, shocked many readers, fellow journalists and sports fans with a column in Thursday morning's Times Sports section that told the world of his decision to switch genders.

The revelation drew an enormous response — with the highly personal 823-word essay becoming, by mid-evening, one of the most heavily viewed stories on latimes.com in the last year, with about half a million page views.

Although some readers criticized Penner's decision and the way the newspaper announced it, the vast majority of those e-mailing and phoning The Times on Thursday said they supported the writer and the paper for letting him tell his story.

"Writing that piece, which I didn't initially want to write, ended up becoming one of the best things I have ever done," Daniels said in an interview Thursday. "And a day I dreaded all my life has ended up being one of the best days I've ever had."

As Mike Penner, the journalist covered beats as diverse as professional baseball's Angels, the Olympic Games, soccer's World Cup, tennis, the NFL and sports media. After a break of a few weeks, the reporter's next stories will appear under the Daniels byline, the new surname derived from his middle name at birth — Daniel.

She will be writing a blog about Southern California sports. Latimes.com also plans to give Daniels space to write about the experience of a gender transformation under the tentative heading "Woman in Progress."

Daniels wore pants and a green flowered blouse during the interview, along with the wig she is wearing while her hair grows out.

Wearing light makeup, muted lipstick and a trio of bracelets on one wrist, she pronounced herself tremendously relieved at shedding the male persona that made her feel trapped most of her life.

Daniels said she had felt since she was 4 or 5 years old that she was a girl. She liked dolls and wanted to wear dresses. An initial interest in sports began when she saw a display of the colorful uniforms of the old American Football League teams.

"I spent my whole life with nose pressed against the window thinking, 'Why can't I get to the other side?' " Daniels said. "I thought it would be so much easier for me" to be a woman.

"It came to the point … even though you are scared to death, you have to try to change, because staying the same is even more difficult."

Daniels said she had experimented with wearing women's clothes for years but went out in public for the first time only two or three years ago. Working largely at home on the Sports section's Morning Briefing column, the writer did not have to worry about how she dressed.

She began dressing full time as Christine in January, at roughly the same time her doctors put her on hormones.

Not all transsexuals have surgery to complete their sexual transformation, and Daniels said it was "too early" and "fairly private" for her to say publicly what she might do.

The story will undoubtedly raise many more questions. The Times turned down multiple interview requests — from ABC's "Good Morning America," ESPN radio, the BBC and CNN's "Larry King Live," among others — on the writer's behalf.

By early evening, nearly 1,000 readers had commented on the story on latimes.com. The responses posted on the message board were overwhelmingly positive.

"I cannot imagine how much courage this took, Christine," wrote one reader. "I live in Wisconsin, but it makes me want to subscribe to your paper."

A self-described "trans-girl" also praised Daniels. "I too fought that fight. Managed 24 rounds, toe to toe, but I tossed in the towel," the reader said. "Four years later, the only thing I ask is why did I wait so long? Best of luck to you."

But some sent messages calling Daniels' decision unnatural. And others criticized the Times for publicizing it.

"It's a pity you couldn't get the substantive therapy you needed," said one. "There's nothing 'natural' about what you describe, and the fact that your DNA doesn't change is proof."

A posting on the website sportsjournalists.com also questioned The Times' handling of the revelation. The writer called the column "self important" and said, "If he wants to unburden himself, the sports pages of the LA Times isn't the place to do it."

Times Managing Editor Douglas Frantz called Daniels a "valued member" of the Sports staff and said he expected her to continue with the paper "for many more years."

"We thought it best to inform our readers, particularly those who read the Sports section, that the byline would change," Frantz said. "We also wanted to give Christine the opportunity to explain this decision on her own terms, and the Sports section was the logical place to do that."

After a largely sleepless night before publication of the story, Daniels had prepared to have a friend screen her e-mails. But by day's end, Daniels said she had received only two negative responses out of 538 e-mails.

Longtime friend and co-worker Chris Foster, who covers UCLA football, said the positive response was "a reflection of someone who is very well liked and who is always willing to help. Why would you treat them different when they are the same deep down?"

Another friend, author and USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, e-mailed the "new Christine" from Washington: "You have many friends in this business, and that certainly will not change. I'm proud to be one of them."

Daniels responded with thanks and asked whether she would now be welcome in the Assn. of Women in Sports Media.

Daniels said she planned to spend a good share of her time off shopping for new clothes before her return to work. She also will get a new Times identification badge.

"I am trying to get my ID congruent," she said, "at the same time I get myself congruent."

This is a dumb and irrelevant post! who cares if he wants to wear a dress and go by Christine instead of Mike. :rolleyes:

[KingDavid]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought you guys might be interested.
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-daniels27apr27,1,3595294.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

A writer's transformation makes the personal public

Mike Penner's account of becoming Christine Daniels liberates the columnist and strikes a chord with readers.

By James Rainey, Times Staff Writer
April 27, 2007

The security guard in the lobby of the Los Angeles Times couldn't help but ask the question. When he looked at the computer in front of him earlier this week, he saw the picture of a strapping blond man. The screen identified the employee: "Michael Penner, Editorial."

But the person flashing the ID was a tall woman, with long, strawberry blond hair. "Ma'am, whose card are you using?" the guard asked. The subject moved closer to answer quietly: "I'm Mike Penner and I'm a transitioning transsexual."

With that, security waved Penner into the newspaper where he has worked for 23 years, one of many hurdles the veteran sportswriter will be crossing in the coming weeks as he transforms into Christine Daniels.

Penner, 49, shocked many readers, fellow journalists and sports fans with a column in Thursday morning's Times Sports section that told the world of his decision to switch genders.

The revelation drew an enormous response — with the highly personal 823-word essay becoming, by mid-evening, one of the most heavily viewed stories on latimes.com in the last year, with about half a million page views.

Although some readers criticized Penner's decision and the way the newspaper announced it, the vast majority of those e-mailing and phoning The Times on Thursday said they supported the writer and the paper for letting him tell his story.

"Writing that piece, which I didn't initially want to write, ended up becoming one of the best things I have ever done," Daniels said in an interview Thursday. "And a day I dreaded all my life has ended up being one of the best days I've ever had."

As Mike Penner, the journalist covered beats as diverse as professional baseball's Angels, the Olympic Games, soccer's World Cup, tennis, the NFL and sports media. After a break of a few weeks, the reporter's next stories will appear under the Daniels byline, the new surname derived from his middle name at birth — Daniel.

She will be writing a blog about Southern California sports. Latimes.com also plans to give Daniels space to write about the experience of a gender transformation under the tentative heading "Woman in Progress."

Daniels wore pants and a green flowered blouse during the interview, along with the wig she is wearing while her hair grows out.

Wearing light makeup, muted lipstick and a trio of bracelets on one wrist, she pronounced herself tremendously relieved at shedding the male persona that made her feel trapped most of her life.

Daniels said she had felt since she was 4 or 5 years old that she was a girl. She liked dolls and wanted to wear dresses. An initial interest in sports began when she saw a display of the colorful uniforms of the old American Football League teams.

"I spent my whole life with nose pressed against the window thinking, 'Why can't I get to the other side?' " Daniels said. "I thought it would be so much easier for me" to be a woman.

"It came to the point … even though you are scared to death, you have to try to change, because staying the same is even more difficult."

Daniels said she had experimented with wearing women's clothes for years but went out in public for the first time only two or three years ago. Working largely at home on the Sports section's Morning Briefing column, the writer did not have to worry about how she dressed.

She began dressing full time as Christine in January, at roughly the same time her doctors put her on hormones.

Not all transsexuals have surgery to complete their sexual transformation, and Daniels said it was "too early" and "fairly private" for her to say publicly what she might do.

The story will undoubtedly raise many more questions. The Times turned down multiple interview requests — from ABC's "Good Morning America," ESPN radio, the BBC and CNN's "Larry King Live," among others — on the writer's behalf.

By early evening, nearly 1,000 readers had commented on the story on latimes.com. The responses posted on the message board were overwhelmingly positive.

"I cannot imagine how much courage this took, Christine," wrote one reader. "I live in Wisconsin, but it makes me want to subscribe to your paper."

A self-described "trans-girl" also praised Daniels. "I too fought that fight. Managed 24 rounds, toe to toe, but I tossed in the towel," the reader said. "Four years later, the only thing I ask is why did I wait so long? Best of luck to you."

But some sent messages calling Daniels' decision unnatural. And others criticized the Times for publicizing it.

"It's a pity you couldn't get the substantive therapy you needed," said one. "There's nothing 'natural' about what you describe, and the fact that your DNA doesn't change is proof."

A posting on the website sportsjournalists.com also questioned The Times' handling of the revelation. The writer called the column "self important" and said, "If he wants to unburden himself, the sports pages of the LA Times isn't the place to do it."

Times Managing Editor Douglas Frantz called Daniels a "valued member" of the Sports staff and said he expected her to continue with the paper "for many more years."

"We thought it best to inform our readers, particularly those who read the Sports section, that the byline would change," Frantz said. "We also wanted to give Christine the opportunity to explain this decision on her own terms, and the Sports section was the logical place to do that."

After a largely sleepless night before publication of the story, Daniels had prepared to have a friend screen her e-mails. But by day's end, Daniels said she had received only two negative responses out of 538 e-mails.

Longtime friend and co-worker Chris Foster, who covers UCLA football, said the positive response was "a reflection of someone who is very well liked and who is always willing to help. Why would you treat them different when they are the same deep down?"

Another friend, author and USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, e-mailed the "new Christine" from Washington: "You have many friends in this business, and that certainly will not change. I'm proud to be one of them."

Daniels responded with thanks and asked whether she would now be welcome in the Assn. of Women in Sports Media.

Daniels said she planned to spend a good share of her time off shopping for new clothes before her return to work. She also will get a new Times identification badge.

"I am trying to get my ID congruent," she said, "at the same time I get myself congruent."

Is that the same dude(tte) who wrote the article about us? I thought the one at the beginning of this thread is/was Christine Foster, not Christine Daniels?

Maybe it got married?

[ELP Sooner]

No it isnt the same person. I ran across the article and it reminded me about reading this thread earlier in the month. I thought it was interesting and slightly related considering it was the LA Times sports department.

[SoonerRecon]

wow, the title of this thread has become even more appropriate