U.S. wins 2-0; clinches berth in World Cup

Soccer: The United States clinched its seventh straight World Cup appearance, beating Mexico 2-0 Tuesday night on second-half goals by Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan before a raucous red-white-and-blue-clad crowd that stood and chanted from start to finish in Columbus, Ohio.

After withstanding Mexican pressure for the first 20 minutes, the U.S. settled in the match and got the breakthrough in the 49th minute when Johnson outjumped defender Diego Reyes to meet Donovan’s corner kick 8 yards out and head the ball past frozen goalkeeper Jesus Corona.

With Mexico shifting to an offense-minded 3-4-3 formation, the U.S. scored in the 78th following a throw in when Mix Diskerud threaded the ball across the middle. Clint Dempsey got the slightest of touches as he slid into the goalmouth, and Donovan poked the ball in from 2 yards out.

The U.S. (5-2-1) moved into first place in the North and Central American and Caribbean finals with 16 points, one ahead of Costa Rica (4-1-3), which was held to a 1-1 tie at last-place Jamaica and also clinched.

“Obviously this is a huge, huge evening for all of us,” U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “It’s a huge milestone whenever you make it to a World Cup.”

The top three teams qualify, and the U.S. had to wait an hour after the final whistle to learn it was assured of a spot in the 32-nation field for Brazil next June. But when Honduras (3-3-2) held on for a 2-2 tie against Panama (1-2-5) in Tegucigalpa, the Americans had grabbed a berth with two games to spare.

• Italy, Netherlands qualify: I taly and the Netherlands became the first European teams to qualify for next year’s World Cup.

Giorgio Chiellini scored in the 51st minute and Mario Balotelli converted a penalty kick in the 54th, giving Italy a 2-1 comeback win over the Czech Republic in Turin, Italy.

Van Persie’s goals in the 49th and 53rd minutes lifted the Netherlands to a 2-0 win at Andorra. The Oranje (7-0-1), a three-time World Cup runner-up, won Group D.

Mistake costly for U.S. team

Sailing: Emirates Team New Zealand has taken advantage of a mistake by defending champion Oracle Team USA to win Race 5 of the America’s Cup in a runaway on San Francisco Bay.

Oracle Team USA led on the first two legs and then called for a foiling tack, a radical, quick turn around the downwind mark. Something went wrong and the boat practically came to a stop. Oracle went from a lead of about 140 meters to trailing by 300 meters halfway up the beat toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Kiwis won by 1 minute, 5 seconds.

Team New Zealand leads 4 to minus-1 and needs five more wins to claim the oldest trophy in international sports.

Pac-12 suspends Beavers’ Stevenson

College football: Oregon State running back Jovan Stevenson has been suspended for the first half of the Beavers’ game at Utah on Saturday.

The Pac-12 Conference suspended Stevenson for a late hit on a defenseless opponent during Oregon State’s 33-14 victory over Hawaii last Saturday.

The foul occurred on a punt return late in the first half.

• Buckeyes QB probable: Ohio State coach Urban Meyer says he is “fairly optimistic” that injured quarterback Braxton Miller will be able to play when the fourth-ranked Buckeyes play at California on Saturday.

Meyer hopes that Miller will not suffer any setbacks and will be able to take part in Ohio State’s practice today.

• Georgia receiver has surgery: Georgia receiver Malcolm Mitchell is expected to recover for the start of the 2014 season after having surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

• Bobcat out six weeks: Montana State football coach Rob Ash says wide receiver Tanner Roderick is out for about six weeks with a hand injury suffered in last Saturday’s game at SMU.

MSU also lost starting quarterback DeNarius McGhee for several weeks after he suffered a separated shoulder in the SMU game. Officials have said he’ll be out until sometime next month.

Ash has said Jake Bleskin will start at quarterback in MSU’s home game against Colorado Mesa on Saturday.

Bowyer apologizes, but sidesteps answer

Motor sports: Clint Bowyer would not say whether he intentionally spun his car in an effort to keep Ryan Newman from winning at Richmond.

In his first public appearance since NASCAR sanctioned Michael Waltrip Racing, Bowyer said he had apologized to Newman in a phone call, but said it was because the spin cost him a victory — and the apology was simply racer protocol.

Asked specifically if the apology was an admission he spun intentionally, Bowyer didn’t answer directly. “Let’s not dig too much into this,” he said.

• Massa quits Ferrari: Felipe Massa says he is leaving Ferrari at the end of the 2013 season, leaving the path clear for Kimi Raikkonen to join the Italian team as the new partner for Fernando Alonso.

Maple Leafs sign Kadri for two years

Hockey: Nazem Kadri signed a two-year, $5.8 million deal, ending contract talks between the restricted free agent center and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kadri had 18 goals and 26 assists in 48 games during the lockout-shortened 2013 season.

The 22-year-old wanted a long-term contract from the Maple Leafs. Instead, Kadri and Toronto agreed to a so-called “bridge” deal that gives him another two years to prove his value.