Giants vs. Patriots, live updates

NFL will crown a champion tonight

The preparations are over. Super Bowl XLVI is here, with the Giants and the Patriots seeking to climb to the top of the NFL mountain.

slider -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warms up before the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

AP

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warmed up before the game.

slider New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick walks on to the field before NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

AP

Head coach Bill Belichick walked on to the field for his fifth Super Bowl at the helm of the Patriots.

slider New England Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis warms up before the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

AP

Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis tossed a ball before tonight's game in Indianapolis, Ind.

slider -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN FEBRUARY 5, 2012 SUPER BOWL XLVI NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VS. NEW YORK GIANTS New England Patriots' Danny Woodhead on the field during pregame warmup before the start of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN on Sunday, February 5, 2012. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff Photo)

Barry Chin/Globe Staff

Danny Woodhead caught a pass during warmups.

slider -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft greets fans before his team plays the New York Giants in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 5, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

REUTERS

Patriots owner Robert Kraft greeted fans at Lucas Oil Stadium today.

slider -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN FEBRUARY 5, 2012 SUPER BOWL XLVI NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VS. NEW YORK GIANTS New England Patriots' fans (l-r) Katherine Lodge, 23, and Isabel Lodge, 20, of Beverly, before the start of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN on Sunday, February 5, 2012. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Photo)

The Boston Globe

These two Patriots fans wore their team colors prior to the start of tonight's Super Bowl.

slider -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN FEBRUARY 5, 2012 SUPER BOWL XLVI NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VS. NEW YORK GIANTS New England Patriots' Kevin Faulk's daughters (l-r) Tanasha Faulk, 17, Kevione Faulk, 10, and Tionne Faulk, 11, before the start of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN on Sunday, February 5, 2012.(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Photo)

The Boston Globe

Kevin Faulk's daughters, from left to right, Tanasha, Kevione, and Tionne, waited for kickoff. The veteran running back was listed as inactive.

Jim Davis / Globe Staff

Some Patriots fans arrived at the stadium hours early today.

Jim Davis / Globe Staff

The Lombardi Trophy, flanked by helmets for the Patriots and Giants.

In Indianapolis, excitement brews

Judging by the scene on the streets in Indianapolis today, the crowd will be heavily partisan in favor of New York.

Kevin Faulk among Patriots’ inactives

Faulk, the longest-tenured member of the team, won’t play in Super Bowl XLVI.

Dan Shaughnessy

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/05/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/shaughnessy150.jpg The day of reckoning

This Super Bowl has zero connection to Super Bowl XLII, when Elisha Nelson Manning broke New England’s heart and killed dreams of perfection and immortality. Baloney. This is all about revenge.

Brady looks to join Montana’s club

Tom Brady has another chance to join childhood idol Joe Montana in an exclusive club with his fourth Super Bowl title.

INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/02/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Advance/Images/davis_patsfins7_spts--90x90.jpg Patriots’ march to the Super Bowl

How did Tom Brady, et al., make their way to Indianapolis? Trace their ups and downs throughout the season.

Tony LaRussa and Bill Belichick

Pals know a different Belichick

We think we know the man inside the hoodie, the scowl on the sideline, the cold-blooded, humorless molder of champions. But we don’t really know him at all.

Super Bowl XLVI Scouting Report

Patriots’ keys to a Super Bowl win vs. Giants

The Boston Globe breaks down the X’s and O’s for the Patriots’ Super Bowl XLVI matchup with the Giants and offers a prediction for who will win.

“There have been times when he has been so ridiculously generous with his time and insights that I have gotten embarrassed by his kindness.”

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa,  on Bill Belichick

Globe Insiders

Globe Talks | Feb. 15, 6 p.m.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/01/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/greenhouse_movies2_business[1].jpg Oscar Talk

Join the Boston Globe’s movie critics, Ty Burr and Wesley Morris, for a conversation about this year’s Academy Awards.

Metro

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Fired conductor says his ordeal has been transformative

Benjamin Zander refuses to see a dark side of his firing from New England Conservatory for hiring a sex offender to videotape students. The mess, he says, has humbled him.

Business

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Suit raises questions about contractor safety

A lawsuit in Middlesex Superior Court over the death of Romulo de Oliveira Santos during a Walpole Walmart’s renovation seeks to hold the company accountable for actions of contractors.

Nation & World

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Opinion

“It’s hard to see how a Republican victory in November becomes more likely if [Mitt] Romney, [Newt] Gingrich, and Rick Santorum spend the next several months bashing each other instead of [Barack] Obama.”

Jeff Jacoby 

Ideas

“For American enthusiasts of the Kagame regime, the Ingabire case points to a dilemma: Rwanda’s remarkable reconciliation and success have gone hand in hand with severely curtailed freedom of speech.”

Peter Canellos,  on free expression in Rwanda