First Call: Plaxico Burress sells Super Bowl ring for big money; Penguins prospect loses fight badly
In Monday’s “First Call,” a former Pittsburgh Steeler had to sell his Super Bowl ring, but the price may have been worth it.
Alex Ovechkin bounced back after a quiet game against the Penguins. An ex-Steelers defensive back is hanging up his cleats.
And a Penguins farmhand may want to hang up his fighting career.
‘Ring’ing endorsement
Former Steeler Plaxico Burress just sold his New York Giants Super Bowl ring for a big haul.
According to Darren Rovell of cllct media it brought in $280,600. He says that’s the most money ever paid for a player’s Super Bowl ring, beating out Lawrence Taylor’s Giants ring from Super Bowl XXV. That one went for $230,000.
BREAKING: Plaxico Burress' Giants Super Bowl ring has just sold for $280,600 at @HeritageAuction.
It is the highest ever paid for a Super Bowl player ring, beating out Lawrence Taylor's Giants ring from Super Bowl XXV ($230K). pic.twitter.com/VZeFb8pVJt
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 23, 2025
Burress helped the Giants claim Super Bowl XLII with a game-winning touchdown catch. It came with just 35 seconds left to upset the 18-0 New England Patriots. The Giants won 17-14.
#4: Plaxico Burress 13-yard TD catch with 0:35 left in fourth quarter (+27%)
Super Bowl 42: @Giants 17 – @Patriots 14
David Tyree's helmet catch, perhaps the most famous play in Super Bowl history, missed this list (+17.4%). Even after that miraculous reception, the New York… pic.twitter.com/XREdbyJXBr
— Sportico (@Sportico) February 9, 2025
Heritage Auctions was in charge of selling the item. The New York Post recently outlined a litany of financial and legal problems for Burress over the years that likely necessitated the sale of the ring.
No more for Neal
Former Steelers safety Keanu Neal is retiring from the NFL. The 29-year-old made the announcement on Instagram.
The Atlanta Falcons drafted Neal with the No. 17 overall pick in 2016. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and stayed with the Falcons for five years.
The Florida Gator alum was on the Steelers for one season in 2023. He played just nine games before going on injured reserve. Neal was also a Tampa Bay Buccaneer and a Dallas Cowboy.
The Webster, Fla., native ends his career with four interceptions, 22 pass deflections and 523 tackles.
More sports
• Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk injured in loss to Rangers
• 'Don't forget about Mitch': Pirates count on Keller to rebound from second-half struggles
• With a biopic planned, Mt. Lebanon native Kurt Angle opens up about his wrestling triumphs, personal journey
That makes more sense
The Washington Capitals routed the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-3, on Saturday. Yet, somehow, Alex Ovechkin wasn’t among the seven different goal scorers.
That changed Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers. Ovechkin scored three times en route to a 7-3 romp.
WHAT AN AFTERNOON FOR OVI ????
He scores his 32nd career hat trick to move within 13 of breaking Wayne Gretzky's record! #Gr8Chase
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/Pyq8kDp7z7
— NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2025
Ovi is up to 29 goals on the season, and 882 for his career. He is now just 13 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal record of 894. It marks Ovechkin’s 32nd career hat trick, tying Phil Esposito for the fifth most in NHL history.
Ovechkin also tied former Penguin Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning goals in NHL history with 135.
Easy knockout
Rutger McGroarty is an important part of the Penguins’ future. But I think we just saw one thing he should avoid at the pro level: fighting.
The former first-round pick with Winnipeg got into an on-ice scrap with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over the weekend. He fought Michael Buchinger of Springfield. It did not go well.
According to HockeyFights.com, it was the first pro fight for either player. But it certainly looked like Buchinger was the more experienced brawler. He landed seven straight punches on McGroarty before sending him to the ice.
McGroarty couldn’t even fire a single punch.
Buchinger had taken exception to the fact that McGroarty ran into the Springfield goalie a few moments earlier. Springfield ended up winning that game 5-3 on Saturday night. The Penguins also lost 5-4 to Providence on Sunday.
Familiar Falcons
The Robert Morris men’s hockey team walked away with just one point of a possible six against Air Force at home this weekend. They lost 4-2 on Friday and yielded a 1-0 shootout result after a 3-3 tie through overtime on Saturday.
That means the Colonials finished in 10th place of Atlantic Hockey with 27 points. As a result, they’ll have to rematch with the seventh-place Falcons (37 points) on Saturday in a one-game playoff knockout. This game, though, will be on the road in Colorado.
The Colonials have struggled since coming back from the Christmas break. They have just one regulation win and one overtime win since Dec. 16.
As for the women’s team, their season ended Saturday with a 3-2 double-overtime loss at Syracuse in the AHA Playoffs. The Colonials ended with an 8-24-3 overall record.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.