Fat Guy’s Corner

Big winners

Did the 2008 Buick Open spark Kenny Perry’s golf game? It must have. Kenny won the John Deere Classic over the weekend in a one-hole playoff. The John Deere Classic win was his third win in his last five starts.

The 47-year-old is playing some tremendous golf right now. Brad Adamonis and Jay Williamson are not household names in the golf world, but they forced Perry to play an extra hole of golf to win. If you root for underdogs, those two players would have been good choices. Perry is skipping the British Open and playing in Milwaukee this weekend. It’s a shame Perry isn’t playing in the British Open with the way he is playing golf right now. He is the hottest golfer on the PGA Tour.

Lucky seven

Kyle Busch just keeps on winning. The 23-year-old posted his seventh win of the year over the weekend. Busch took advantage of a caution flag very late in the race and passed Jimmie Johnson on the restart. If there were no caution flag, Jimmie Johnson would have been the winner. Oh well. Busch is having a racing season of a lifetime in 2008. He is not the most popular guy on the NASCAR circuit, but you have to give him his due. The Busch race car currently is hotter than a firecracker.

Summer Classic

The halfway point in baseball has arrived, as the All-Star game was played Tuesday night. Yankee Stadium was the host of the 2008 mid-summer classic. The Yankees are playing their last season in the old ballpark, so it’s only fitting that Yankee Stadium hosted the All-Star game. All that tradition and all those Yankee championships, this old ballpark has memories galore, way too many to list. Remember this, though, the winner gets home field advantage in the World Series. Prediction: American League 6, National League 3.

Crystal cheese ball

Every year at the All-Star break, the Fat Guy takes a look at the races in the divisions and gives you his winners. So here we go.

The American League East will be a three-team race with the Red Sox, Tampa Bay and the Yankees. Tampa Bay has been the surprise team of the year, for sure. They have six starting pitchers between the ages of 24 and 26. Baseball fans, this team is the real deal. However, Boston will win this division. Boston has had injury issues in the first half of the 2008 season. I love their experience over Tampa Bay’s youth and lack of experience. The Yankees will not make the postseason in 2008. Bank on that one.

The American League Central is a wide-open three-team race. The White Sox, Twins and Tigers will battle it out over the last three months. Here is the stat of the division: Minnesota is 27-17 in division play. Chicago is 24-17 in division play. Detroit a pitiful 14-24 with zero wins against the Kansas City Royals. I am sticking with my choice of the Tigers to win this division. I don’t know why, either. How did they lose three out of four to the Twins at home?

The American League West race is over. The Angels win this in a runaway. The other three teams stink — badly.

Here is how I see the National League shaping up. In the East, the Phillies will hold off the New York Mets. The Mets are playing good baseball since Willie Randolph got the ziggy. I love the Phillies’ lineup, and that will be the difference. The Cubbies and Brewers will fight for the Central division title. Flip a coin, and it comes up Cubbies. Sorry, Milwaukee.

The worst division in baseball is the National League West. Arizona or the Dodgers? Ummm. It comes up tails, so give the weak-hitting Dodgers the edge over the snakes of Arizona.

I can always be reached at thefatguy@viewnewspapers.net.