Double Coverage

Bradying the new Tebowing

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:53:27 GMT

Planking begat Tebowing, which begat Gronking, which has now begat Bradying.

The latest "posing" phenomenon beginning to make its way around the internet asks its practitioners to assume the position Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did after he threw a pass that was intercepted by the Giants' Chase Blackburn in the Super Bowl.

A web site called bradying.com has cropped up to allow users to submit photos of people imitating Brady. A similar site was launched when Tebowing became popular after Denver quarterback Tim Tebow began to gain fame for his football heroics and signature move after scoring touchdowns.

Video: Gronkowski dances night away

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:22:48 GMT

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski showed off better moves at the Patriots' after-party than he did in the Super Bowl, judging by a video posted to YouTube by The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich.

The video claims to show Gronkowski dancing on stage with LMFAO shortly after the Patriots lost to the Giants, 21-17. Gronkowski, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship game, only had two catches in the Super Bowl.

Tackle Matt Light also joined in on the festivities. The Names Blog has more details on the Patriots' after-party, which was held in a large tent at a baseball stadium near Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Mark Herzlich's Giants airplane celebration video goes viral

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:41:54 GMT

Video apparently taken by Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich of the team's celebration on an airplane as it flew home after winning the Super Bowl has become extremely popular.

"My 'I GOT A RING' video got 1.1M views in under 24hrs. Much love!" was posted on Herzlich's official Twitter account this morning.

The video was posted to a YouTube account also bearing Herzlich's name. The former Boston College linebacker was signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent and dressed for 11 games for the Giants this season. He was inactive for Sunday's Super Bowl.

Maria Menounos pays off Super Bowl bet

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:48:07 GMT

Maria Menounos and Extra host Mario Lopez appeared in Times Square (Getty Images).

Maria Menounos made good today on her Super Bowl bet with her Extra co-host AJ Calloway.

Menounos, an avid Boston sports fan, wore a Giants bikini in Times Square in New York this morning. Had the Patriots won, Calloway would have been forced to wear a Patriots cheerleader outfit.

Gisele responds to taunts

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:33:06 GMT

Gisele Bundchen, the wife of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, responded to fans who taunted her after the Super Bowl last night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

As she was making her way to an exit, someone called out "Eli owns your husband," a reference to Brady being outplayed in the Super Bowl by Giants quarterback Eli Manning. On the video above, Gisele can be heard responding "my husband can not ... throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time."

The Patriots had several receivers drop passes in the fourth quarter, including Wes Welker and Deion Branch.

Video: Fans and Patriots family members fired up for the Super Bowl

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:34:14 GMT

By Steve Silva, Globe Staff

INDIANAPOLIS -- It was a festive scene in the Super Bowl village and inside Lucas Oil Stadium before kickoff today.

We've got excited Patriots fans, we've got obnoxious Giants fans, and fans of the host-city Colts and other teams as well.

We also caught up with family members -- from the Spikes, Love, and Green-Ellis camps -- that shared their thoughts on Super Bowl XLVI and the Giants and Patriots.

Dicks Sporting Goods declares Patriots champs early

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:08:02 GMT

If the Patriots go on to win the Super Bowl, there will be plenty of championship merchandise to be had. But Dicks Sporting Goods jumped the gun a bit early on Sunday, declaring the Patriots this year's Super Bowl champions in an ad for championship gear during the Celtics-Grizzlies game.

If it's any consolation for the folks at Dicks Sporting Goods, the Giants website was (momentarily) selling championship gear as early as Saturday.

Tweets galore as Super Bowl nears

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:43:00 GMT

As you can imagine, Twitter is burning pretty hot today with Super Bowl sentiment.

Two in particular stand out.

First, Giants defensive end Chris Canty added to the bulletin-board material he provided earlier in the week by tweeting the Giants would win the Super Bowl by a 28-17 score. Then he deleted the tweet.

Meanwhile, Rob Gronkowski's pornstar friend, Bibi Jones, sent a tweet addressed to Gronk that contained a link to a racy photo of herself, once again wearing a Gronkowski shirt. During the Patriots' bye week in October, Gronkowski made headlines by posing with Jones, who was wearing his Patriots jersey.

Take a shot glass or two

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:11:52 GMT

A commemorative Super Bowl XLVI shot glass.

By Zuri Berry, Globe Staff

INDIANAPOLIS -- As we get settled into our seats at Lucas Oil Stadium, we're doing some venturing around the stadium. In large events like this, the media often times mix with the crowds.

As you can imagine, the Super Bowl is a highly branded event. Of the many trinkets for sale at the stadium are commemorative shot glasses, emblazoned with the Patriots, New York Giants and Super Bowl XLVI logos.

We're about three hours away from the game and clear version of the shot glass, as you can see above, is already selling out in our wing of the stadium. There are also options for cream colored glasses, as well as black colored glasses.

Vignettes from Indianapolis

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 04:47:29 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS -- As if the Patriots stickers on Beth Goldrosens cheeks and the team-themed earrings in her ears, as well as the Patriots socks, jersey, jacket, and even underwear were not enough, today there will be face paint. But only after Goldrosen, who is from Whitman, Mass., goes on her 13-mile morning run. She is, after all, training for the Boston Marathon.

Priorities, the 46-year-old quipped yesterday in the middle of the madness in downtown Indianapolis as she strolled with her nephew and sister, who live in Indianapolis.

Upping the celebrating factor, her sisters birthday happens to fall on Super Bowl Sunday this year.

Tom Brady was so nice to bring me a Super Bowl for my birthday, said her sister Andrea Healy who turns 42 today.

To call them uberfans would be an understatement.

We brushed our teeth with Patriots toothbrushes, Goldrosen said.

And today?

Im going to paint my face, a star on each cheek, this side red and this side blue, she said pointing to her right and left cheeks respectively.

The stars will be white or silver -- depending in how much paint she has.

-- Akilah Johnson, Globe Staff

Did you know the Pope was in town for the Super Bowl?

He is, as a life-size, cardboard cutout in the lobby of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. A faceless nun and a headless priest cutout stand next to the pontiff, waiting for passersby to snap their photos with the trio.

The church, which sits in the heart of the Super Bowl Village, decided to put the cutouts up to attract visitors. According to its newsletter, the church is Opening Wide the Doors to Christ during Super Bowl XLVI.

Visiting priest Rev. Shaun Wesley, in town from Arkansas to help with confessions and Mass this weekend, said the cutouts were a lighthearted way to let people know about the church, which opted not to close amid the crush of football fans and spectators this weekend -- more than 200,000 on Friday alone.

But, he admitted, theres a serious, if subtle, message behind the figures: That is to say, can you see yourself here in one of these vocations?

The church doors will be open throughout today for anyone who gets tired of the bars.

-- Akilah Johnson, Globe Staff

All week, Linda Miller has been a one-woman smile machine at the Hampton Inn in Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis, where she has presided over the continental breakfast like shes hosting Thanksgiving for her family.

Hoosier hospitality, she likes to say.

And, so far, it has gone over well with the visitors from the Northeast who are, perhaps, not as known for their gentility. But then, at the grocery store, she was introduced to a very particular type of charm.

I saw a guy who looked like an out-of-towner, and I said, I hope youre having a good time in Indianapolis. He looked at her funny, she said. Then he asked, very rudely, Do you work here?

Miller was taken aback. She did not like that attitude one bit.

As soon as he looked at me, I thought, Hes a New York person, and I was just being nice.

-- Billy Baker, Globe Staff

Rachel Cameron of Watertown was walking through the Super Bowl Village in the rain yesterday with only one real goal: she wanted to see famous people.

It wasnt going so well. So far, I saw the back of Jimmy Fallons head, she said.

But her friend, Ross Feinbergcq of South Boston, had done a little better, depending on how you look at it.

We were drinking, and Cal Ripken was drinking right next to us, and he waved at us, and in some cultures thats like having a beer with Cal Ripken.

-- Billy Baker, Globe Staff

Normally, Mel Tockman is a doctor in Tampa. In Indianapolis, his job is to sell programs for $20 a pop inside the NFL Experience.

Tockman had come to Indianapolis with his church group to volunteer at the Super Bowl, and though he wasnt exactly saving lives, he was still handing out important advice.

A fan approached. His face was itchy and he needed advice. He didnt know Tockman was a doctor, but he did know Tockman had a beard. And the man, who had grown his playoff beard, wanted to know: Will it ever stop itching?

Tockman told him he would be fine -- and didnt even ask for a referral.

-- Billy Baker, Globe Staff

When the Patriots beat the Denver Broncos for a ticket to the AFC title game, Dicky Eagan, who was a bit drunk, used his phone to buy plane tickets to Indianapolis.

I didnt want to jinx it, said Eagan, a Fall River native who is now a television writer in Los Angeles, but I still wanted to be ahead of the game.

As soon as they beat the Baltimore Ravens for a trip to the Super Bowl, Eagan got on his phone and started trying to figure out the big question for many out-of-town fans: Where to find a place to stay?

First, he rented an RV in Chicago and booked a spot at an RV park outside of Indianapolis. Then he and his fiancé got a rental car as a backup. Then someone gave them a free hotel room so he cancelled the RV.

It was a mess. But on Saturday, they finally made it to the city.

Now we just need to find some tickets, he said.

One thing at a time.

-- Billy Baker, Globe Staff

Giants' web site offers championship gear

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:43:52 GMT

The Giants' web site today had a momentary lapse of reality when it displayed a page declaring them as Super Bowl champions and offering clothing and Internet badges.

Mistakes like this are common. Media and advertisers must prepare for both outcomes of a championship game.

In the best-case scenario, a web page can be pulled quickly, although usually not before someone gets a screengrab of the gaffe.

The worst-case scenario is a mistake makes it into a printed product, as was the case in Miami this summer when the Miami Herald ran an advertisement for Miami Heat NBA championship items the day after the Mavericks beat the Heat in the NBA Finals.

The NFL even reported the story of the Giants' mistake on NFL.com.

Bruins' bear delivers special message

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:31:00 GMT

The Bruins' bear commandeered the video screen above the ice at TD Garden today during the Bruins' game vs. the Penguins and cut into its regularly scheduled programming to send a special message to the Patriots.

Patriots cheerleaders at Super Bowl

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:57:55 GMT

Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

The Patriots cheerleaders have arrived in Indianapolis and have been out and about greeting the team's fans. The photo above was taken at a meet-and-greet at the Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, and they also made an appearance at a bar popular with Pats fans.

Photos: Patriots cheerleaders in Indy

Video: Fans demonstrate the 'Brady hop'

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:57:45 GMT

Darren Durlach and Stan Grossfeld wandered about Indy today looking for people willing to re-enact the end zone plunge that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did to win the AFC Championship game.

They got some takers. Check out their report.

Boston.com to join Sports Hub 98.5 in Indy for fan party

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

By Chris Rattey, Globe Staff

Patriots fans heading to Indianapolis can join the Sports Hub 98.5 for its Patriots Fan Takeover party at Broad Ripple Tavern from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday. If you can't make it to Indy, Boston.com will be streaming live video so you can feel like you're part of the event.

Boston.com has been streaming live from Indy all week, offering video chats with Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy. Check the live video and the schedule of streaming events exclusively at www.boston.com/live.

Broad Ripple Tavern is located at 745 Broad Ripple Ave. in Indianapolis. For more information on the event, visit this web page.

Check out some of the fun menu items Broad Ripple Tavern has added special for the Patriots Fan Takeover bash.

Championship Cocktails

WELKER WATER- Absolut Vodka, soda, sprite, lime. Hooters approved!
BOSTON TEA PARTY- Absolut Wild Tea and lemonade. Revolutionary!
BELICHICK- Captain and soda. What dont you understand?

Shots

BRADY BOMB- Absolut Raspberry, energy drink, and lots of envy.
ELI BOMB- Blue raspberry vodka, energy drink. Simple yet surprisingly effective.
PEYTON BOMB- Not sure if we even have em anymore.
GRONK SPIKE- Jagermeister, energy drink. Ball meet turf.
GISELLE IS THE BOMB BOMB- Cherry vodka, Peach schnapps, Brazilian energy drink.