In Monday’s “First Call,” former Pittsburgh Steelers rival Vontaze Burfict fires back at Joey Porter Sr. and Jr.

Another ex-Steeler signs in Philadelphia. The Pirates are about to take on Major League Baseball’s best team.

And we have some reaction to the Erik Karlsson trade from San Jose’s point of view after the Penguins acquired the Sharks’ Norris Trophy winner.

Like father, like son

Joey Porter Jr. has yet to play a game in the NFL. But he has already managed to do something his father was very good at doing during his time as a Steeler.

Agitating former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

During an appearance on the NFL Network over the weekend, Porter Jr. was asked who he hated the most during his time growing up as a Steelers fan. His response was Burfict.

Joey Porter Jr on who he hated most growing up as a Steelers Fan:

“ Vontaze Burfict.”#steelers

YT/NFL Network pic.twitter.com/7wdsTrXGzZ

— matthew luciow (@Luciow1992) August 6, 2023

Burfict was easily the most disliked opposing player among Pittsburgh sports fans for a number of years. After all, he concussed Antonio Brown during a 2015 playoff game, allegedly celebrated injuring Le’Veon Bell after a sideline tackle, was accused of stomping on players’ feet after the whistle, got into a scrum with David DeCastro, was fined in 2018 for hitting James Conner and Brown again, and took a run at Ben Roethlisberger’s legs.

Just to name a few incidents off the top of my head.

Of course, Brown getting laid out by Burfict precipitated Adam “Pacman” Jones shoving Joey Porter Sr. — then a Steelers linebackers coach — while he was on the field as doctors tended to Brown during that 2015 playoff game. Those 30 yards of penalties aided the Steelers in setting up Chris Boswell for a game-winning field goal.

When Burfict saw Porter Jr.’s clip on the NFL Network, he posted a profanity-filled message on social media.

“I’m happy yo daddy got stories about me, but (expletive) yo daddy,” Burfict said. “And for y’all that still watch this rigged (expletive) NFL, what kind of question was that on national TV?”

Burfict also went after the NFL and the network for talking about him even though he has been out of the league since 2019.

Myles’s next move

Ex-Steelers linebacker Myles Jack has a new football home, and it’s at the other end of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Sunday evening, the Philadelphia Eagles announced that they had signed Jack and former Titans and Texans linebacker Zach Cunningham. Both men inked one-year contracts.

Eagles have agreed to terms with LB Myles Jack and LB Zach Cunningham on one-year deals. pic.twitter.com/pJUDjwkeNw

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 6, 2023

Jack is the second Steeler from last year’s defense to head out to the eastern end of the state. Safety Terrell Edmunds did the same thing via free agency in late March.

The Steelers released Jack on March 16 after just one season in Pittsburgh. His dead-cap charge for this season is $3.25 million, but they still saved $8 million by doing so. The 27-year-old led the team in tackles (104), but just three were for a loss. He had no sacks, no interceptions, no forced fumbles and no fumble recoveries.

Injuries slowed Jack throughout the season. He wound up with a 53.6 grade from Pro Football Focus. Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts are the likely starters at ILB this season, with Kwon Alexander and Mark Robinson getting reps as well.

More sports

• No rookies named starters as Steelers unveil initial depth chart of preseason • Mark Madden: Penguins' Kyle Dubas is a miracle worker • Tim Benz: For Penguins, Erik Karlsson trade is a case of 'to thine own self be true'

Top dogs

After splitting a four-game series in Milwaukee, the Pirates return home to host the best team in Major League Baseball.

At 70-39, the Atlanta Braves have a .642 winning-percentage, tops in MLB. They lead the National League East by 10½ games over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies. Their plus-163 run differential is the best in the National League by 50 runs over the NL’s next best team, the Los Angeles Dodgers (plus-113).

Atlanta has the second most runs scored in the NL (619), the second fewest runs allowed (456), the most homers (212), the best team OPS (.839), the best team batting average (.270), the second-most hits (1,003), the third-best team ERA (3.86) and the second-highest staff strikeout total (1,012).

Aside from that, they haven’t been very good this year, I guess.

Oh, and as the Braves hit PNC Park, they have 33 road victories — the highest total in the National League. Also, Spencer Strider is getting the start for Atlanta in the opener Monday night. He leads MLB with 208 strikeouts and is tied for second (with Tampa Bay’s Zach Eflin) in wins with 12.

That said, Atlanta is coming off a rare series loss, having dropped two of three over the weekend to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Meanwhile, the Pirates have either won or split their last four series.

View from the other side

Sheng Peng, a recent guest of ours on the “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, covers the San Jose Sharks for San Jose Hockey Now and NBC Sports Bay Area. This is his assessment of the Penguins trade for San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson.

“While a potential first-round lottery pick is a shiny bauble, I feel as if general manager Mike Grier and owner Hasso Plattner left something on the table here — at least for Karlsson,” Peng wrote. “I would argue that you could have gotten an extra asset or two, say a second-round pick, if you retained even a little more (salary). Also, you still would’ve had cap flexibility if the cap goes up as expected next summer.”

It’s Peng’s suggestion that the Sharks would’ve been better served retaining more of Karlsson’s $11.5 million salary than the $1.5 million they did. And then, they could’ve milked something better than just the first-round pick Pittsburgh yielded and the bad contracts attached to Jan Rutta and Mikael Granlund that they were dying to ditch.

WE HAVE BIG TRADE NEWS TO ANNOUNCE

The Penguins have acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson, forward Rem Pitlick, forward Dillon Hamaliuk and a 2026 third-round draft pick in a three-team trade involving the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens.

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 6, 2023

“While the Sharks are taking on more AAV than Karlsson’s $11.5 million this coming season, $12.25 million between Granlund, (Mike) Hoffman (via Montreal), and Rutta, they’ll start to see significant cap savings for the 2025-26 season and beyond. The obvious question: What’s the point of all this cap space? A lot of people don’t think the Sharks will be competitive by then,” Peng added.

Karlsson will count $10 million against the Penguins cap, the most of anyone on the team at 12% of the franchise’s overall budget. As of now according to Cap Friendly, the Pens are $79,342 over the cap.

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