World Cup Gets Last Five Qualifiers

Trinidad and Tobago and the Czech Republic advanced to soccer’s World Cup for the first time Wednesday, the final day of qualifying.

Spain qualified for its eighth straight tournament as the final five berths in the 32-nation field were filled. Switzerland ousted Turkey, a 2002 semifinalist, and Australia beat Uruguay to advance for the first time since 1974 and become the first nation to qualify for a World Cup in a penalty-kick shootout.

Trinidad and Tobago won, 1-0, at Bahrain to win the home-and-home, total-goals series, 2-1, and become the fourth team in the tournament from North and Central America and the Caribbean, which is the region the U.S. team qualified from.

“When we started in May after three matches the team only had one point and nobody gave us a chance,” Coach Leo Beenhakker said. “In the qualifying matches it went better and better, and this, of course, is the result. “

The qualifiers will be drawn into eight four-team groups on Dec. 9 at Leipzig, Germany. Next year’s tournament runs from June 9 to July 9.

Although Czechoslovakia, which split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, played in the World Cup several times, the Czech Republic had never qualified. Its 1-0 home win over Norway, combined with a 1-0 away victory in the first game, pushed the Czechs forward.

“It’s the peak of my career,” said Coach Karel Bruckner, who led the Czechs to the semifinals at the 2004 European Championship.

Already leading, 5-1, from the home leg in Madrid, Spain tied, 1-1, at Slovakia to advance. Spain extended its unbeaten streak under Coach Luis Aragones to 18 games.

Australia ended three decades of frustration by defeating Uruguay, 1-0, in Sydney and won the penalty kick shootout, 4-2. Uruguay had won, 1-0, at home.

The Swiss, leading, 2-0, from the first leg in Berne, had a scare in Istanbul, where Turkey won, 4-2. The teams wound up tied, 4-4, in total goals, but Switzerland advanced, having scored more away goals.

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Major League Soccer’s Chivas USA today will announce that it has traded Costa Rican international defender Douglas Sequeira and midfielder Christian Jimenez to Real Salt Lake in exchange for former U.S. Olympic and Under-20 national team defender Brian Dunseth. Chivas USA also waived seven players: Armando Begines, Hector Cuadros, Isaac Romo, Shaun Kalnasy, Javier Barragan, Victor Arbalaez and Milton Blanco.

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Four UCLA players were included among the 30 semifinalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, college soccer’s equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy. They are midfielder Patrick Ianni and defender Marvell Wynne from the Bruin men’s team and forward Iris Mora and defender Jill Oakes from the women’s team.

TENNIS

Davydenko Defeats Gaudio at Masters Cup

Nikolay Davydenko followed his upset of Andre Agassi with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gaston Gaudio, and the Russian advanced to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup at Shanghai, China.

Fernando Gonzalez defeated Mariano Puerta, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

U.S. twins Bob and Mike Bryan clinched the year-end No. 1 doubles ranking after second-ranked Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi lost their second round-robin match.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Purdue’s Teague Is Out for the Season

Purdue guard David Teague will miss the season because of a torn ligament in his left knee.

Teague, who averaged 14 points last season for the Boilermakers, will be eligible to return as a fifth-year senior in 2006-07, the team said.

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Kansas forward Darnell Jackson has been suspended for the Jayhawks’ first nine games for receiving about $5,000 in benefits from a booster.... Arkansas guard Eric Ferguson won’t play in the Razorbacks’ season opener after being arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving.... Leading scorer Dwight Brewington has quit the Providence team to concentrate on academics. He averaged 13.3 points last season.

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J.J. Redick scored 18 points and top-ranked Duke turned in an overwhelming defensive performance to rout Seton Hall, 93-40, in the quarterfinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Durham, N.C.... P.J. Tucker had 22 points and No. 2 Texas routed Samford, 77-33, in the second round of the Guardians Classic tournament at Austin, Texas.

BASEBALL

Angels Name Roenicke to Replace Maddon

The task of replacing long-time Angel bench coach Joe Maddon, who was hired as Tampa Bay’s manager Sunday, will go to Angel third-base coach Ron Roenicke.

Roenicke, Manager Mike Scioscia’s third-base coach the last six seasons, was promoted to bench coach and triple-A Manager Dino Ebel was promoted to the Angel staff as third-base coach.

In other Angel news, utility infielder Zach Sorensen was put on unconditional release waivers and removed from the 40-man roster.

-- Mike DiGiovanna

MISCELLANY

Congress Keeping an Eye on Steroids in Sports

Congress is sending a message to the NFL, NBA, NHL and their players: Now that baseball strengthened its steroids policy, we’re turning our attention to you.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), and Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) sponsored a bill with a two-year ban for a first offense and a lifetime ban for a second across pro sports. By Wednesday, though, they were supporting legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), with a half-season ban, followed by a one-season ban, then lifetime ban.

While that legislation was put on hold after baseball’s move, those four lawmakers, plus the sponsor of another House bill, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), made clear the threat of congressional intervention isn’t disappearing.

“We’ll leave it there and see what the other major league sports do,” Bunning said. “We are very anxious to rid all professional sports of any ... steroids or amphetamines.”

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Congress voted down a bill to create a federal agency to protect the health and finances of boxers. The House voted, 233-190, against forming a U.S. Boxing Commission.

Serbia-Montenegro’s army says it has filed charges against former Laker Vlade Divac for evading the military draft.

Divac, 37, was obliged by the law to join the compulsory six-month military service by the age of 35 and could face a one-year prison sentence in his native country if he does not join the army soon, legal experts said.

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Ricardo Azevedo, who built the men’s and women’s water polo programs at Long Beach State into national powers, was appointed national team head coach and director of the U.S. men’s water polo team. He will finish the men’s season at Long Beach State before starting his new job.

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Bob Bone, California’s leading owner in wins this year, won four races at Hollywood Park, setting a track record.

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Josh Radosevich, a 16-year-old apprentice jockey who won his first race a month ago, died from injuries suffered in a spill at Beulah Park in Grove City, Ohio.