Mexico Secures Germany Spot
Mexico clinched its spot in the 2006 World Cup in Germany on Wednesday with a 5-0 rout of Panama, preventing the visitors from a single serious shot on goal at Mexico City.
Mexico took the lead in the 31st minute when Luis Perez hammered a rebound from 15 yards off a corner kick.
The team got second-half goals from Rafael Marquez, Jared Borgetti, Francisco Fonseca and Pavel Pardo to join the United States as the second team from CONCACAF to secure a berth.
Mexico was coming off a 2-0 loss to the United States on Saturday.
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In other CONCACAF games: The U.S., with a different lineup from its last game, tied Guatemala, 0-0, at Guatemala City. A shot by Guatemala’s Edwin Villatoro hit the post in the 90th minute.... Alvaro Saborio and Walter Centeno scored to lead Costa Rica to a 2-0 win over visiting Trinidad and Tobago at San Jose. Costa Rica is in third place with 13 points, five ahead of Guatemala.
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In European qualifying, England was upset by host Northern Ireland, 1-0, at Belfast, putting Coach Sven Goran-Eriksson’s job in jeopardy.
England remained in second place in Group 6 behind Poland, which defeated Wales, 1-0, to open a five-point lead in the standings. England can still win the group with victories in its last two games.
In Group 4, Switzerland and France remained tied at the top. Switzerland defeated Cyprus, 3-1, and France edged Ireland, 1-0, on a goal by Thierry Henry.
Israel, a 2-0 winner over Faroe Islands, is one point behind.
Other teams that edged closer to a berth included: the Netherlands, a 4-0 winner over Andorra in Group 1; Portugal, which tied Russia, 0-0, and maintained a five-point lead in Group 3; Italy, a 4-1 winner over Belarus in Group 5; Serbia and Montenegro and Spain, which battled to a 1-1 tie and are first and second in Group 7; and Sweden, a 1-0 winner over Hungary, to take a one-point lead in Group 8.
Pro Hockey
The Mighty Ducks finally got Ruslan Salei under contract as he accepted his qualifying offer worth $1.824 million, but it also put the defenseman a step closer to becoming an unrestricted free agent.
The 30-year-old Salei can become an unrestricted free agent for the first time after the season. With Salei’s accepting the qualifying offer, the two sides cannot discuss a contract extension until after Jan. 1 as agreed on in the new collective bargaining agreement.
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Vincent Damphousse, 37, retired to end an 18-year NHL career in which the star center won a Stanley Cup title with Montreal in 1993.... Rick DiPietro, the first goaltender chosen with the top pick in the NHL draft in 2000, signed a $2.5-million, one-year contract with the New York Islanders.... The Detroit Red Wings accomplished one of their major off-season goals, re-signing forward Henrik Zetterberg to a four-year contract.
Pro Basketball
Free-agent point guard Damon Jones has reached agreement on a four-year, $16.1-million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said his agent, Mark Termini.
Jones, who spent last season with the Miami Heat and averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists, will be in Cleveland today to finalize the deal, Termini said.
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The Denver Nuggets signed free-agent guard Earl Watson, a former UCLA standout, bringing in the four-year veteran to bolster their backcourt. Watson averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 assists with the Memphis Grizzlies last season.
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Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett and other NBA stars will play in a game Sunday in Houston to benefit Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
TNT basketball analyst Kenny Smith organized the game at the Toyota Center. It will start at 2 p.m. PDT and will air on TNT at 8 p.m. PDT.
Jurisprudence
A Miami judge ordered former Oakland Raider center Barret Robbins jailed for at least two weeks because he possessed marijuana while awaiting trial on attempted murder charges stemming from a brawl with police.
Defense attorney Edward O’Donnell said Robbins, who has a history of mental illness, would get medication while jailed. He said his client has been doing well in treatment.
Judge Kevin Emas scheduled a hearing for Sept. 21 to see if Robbins could be treated elsewhere for his bipolar disorder.
Miscellany
Lance Armstrong plans to train with his team this winter, increasing speculation that he will end his retirement and attempt an eighth consecutive Tour de France win.
Discovery Channel team director Johan Bruyneel said Armstong “absolutely wants to be part of the training camp in December and wants to get fit to compete with the guys there.”
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James Blake and Robby Ginepri will join Andy Roddick on the U.S. Davis Cup team for its match in Belgium this month. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe also selected doubles specialists Bob and Mike Bryan for the Sept. 23-25 match in Leuven, Belgium.
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Chris Latham hit a first-inning grand slam to send the United States to a 12-6 victory over Puerto Rico in the Baseball World Cup at Amsterdam. The Americans (4-0) lead Group B in the 18-team tournament.
