Columbus, Ohio — Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was told by the school that he did a poor job of self-reporting NCAA violations years before he failed to tell his bosses that players were selling championship rings and other Buckeyes memorabilia, a cover-up that cost him his job.

In an evaluation of Tressel’s job performance from 2005-06, then-athletic director Andy Geiger rated Tressel “unacceptable” in terms of self-reporting rules violations in a timely manner. The coach also was warned in a separate letter that he and his staff needed to do a better job of monitoring the cars the Buckeyes were driving — an issue that would arise again this spring.

The documents were part of a mountain of public records released Friday by Ohio State dealing with Tressel and the ongoing scandal that has sullied one of the nation’s elite football programs.

Tressel received a letter of reprimand from Geiger for giving a recruit a Buckeyes jersey — a clear NCAA violation — before he had even coached his first game.

In spite of a sparkling 106-22 record and winning the 2002 national championship, Tressel was forced to step down on May 30 after it became clear that he had knowingly played ineligible players during the 2010 season. Investigators discovered he found out in April 2010 that players were receiving cash and discounted tattoos from the owner of a local tattoo parlor in exchange for OSU football memorabilia, but he did not report them to his superiors or NCAA compliance officers — and didn’t even acknowledge he had known of the problem until confronted in January.

Ohio State, which has vacated the 2010 season including its share of the Big Ten championship, and has issued itself a two-year probation, is now facing an Aug. 12 meeting before the NCAA’s committee on infractions.

MLB

Red Sox’s Ortiz appeals suspension

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is appealing the four-game suspension he received for his part in Boston’s bench-clearing melee with the Baltimore Orioles last week.

He was in the lineup against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night as the designated hitter.

Ortiz was suspended Thursday, along with Orioles pitchers Kevin Gregg and Mike Gonzalez and Baltimore manager Buck Showalter. He declined to specifically address his suspension.

“After I go through the whole thing (I can address it),” Ortiz said. “I can’t really talk about it now. But at one point I will. I’ll tell you what I was thinking. I’ll tell you what I thought was right.”

MLB tells court its Dodgers’ plan

Dover, Del. — Major League Baseball renewed its objections to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ proposed bankruptcy financing, telling a federal court the commissioner’s office was offering $150 million in loans at far more favorable terms.

Baseball said that unlike the financing offered by the Dodgers with the hedge fund Highbridge Capital, baseball would not require any liens on the Dodgers’ assets.

College Basketball

UNC’s McDonald has torn ACL

Chapel Hill, N.C. — North Carolina reserve guard Leslie McDonald has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and could miss the coming season.

The school said Friday that McDonald was injured during a summer league game in Durham on Thursday night.

Lawsuit filed over Duke tickets

Raleigh, N.C. — A family squabble over season tickets to Duke men’s basketball games has resulted in a legal fight.

A woman filed a lawsuit Friday against her sister, her sister’s husband and Duke University regarding the transfer of two tickets that once belonged to her father for games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Katina Dorton is seeking unspecified damages and asking the court to invalidate the “fraudulent transfer” to Gordon and Sophia Caudle that occurred without the knowledge or consent of her father or other family members, according to the complaint.

Auto Racing

Newman wins New Hampshire poll

Loudon, N.H. — Ryan Newman is fast again at New Hampshire.

More surprising is his teammate is, too.

Newman and Tony Stewart made a sweep of the front row for Sunday’s Lenox Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The pole is Newman’s 47th of his career but the first since last season’s May race at Charlotte. He sits alone in 10th all-time for poles won in NASCAR’s top series.

College Football

OU LBs on Butkus watch list

Oklahoma City — Oklahoma linebackers Travis Lewis and Tom Wort have been named to the watch list for the 2011 Butkus Award.

The award is given each year to the top linebacker in college football. It’s named after former Chicago Bears and University of Illinois linebacker Dick Butkus.