The great races

Expect a great finish to the baseball season

The dog days of summer have arrived, the time when in baseball we separate the men from the boys.

Here's how I see things as we head down the stretch.

First, Tony Pena and the Kansas City Royals have to be the American League's story of the year. No one gave them a prayer and they have hung around the top of the AL Central all season. Pena is my manager of the year.

The Oakland A's continue to amaze me. At this writing, they don't have anyone hitting over .275. But they have an incredible pitching staff and they sure know how to play the game.

The Seattle Mariners are playing just as expected.

The Yankees have their problems ... but so do the runner-up Red Sox.

The White Sox will be right there at the end. And don't count out the Twins. The biggest disappointment has to be the defending World Series champs, the Anaheim Angels.

In the National League, the surprises are self-evident. No one thought the Giants would be this good, but they sure are. This is an old team, but they've been impressive right out of the gate.

The National League Central will go down to the wire. The Cardinals appear to have the edge with the best mix of hitting, pitching and defense, but the Astros and Cubs will not go quietly.

Atlanta is the league's best team. The Braves are well-managed and they know how to play the game. It would not surprise me to see them go all the way, especially with John Smoltz in the bullpen.

It's gonna be a great finish.

	I knew and liked the late Herb Brooks a great deal. His coaching of the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team has to be one of the great feats in American sports history. He loved the game and was a grand ambassador. His place is etched in history.
	Another major golf tournament this weekend and naturally Tiger Woods is the big story. He's in a 0-for-5 slump in major tournaments but I don't think that will last much longer. There's a lot of fine players in the game, but week in and week out Tiger is most consistently the best.
	I think the Los Angeles Clippers may surprise some people in the NBA this year. I ran into their new coach, Mike Dunleavy, the other day and he tells me that he expects the squad to fast break all year long. The Clippers just might have the tools to edge into the playoffs.
	I know auto racing is most popular sport in America from the point of view of attendance and consistent television viewership. And I know the drivers are pure athletes who need incredible skill and coordination. But I just can't get interested in a sport in which they keep going round and round and I have trouble figuring our who is in the lead at any given moment.
	The college football season is right around the corner. Preseason rankings are meaningless because they have to play the games first. If they ever figure out a way to have a playoff and there is a true national champion, college football could well become the country's most popular team sport.

To send me a question or a comment about sports, click here. The best will appear here weekly.
	Do you agree that the Kobe Bryant affair will end abruptly and he will be set free? Do you think he will be actually be prosecuted? Serve time? -- Betty Bee, Chicago
	I have no way of predicting how the legal system will turn out in United States. For the Kobe Bryant matter to end abruptly, it would require the dropping of the charges against him and I don't see that happening. Under Colorado law if he is convicted, prison time is mandatory.
	For the first time in 32 years the U.S. men's basketball team did not win a medal in the Pan American Games. U.S. coach Tom Izzo said, "I think we learned how passionate other countries are about basketball." But I wonder if our players are more concerned about their individual game, instead of team play. -- Gerald L. Guindon, Escanaba, Mich.
	I didn't watch the Pan American games but I agree with Tom Izzo that other countries are very passionate about roundball. It could be that the U.S. players are concerned with their individual games, but I don't know that as a fact.
	Larry, did you ever see the 1949 movie The Story of Seabiscuit with Barry FitzGerald and Shirley Temple? If you did see it, how would you rank it with the new Seabiscuit movie? -- Big Ed, Linden, N.J.
	Yes, I saw The Story of Seabiscuit, but it couldn't hold a candle to the current film, which I think is already the favorite in many categories for an Academy Award. The earlier movie didn't have many facts in it. The current film is a classic.

Larry King is celebrating his 45th year in broadcasting. He is the host of Larry King Live, which airs every weeknight at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. Sports a la King will appear on SI.com every Wednesday.