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On Tuesday we crowned a new NBA champion and then last night we crowned a new Stanley Cup winner. It was the first championships for both the Denver Nuggets and the Vegas Golden Knights.

On Tuesday the Nuggets were able to close out the NBA finals with a 94-89 win over the Miami Heat. Nikola Jokic was named the series MVP and in the clinching game he posted a double-double scoring a game high 28 points and grabbing a game high 16 rebounds.

Last night the Golden Knights cruised to a 9-3 win in Game 5 to take the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights never trailed last night as they scored the only 2 goals of the 1st period. Then they added 4 goals in the 2nd period and topped things off with 3 3rd period goals. Jonathan Marchessault was named the Conn Smythe trophy winner which is the award given to the MVP of the playoffs. Marchessault finished the postseason tied for first with 13 goals and ranked second with 25 points.

So, with the NBA and the NHL seasons all wrapped up that just leaves sports fans with Major League Baseball until the National Football League starts up. Of course, every sport is year-round now, so there will be reports from every sport moving forward, but as of now Major League Baseball is playing the only games that count.

So as of right now the division leaders are the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East, the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central and the Texas Rangers in the American League West. Over in the National League it’s the Atlanta Braves who are currently leading the National League East while the Pittsburgh Pirates are in 1st place in the National League Central and the Arizona Diamondbacks are leading the National League West.

The Rays and the Braves have the biggest division leads at 4 games. Texas is right there with a 3 1/2 game lead while the Diamondbacks have a 3-game lead. The Twins have a 2 1/2 game lead while Pittsburgh has the smallest division lead at just 1 game.

Now it’s unclear how long these teams will stay in 1st place or even if they’ll factor into the playoff race when everything is said and done, but I have to tell you it’s had to not root for the Pirates and the Diamondbacks to hang around in the playoff and division races.

I’m not sure how you’re feeling about these two teams, but I think it’s nice to see an underdog like the Pirates hanging around in what is a bad division while the Diamondbacks seem to be a young and up and coming team that might be playing a little over their head right now. Of course, if Arizona continues to play as well as they have, they’ll start to believe in themselves and being a young team won’t be the negative that some people look at it as.

I think the biggest question for both Pittsburgh and Arizona might be if they’re willing to try and add top tier players at the trade deadline.

The Pirates are a small market club, but would they be willing to add a “rent-a-player” type of veteran for a run at the division title? If the team that the Pirates make a deal with would be willing to pick up a big chunk of a player’s salary that make help Pittsburgh add something they need.

The Diamondbacks have a pretty good minor league system, but would they be willing to move a few pf those players to add what they might need to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers and hold off the other teams in their division.

As we move closer and closer to the trade deadline will have to see were the Pirates and the Diamondbacks are in the standings and if adding to their existing roster could help them find their way into the playoffs.

Pittsburgh hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2015 season while the Diamondbacks last playoff appearance was in 2017. Is it possible that either or both of these teams find their way into the playoffs. Maybe they don’t get in as division winners, but don’t forget that there is an extra wild card spot now, so maybe one or both of them could find their way into the playoffs that way.

Let me know what you think. Are you rooting for the Pirates and the Diamondbacks to make the playoffs? If so, how do you think they’ll get in as division winners or as wild card teams?

Don’t forget to look me up on Twitter, I’m @Burketime.