Burke Sports Talk

MLB Cubs 5, Cardinals 1 How bad have things been going for the Cubs? Prior to this win, Chicago hadn’t beaten a team by more than three runs since May 15th — one month ago — against the Braves. Suffice to say, the 34-37 Cubs needed this victory, one aided by the indomitable Shota Imanaga.…

NCAAF 2025 four-star S Kainoa Winston commits to Michigan Michigan has been lagging on the recruiting trail since Sherrone Moore was promoted to head coach, so receiving Winston’s pledge is a nice boost for the Wolverines. Winston, the No. 88 player for 2025, instantly becomes arguably the best player in Michigan’s 40th-ranked class. NCAAB Illinois…

MLB Brewers 5, Blue Jays 4 The 40-28 Brewers are very adept at winning close games, a trend that’s been in place for a few years. Much of the credit in previous seasons went to Craig Counsell, but perhaps it was misplaced, at least to a degree. Pat Murphy has done a good job in…

My NBA Draft big board is well underway and will likely be posted the week of the draft — probably on Monday or Tuesday. It’s a weak draft — no doubt about it — but it will surely produce effective NBA players. MLB Orioles 5, Rays 2 With Baltimore opting to bat Gunnar Henderson leadoff,…

NFL Chiefs sign WR Mecole Hardman to one-year contract Monetary details for this contract weren’t released, but I’m guessing it’s a cheap deal. Kansas City, with Rashee Rice’s legal issues and Marquise Brown being a new addition, has a lot of uncertainty at wide receiver, so it makes sense for the franchise to bring back…

NFL 49ers sign RB Christian McCaffrey to two-year, $38 million contract extension While this is framed as a contract extension, in actuality, the 49ers ripped up McCaffrey’s old two-year deal and replaced it with a four-year, $62.2 million contract. Either way, the new money in this pact averages at $19 million per year, far above…

NFL Vikings sign WR Justin Jefferson to four-year, $140 million contract extension The 24 year old is almost certainly the best wide receiver in the sport, but the market for the position has run amok. Don’t get me wrong, wideouts deserve their fair share — they’re less valuable than only quarterbacks, left tackles, edge rusher…

MLB Pirates 8, Blue Jays 1 I mentioned Paul Skenes and Jared Jones yesterday as Pirates starters captivating attention, but Mitch Keller deserves to be mentioned with those two. In fact, Keller has been effective as a Pirate for longer than both Skenes and Jones, and is arguably better than ever in 2024. In this…

NBA Pelicans defer Lakers’ first-round pick to 2025 Due to this deferral, Los Angeles will keep the No. 17 pick in this year’s draft, while New Orleans now owns the Lakers’ unprotected 2025 first-round selection. This is the right call by the Pelicans. For starters, it’s typically better to hold an unprotected first-round pick than…

NFL Dolphins sign WR Jaylen Waddle to three-year, $84.75 million contract extension The wide receiver market is getting at least a bit out of control, and regression feels possible at some point, but clearly not yet. This is … a lot …. of money for Waddle, a talented 25-year-old pass catcher, but not in contention…

NFL 49ers sign WR Jauan Jennings to two-year, $15.4 million contract Jennings was initially tendered as a restricted free agent, so this contract serves as a replacement for that. Both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are up for contract extensions, so it’s interesting that San Francisco opted to address Jennings’ situation first. The 26-year-old recorded…

NCAAB 2024 SG Egor Demin commits to BYU The Kevin Young era is off to a good start in Provo. BYU doesn’t normally attract high-profile commits, but Demin certainly is one — a tall, offensive-minded guard that could be a top-10 pick in 2025. When considering fit, Demin should play well with Dallin Hall, a…

MLB Orioles 11, Red Sox 3 Baltimore’s lineup is unrelenting. The Orioles consistently get contributions from the usual suspects — Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman — but there are many other threats up and down the order. Kyle Stowers is just getting back into action for the O’s, but he’s made his mark, including a…

NBA Mavericks 116, Timberwolves 107 Minnesota had the league’s best defense this season, but as it turns out, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are the perfect antidote to an elite stop unit. I predicted the Timberwolves to win this series in seven games — a fair battle between two seemingly evenly-matched foes — but this…

NCAAF 2025 four-star CB Mark Zackery commits to Notre Dame It’s always important for programs to protect their turf and win recruiting battles for in-state players. Zackery, the No. 135 prospect for 2025 and an Indiana native, fits that goal for the Fighting Irish, who edged out Michigan and Cincinnati for the cornerback’s services. Notre…

NCAAB North Florida transfer SG Chaz Lanier commits to Tennessee Let’s get this out of the way — there’s no player in college basketball that Tennessee could add to fully replace Dalton Knecht. The one-year Volunteer was a shooting star for Tennessee, averaging 21.7 points per game on his way to being named a first-team…

NBA Cavaliers fire head coach J.B. Bickerstaff This decision seems to be about the organization taking the next step. Bickerstaff lifted the Cavaliers from the lows of the John Beilein era to an above average team in less than two years, a feat surely appreciated by the organization, but not enough for it to search…

MLB Cardinals 3, Orioles 1 MLB has been flush with excellent closers in 2024, and Ryan Helsley is right there with the best of them. St. Louis’ closer throws absolute heat, freezing helpless batters on a consistent basis. Helsley recorded save No. 15 in this game, a contest postponed to yesterday due to inclement weather.…

NFL RB David Johnson retires Johnson obviously won’t be enshrined in Canton, but the former Cardinal, Texan and Saint was arguably the best back in the league in 2016, uplifting an underachieving 7-8-1 Arizona team. The Northern Iowa product could do it all with his rushing and receiving abilities, consistently weaving his way through and…

NCAAB Texas transfer PF Dillon Mitchell commits to Cincinnati Mitchell becomes the Bearcats’ second quality addition via the portal, joining Connor Hickman. The Texas transfer is a high-upside forward that should propel Cincinnati into the top 25 to begin next season. Mitchell averaged 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 2024.