Patriots 28, dolphins 0

Patriots claim No. 2 playoff seed

The Patriots earned a first-round bye in the playoffs with their win over the Dolphins and the Texans’ loss to the Colts.

Wes Welker protected the ball as he was chased by Dolphins defenders.

Matthew j. lee/globe staff

Wes Welker protected the ball as he was chased by Dolphins defenders.

Rob Gronkowski scored in the second half.

JESSICA RINALDI/reuters

Rob Gronkowski scored in the second half.

Stevan Ridley ran the ball into the end zone in the second quarter.

Elise Amendola/Associated press

Stevan Ridley ran the ball into the end zone in the second quarter.

Deion Branch made the signal for a first down after a reception in the second quarter.

matthew j. lee/globe staff

Deion Branch made the signal for a first down after a reception in the second quarter.

Tom Brady congratulated Stevan Ridley after Ridley’s second rushing touchdown of the game.

elise amendola/associated press

Tom Brady congratulated Stevan Ridley after Ridley’s second rushing touchdown of the game.

Tom Brady looked for a receiver.

elise amendola/associated press

Tom Brady looked for a receiver.

Defensive end Justin Francis celebrated a sack of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Charles krupa/associated press

Defensive end Justin Francis celebrated a sack of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Patriots fans sat bundled against the cold before the game.

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Patriots fans sat bundled against the cold before the game.

Rob Gronkowski scored in the second half on a 23-yard pass from Tom Brady.

Gronkowski returns after missing five weeks

Rob Gronkowski, who broke his left forearm Nov. 18, returned against the Dolphins, catching two passes, including one for a 23-yard touchdown.

Chandler Jones had Ryan Tannehill in his grasp, forcing an incomplete pass during the second quarter.

on football

Patriots’ defense looks ready for playoffs

The defense has improved since bottoming out Nov. 11 against the Bills, thanks to adherence to Bill Belichick’s season-long game plan.

Stevan Ridley showed a move after a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter.

patriots notes

Stevan Ridley reaches 1,200 yards for the season

Ridley finished with 74 yards on 20 carries, pushing his season total to 1,263 yards, just the fifth time a Patriot has reached 1,200 yards in a season.

Latest news

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid walked to a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats Sunday.

Sides still apart on fiscal cliff deal

Democrats failed to respond to a GOP proposal, and Republicans asked Vice President Joe Biden to get involved and jump-start the talks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is seen in a Nov. 29 photo at an event at the State Department in Washington.

Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital after the discovery of a blood clot stemming from the concussion she sustained earlier this month.

Marcella Bourasa, 2, experienced her full snowfall on Sunday.

Snow blankets region with few problems

The snow brought a bit of wintry cheer as no major storm-related problems and only scattered power outages were reported.

James Johnson of the Sacramento Kings stole the ball from Paul Pierce.

kings 118, celtics 96

Celtics lose three straight on West Coast trip

The Kings pounded the Celtics as Boston’s defense wilted, allowing seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

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Photo Gallery | From the Archives

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/12/27/BostonGlobe.com/Special/Images/russ-256337[1]-028.jpg Bill Russell’s career

The Celtics legend defended personal dignity in the face of institutionalized racism in society as aggressively as he defended the basket on the court.

Globe exclusives

Volunteers joked with Louisa Millen, who was visiting a food bank run by the Trussell Trust at a church in London.

Britain’s cutbacks a cautionary tale for US

JEFF JACOBY

Kerry’s ‘realist’ approach slips into callousness
The Dodgers will have the highest payroll in baseball, with talented players such as Matt Kemp.

Sunday Baseball Notes

The best rosters in MLB heading into 2013
Gary Bettman and his brazen band of billionaires wouldn’t resort to shutting out the house lights so often if they truly feared fans would walk away for good.

Sunday Hockey Notes

Finally, thaw detected in icy NHL labor relations

Ty Burr’s top 10 movies of 2012
Sky brightens in minutes before dawn at West Quoddy Head Light in Lubec, Maine.

Travel

10 ways to celebrate New Year’s Day

Books

The year in books
Damian Lewis in “Homeland.”

Arts

A quiz for the pop culture mavens among us
The crowd on Causeway Street is much smaller these days with the Bruins out of commission as a result of the NHL lockout.

NHL lockout is being felt beyond Bruins’ ice
Oscar Epstein rides the Green Line to work at the state’s Highway Division.

Oscar Epstein, Mass.’s oldest employee, keeps on working

In season of resolutions, parents line up to fess up
The Tennant family has participated in study using DNA sequencing in a bid to understand preterm birth.

A tangled debate centers on newborns’ DNA

Sports

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Boston College 5, Ala.-Huntsville 2

Top-ranked BC played it by the book in Saturday’s win over Alabama-Huntsville, just as Jerry York likes it.

BC’s Jerry York sets NCAA wins mark

The Boston College hockey coach won his 925th game as the top-ranked Eagles beat Alabama-Huntsville, 5-2.

Metro

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For the fourth night of Kwanzaa, Carla Muhammad (left) and Phyllis Muhammad marked the holiday at Muhammad’s Mosque No. 11 in Dorchester. Kwanzaa runs from Dec. 26 through Jan.1.

Kwanzaa celebrations mark cultural values

Sunday marks the fifth day of Kwanzaa, a week-long African-American holiday that is still not widely understood.

Columnists

President Barack Obama greets Chief Justice John Roberts before delivering his State of the Union Address on Capitol Hill in Washington in 2012.

Joan Vennochi

Bipartisan bright spots, met with derision

INNOVATION ECONOMY

Early adopters could give Boston entrepreneurs a boost
Congressman Ed Markey won’t be facing the name power of Ben Affleck—who announced he won’t be running—but he still has the chance to act like a star.

Joanna Weiss

Ed Markey needs to find his inner celebrity
In recent years, Boston has reveled in championships by the Bruins, Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics — but it certainly appears that this widespread “golden era” is over.

Bob Ryan

Boston’s best sports days behind it?
The Super Bowl is exactly 11 years after the Pats won their first title.

Christopher L. Gasper

Patriots tough enough to make it back to Super Bowl

JEFF JACOBY

Kerry’s ‘realist’ approach slips into callousness
Mayor Menino greets children at the Catholic Charities Teen Center Monday.

Lawrence Harmon

Second career for Menino: Working with kids

Derrick Z. Jackson

Wistful hopes for US offshore wind energy

Opinion | Joan Wickersham

Schoolyard roulette

Joshua Green

Holiday kudos for Congress

Boston Capital

Manager took mutual fund from beaten up to best
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino greeted children on Christmas Even at the Catholic Charities Teen Center in Dorchester.

Joan Vennochi

Respect for Menino and the status quo

Nation & World

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A rebel sniper fired at forces loyal to President Bashar Assad in Aleppo on Saturday. Syria will be overrun by violence if no peace deal is reached, an international mediator said.

Assad will never leave Syria, Russian official says

Russia’s foreign minister said Saturday there was ‘‘no possibility’’ of persuading President Bashar Assad to leave Syria.

Politics

Minority leader Mitch McConnell is considered a key player in any compromise on taxes.

Senate in last-minute scrum for deal

Senate leaders and their aides sought a formula to prevent large tax increases and budget cuts that could threaten the fragile economy.

Business

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On the job

Andrew Schwartz, cofounder of Lattice Engines in Boston, says we are in the early stages of data science.

Gleaning the secrets from Big Data

Andrew Schwartz, cofounder of Lattice Engines in Boston, says we are in the early stages of data science.

Arts

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Wesley Morris’s top 10 movies of 2012

Was it a good year for movies? Was it a dismal one? Are we tired of asking and answering this question?

Books

Best nonfiction books of 2012

Everyone has been talking about what a great year it was for fiction, but nonfiction had its stars as well.

Travel

Riders try Camden’s Jack Williams Toboggan Chute.

Perfect winter days in Camden, Maine

Five years ago, when Netherlands natives Raymond Brunyanszki and Oscar Verest bought the Camden Harbour Inn, they had one big worry: winters in Maine.

Magazine

The cover for the December 23 2012 issue

Bostonians of the Year: Raisman and Harrison

The cover for the December 16 2012 issue

Best of the New: Diversions
The cover for the December 9 2012 issue

The drug lab scandal: Who’s cleaning it up?
The cover for the December 2 2012 issue

5 inspired rooms

Opinion

“As Kerry’s prolonged willingness to defend Assad suggests, however, his ‘realist’ instincts are all too fallible.”

Jeff Jacoby 

Ideas

“An ending has more life in it, more story in it, and is far more instructive than a beginning.”

James Parker, on the things, phenomena, and ideas that ended in 2012 

“What you’re witnessing is a pitiful process of pettiness, and party over country, and it breaks your heart.”

Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson