Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace heads the group

CHARLOTTE, N. Matt Birk Jersey.C. -- Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace heads the group of five picked for the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday. Owner Leonard Wood and drivers Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas and Buck Baker joined Wallace in the halls fourth class. Baker was tied with Fireball Roberts for the fifth spot after voting, so a second vote was held to determine the final position. NASCAR Chairman Brian France said it was the first time since the hall began that the panel had to break a tie. Wallace, who was picked his first time as a finalist, won 55 Sprint Cup races in 706 starts and won the 1989 championship. He now works as a broadcaster. The five men will be inducted in ceremonies at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in February. Wallace said his first clue he mightve become a Hall of Famer was when he was ushered to the front row moments before the ceremony. "Im always one whos late to the party," he joked. When Wallaces name came up, he was hugged by son Greg and one of his old crew chiefs, Robin Pemberton. Wallace is ninth on the Sprint Cup wins list and was a short-track master with 25 of his victories coming at Bristol, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Richmond. "Im just humbled, I really am," he said. Wood joins his brother, Glen, who was picked for the hall last year. The Wood Brothers team was credited as pioneers of the modern pit stop. Leonard, alongside Glen and Delano Wood, was the teams chief mechanic. Leonard Wood won 96 races and 117 poles in 900 races as a crew chief. Owens had success as a driver and owner in NASCAR. He won nine races in NASCARs premier series and finished second for the 1959 championship to Hall of Famer Lee Petty. Owens later hired Hall of Fame drivers in Junior Johnson and David Pearson, winning 38 times as an owner. Thomas, who died in 2000, is considered one of NASCARs first superstars by winning championships in 1951 and 1953 and finishing second in 1952 and 1954. Buck Baker became the first NASCAR driver to win consecutive championships in 1956 and 1957. Hes 14th on the career list with 46 wins. Baker died in 2002. The five were picked by a panel of 54 in what France said was the most difficult selection since voting began. Thomas and Leonard Wood each got 57 per cent of the vote with Wallace receiving 52 per cent and Owens 50 per cent. Baker and Roberts each received 39 per cent of the ballots, requiring overtime to break the tie. The five came from a pool of 25 nominees selected last month. Arthur Jones Jersey. Brazil right back Maicon opened the scoring in the ninth minute at the San Siro and midfielder Andrea Poli doubled the lead with his first goal for Inter in the 50th, giving the Milan club its seventh consecutive win in all competitions. Ed Reed Jersey. 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Rose scored 26 points and had 13 assists and Deng added 21 points in his return after missing seven games due to injury, as the Chicago Bulls easily beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-90 Saturday night. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jetlagged or not, the Sacramento Kings were determined not to be the team the Charlotte Bobcats beat to end their long losing streak. The Kings made the most of a rare late-season cross country trip to the East coast and throttled the hapless Bobcats 114-88 Sunday night behind a dominant effort from DeMarcus Cousins, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds. It was Charlottes franchise-record 20th straight loss. The Kings had lost nine of their previous 10 games, but this one was never in doubt as they scored 78 points inside the paint and led by 35 in the fourth quarter. Cousins did most of the damage in the lane, but Tyreke Evans was masterful in slicing his way through a non-existent Bobcats defence, hitting 10 of 11 shots from the field -- most of them on drives to the lane -- and finishing with 22 points. Jason Thompson flirted with a triple double, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings. "We did a good job getting to the hole," Cousins said. "They didnt have a lot of size and we took advantage of it." Bobcats coach Paul Silas agreed. "Its difficult," Silas said. "We only have three big men (because of injuries) and its been hard on these guys to keep going. Thats basically all we have. When a team comes like they have with big guys and theyre banging it is hard." Kemba Walker had 13 points and 11 assists for the Bobcats, who are nearing an NBA record for futility. If the Bobcats (7-56) lose their final three games, theyll finish with the worst winning percentage in league history. They travel to face Washington and Orlando before closing the regular season at home Thursday night against New York. The 26-point win was the largest margin of victory this season for the Kings. About the only thing that didnt go right was Cousins was picking up his 13th technical foul, which comes with an automatic one-game suspension. Cousins appeared to exchange words with rookie Bismack Biyombo as the two ran back down the court after a Sacramento basket, drawing a double technical. Cousins shook his head when asked about it after the game, saying, "Its part of being DeMarcus Cousins." He said he plans to appeal to the league. The Bobcats simply had no answers defensively for the Kings, who scored at will in the lanne and made the most of their transition game, scoring 38 points on fast breaks. Cary Williams Jersey Evans was almost unstoppable when he put the ball on the floor, seemingly driving to the hole as easy as a knife going through warm butter. "When he is in an aggressive mode, there are very few people who can keep him in front," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "And then if he doesnt look to attack, he gets his teammates involved. Im trying to grow him into a new position and hes still going to have the ball in his hands 60 per cent of the time. Its only going to help him. Its going to bring his whole game and career on top to where he wants it to be." The Kings came in with the NBAs worst defence, giving up 104.6 points per game, but the Bobcats only shot 44 per cent and managed 88 points. It was the first time in 39 games the Kings held an opponent to fewer than 93 points. "The biggest thing now is having some pride as men," said Bobcats forward Tyrus Thomas. "Not so much as basketball players. Weve got to fight it out every second until the horn blows." This horn might as well have blown in the first quarter of this one. The Kings started quickly, bolting to a 22-6 lead eight minutes into the game after shooting 65 per cent from the field. All but four of those points came inside the paint and 11 came in transition. Sacramento didnt let up, building a 59-44 lead at the half behind 55 per cent shooting. Cousins scored 20 of his points in the second half as the Kings pushed their lead to 26 in the third quarter. "When we flew in last night, we knew a fast start was something we needed to do," Smart said. "I thought we had the right energy from our starting lineup. We got off to the great start that we needed and we sustained it through the half. We were a little lethargic to start the second half, but I kept the starters out too long because the other guys were playing well. But they regrouped and got it back together." NOTES: Bobcats guard Reggie Williams had cleared his concussion test before the game and was ready to play, but his knee tightened up and he wound up sitting out. ... Former Boston Celtics star Robert Parish, who lives in the Charlotte area, was at the game. ... The Kings shot 55 per cent from the field, their best effort of the season. ' ' '