From Beacon Journal wire services

Whether they've bought Buckeyes football tickets for 50 years or are buying them for the first time, Ohio State alumni association members will get the same chance of seeing games starting this fall.

All dues-paying alumni association members who apply for tickets will be entered in a random lottery to determine if they get tickets from now on, Ohio State told alumni in a mailing this week. In the past, tickets were allotted to graduates by using an alphabetic system.

Alumni association spokesman Jay Hansen said the changes to the ticketing policy were made because more than 1,000 members had expressed concerns about the old policy.

''We wanted it to be equitable for all members,'' he said.

Under the new policy, no priority will be given to those alumni association members who have bought tickets for years, and donor history will play no role in whether they get tickets.

Also, tickets for the Michigan game — usually kept separate from alumni packages — will be included in the random lottery. In addition, two single alumni members living in the same household can now each purchase tickets. Before, they were considered together.

The Buckeyes open the 2008 season Aug. 30 against Youngstown State with other home games against Ohio, Troy, Minnesota, Purdue, Penn State and Michigan.

More college: Ex-OSU coach elected

• Former Ohio State coach John Cooper is among 15 former players and coaches elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Cooper was joined by quarterback Troy Aikman, tailback Billy Cannon and former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz. Cooper led the Buckeyes to a victory over Arizona State in the 1997 Rose Bowl and had a record of 111-43-4 from 1988 to 2000. He also was the coach at Tulsa and Arizona State before coming to Ohio State.

NFL: Jailed man accuses 'Pacman'

• A man charged with shooting three people outside a Las Vegas strip club has denied he was involved and accused suspended NFL cornerback Adam ''Pacman'' Jones of ordering the shooting and framing him to avoid identifying the real shooter. Arvin Kenti Edwards of Renton, Wash., is being held in a Washington state jail on $1 million bail pending extradition to Nevada. He talked with WTVF-TV in Nashville by phone for a report that aired Wednesday.

• A woman has accused Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Ahmad Brooks of punching her in the face during an altercation in a northern Kentucky neighborhood last month. Brooks was ordered to appear June 6 in Boone District Court on a complaint filed this week by Destiny Rosich. Based on the complaint, prosecutors charged Brooks with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in prison.

Golf: Windy start for Ochoa

• On a wind-blown day that yielded no more than five scores under par, Lorena Ochoa, trying for her fifth consecutive victory on the LPGA Tour, shot a 2-over-par 73 in the first round of the SemGroup Championship in Broken Arrow, Okla. Hee Young Park held it together in Oklahoma's notorious wind with a 2-under 69, and Beth Bader also was 2 under. Two other subpar rounds came from Ochoa's group — Paula Creamer and defending champion Mi Hyun Kim, each with 70s.

• David Toms took the first-round lead in the Wachovia Championship with a 5-under 67 in Charlotte, N.C. Toms made eight birdies, including a near ace at the 13th hole, to take a 1-shot lead over Phil Mickelson and Jason Bohn. Mickelson, in his first tournament since the Masters, showed off his new, longer putter in shooting a 68. Mickelson hit 12-of-14 fairways and had only 26 putts with his 35-inch model after switching from a 331/2-inch.

• John Daly shot a 3-over 75 in his first tournament in Spain in 16 years, leaving him 10 strokes behind leader Martin Erlandsson in the Spanish Open in Seville, Spain. Erlandsson, from Sweden, birdied the final three holes for a course-record 65. Spain's Jordi Garcia and Ignacio Garrido shot 66s on the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla.

Tennis: Nadal reaches quarterfinals

• Rafael Nadal defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Barcelona Open quarterfinals in Spain, posting his 100th win on clay in his last 101 matches. In the quarterfinals, Nadal will play Juan Ignacio Chela, who defeated Ernests Gulbis 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland upset seventh-ranked David Nalbandian 6-3, 6-1.

• Marat Safin edged Michael Berrer 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the BMW Open in Munich, Germany. The Russian next faces second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, who rallied to defeat Kristof Vliegen 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. Younes El Aynaoui, who had to qualify for the tournament, upset seventh-seeded Steve Darcis 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.