Oregon State reduces some ticket prices | College football

College football

Prices to dip at Reser for first time since 2000: Oregon State is lowering ticket prices for certain seats at Reser Stadium in Corvallis in an effort to bring in more fans.

It is the first time the Beavers have dropped ticket prices since 2000.

Some season tickets in the Valley View section are $149 — down from $252 and the required $100 Beaver Athletic Student Fund donation, for a savings of $203.

Athletic director Bob De Carolis said the school will also reduce BASF donations on other some seats. He said the goal is to create more options for fans to become season-ticket holders.

Boise State to play Virginia Tech on Labor Day: Boise State's national profile keeps rising.

The Broncos announced they have moved their game against Virginia Tech from Oct. 2 to Labor Day, which is Sept. 6. The game is at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., home of the NFL Washington Redskins, and will be televised on ESPN, with a 5 p.m. PDT kickoff.

Boise State is returning 21 of 22 starters from last season's undefeated Fiesta Bowl champions, including quarterback Kellen Moore of Prosser.

WNBA

Sun signs Lawson: Guard Kara Lawson, 28, who spent seven seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs before the franchise folded, signed a three-year contract with the Connecticut Sun.

Tennis

Garden party: Top-ranked Serena Williams and U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters will meet in an exhibition match March 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

They will play in a one-set semifinal for the right to advance to a three-set final. Venus Williams, Serena's sister, will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the other one-set semifinal.

Lendl to play in exhibition: Ivan Lendl will play his first exhibition since he retired 16 years ago, in a new Atlantic City, N.J., event April 10.

Two of the three Caesars Tennis Classic events are set: Lendl, 49, will play Mats Wilander, 45, and Andy Roddick, 27, will take on Marat Safin, 30.

Hingis to compete in WTT: Martina Hingis, 29, served a two-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine that ended Sept. 30. She has committed to a full season of World TeamTennis, the coed league founded by Billie Jean King.

Soccer

Ex-U.S. coach Sampson alleges Harkes had affair with teammate's wife: Ending more than a decade of silence, former U.S. coach Steve Sampson said he dropped John Harkes from the national-team roster two months before the 1998 World Cup because the American captain was having an affair with the wife of teammate Eric Wynalda.

Harkes has long denied having an affair with Amy Wynalda.

Eric Wynalda, a father of three who separated from Amy in 2003 and divorced, insisted his wife and Harkes had an affair.

"I'm calling it an inappropriate relationship," he said. "It was a major contributor to why I'm no longer married."

Harkes, a member of the 1990 and 1994 World Cup teams, said, "I am not going to rehash the things that have happened in the past; 1998 was devastating to me and my family."

Sampson, who was fired after the 1998 World Cup, defended his decision to hide the truth.

"I felt that these are the kinds of issues that need to stay in the locker room and within the team and not (be) exposed to the public," Sampson said. "The private issues for me were the most serious issues. I think I could have lived with everything else and kept John on the team if it had not been for the private issues.

"It's one thing to have an affair outside the team. It's another to have one inside. ... There are just certain lines that one cannot cross."

Chelsea gets a draw: Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw at Hull, missing a chance to take a four-point lead in the English Premier League.

Chelsea (17-3-4) has 54 points, two more than second-place Manchester United (17-5-2).

Golf

McCarron offers apology: Scott McCarron has apologized to fellow PGA Tour player Phil Mickelson for using the word "cheating" when he disagreed with Mickelson and others who use Ping Eye2 wedges that are allowed because of a legal loophole. According to one player, commissioner Tim Finchem told players Tuesday the Tour is working with Ping to figure out a solution.

Track and field

Bolt to run in New York: Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, will run the 100 meters at the June 12 Adidas Grand Prix on Randall's Island in New York.

Horse racing

Gill ousted: Pennsylvania authorities ousted horse owner Michael Gill from Penn National Race Course after some horse breakdowns and a boycott by jockeys worried about safety.

Gill, who led North American owners in victories (370) last year and earned $6.7 million, has said he intends to sell off all of his Thoroughbred holdings, according to Daily Racing Form. Gill said he owns about 100 horses.

Gill was investigated by the state racing commission and Penn National after 10 of his horses reportedly broke down on the track in a span of about 13 months.

"Penn National has a history of that track being bad, and horses breaking down," said Gill, who kept 49 stalls at the track.

Seattle Times news services