Burke Sports Talk

NBA Rockets sign C Steven Adams to three-year, $39 million contract extension Adams was slated to be a free agent this summer, so this agreement keeps him off the market. A soon-to-be 32-year-old averaging 3.9 points per game wouldn’t normally command attention, but the center is a different breed. A winner at nearly all of…

MLB Brewers receive: 1B Andrew Vaughn White Sox receive: SP Aaron Civale This one came together fast. On Thursday, Civale requested a trade from the Brewers after losing his spot in the starting rotation. On the surface, a player of Civale’s caliber shouldn’t have the authority to ask for a trade, but the 30-year-old is…

NFL Vikings sign TE Josh Oliver to three-year, $23.25 million contract extension This pact is a bit rich for a backup tight end, even one of Oliver’s caliber. The 28-year-old mostly shines as a blocker alongside pass-catching threat T.J. Hockenson. There’s value in that archetype, but Minnesota would’ve been better suited by finding a cheaper…

NFL Jaguars sign P Logan Cooke to four-year, $16 million contract extension Jacksonville wasn’t good last season, finishing just 4-13. The Jaguars did, however, roster two of the top special teams players in the league in Cooke and Ross Matiscik. Jacksonville previously awarded Matiscik with a contract extension in 2022, and now Cooke will receive…

NFL Ravens sign WR Rashod Bateman to three-year, $36.75 million contract extension Death, taxes, and the Ravens having unwavering belief in Rashod Bateman. Baltimore’s trust makes sense, though, as the franchise drafted the 25-year-old in the first round in 2021. It took several years, but Bateman delivered his best season in 2024, recording 45 receptions…

NBA Suns hire Jordan Ott as head coach The Suns need stability. This job has been a revolving door since Mike D’Antoni held it from 2003-2008, leading to Ott being the 11th Suns head coach since then. To make matters worse, he’ll be Phoenix’s fourth head coach in the last four seasons, as Monty Williams,…

NBA Knicks fire head coach Tom Thibodeau There was talk of Thibodeau being on the hot seat all season, so this move isn’t exactly surprising. This decision is, however, a sign that the Knicks are drawing a line in the sand. It’s now abundantly clear who New York feels was holding the franchise back. There’s…

MLB Rangers 8, Cardinals 1 Is Marcus Semien beginning to bounce back? It’s too soon to tell, but the second baseman had a great series against the Cardinals, his first productive stretch since late April. The Rangers need the 2024 — or even better, the 2023 — version of Semien to win the AL West.…

NBA Pacers 125, Knicks 108 What a run for the Pacers. I wasn’t high on Indiana entering this year — or these playoffs — so I checked my season predictions from back in October. Lo and behold, I pegged the Pacers for a 42-40 record, good for eighth in the East. In this case, I’m…

MLB Orioles fire manager Brandon Hyde This is early to fire a manager, but the 15-28 Orioles have greatly underachieved. Winning 101 games in 2023 and 91 last season, expectations were high for Baltimore this year. A talented group of young position players was the main reason, leading to the assumption of a normal progression…

NFL 49ers sign QB Brock Purdy to five-year, $265 million contract extension San Francisco’s competitive advantage is over. After selecting Purdy with the final pick of the 2022 draft, the 49ers quickly realized they had one of the NFL’s best bargains on their hands. To its credit, San Francisco took advantage of that, appearing in…

MLB Pirates fire manager Derek Shelton and name Don Kelly interim manager It’s zero fault of Shelton’s that Pittsburgh, year after year, fails to spend at a competitive rate. That lack of effort obviously makes it hard for any manager to win with the Pirates, yet the 54-year-old’s teams in 2023 and 2024 fared reasonably…

NBA Spurs hire Mitch Johnson as head coach It’s a new era for the Spurs. This decision follows Gregg Popovich stepping down as head coach and transitioning to team president. The Popovich move was expected, and it’ll take some time to get used to a new man patrolling the sidelines in San Antonio. This is…

NFL 49ers sign TE George Kittle to four-year, $76.4 million contract extension Kittle, 31, is still the NFL’s best tight end, so extending him was a no-brainer for San Francisco. The only question now is why the agreement took so long. The 49ers’ financial concerns are certainly a reason as to why, and the roster…

NBA Bucks PG Damian Lillard out for season with torn left Achilles tendon This news felt like a real possibility when Lillard went down with a non-contact injury on Sunday night, but that doesn’t make it any less devastating. With Milwaukee trailing Indiana 3-1, the Bucks’ season is likely all but over, and the bigger…

Round 1 1. Titans: QB Cam Ward Ward was the presumed pick at this spot for weeks — if not months — and rightfully so. While not quite the best player in this draft, the Miami passer has a legitimate chance of establishing himself as a franchise quarterback. That matters for the Titans, an organization…

NFL Eagles sign C Cam Jurgens to four-year, $68 million contract extension The Eagles are consistently proactive in signing key players to contract extensions — a mark of a well-run franchise — and this is yet another example. My one gripe with this deal is that it pays Jurgens top dollar for a center, and…

It’s finally here — my favorite post of the year. As planned, this big board is, well, bigger than ever, including more prospects, information, and player comparisons — a favorite of some — than prior versions. This is my 23rd year following the NFL Draft, and I enjoy it now more than ever before. From…

NBA Kings fire general manager Monte McNair This is being framed as a mutual parting of ways, and in this case, I believe it was. Still, the key component of mutual decisions is that both sides wanted it to happen. That, of course, means that the Kings wanted McNair gone — that’s a firing in…

NBA Pelicans hire Joe Dumars as president of basketball operations Dumars’ catalog of achievements as an executive is hard to match, but at 61, it’s fair to wonder if the game has passed him by. The league has changed, and many of Dumars’ greatest front office accomplishments — NBA Executive of the Year and NBA…