Patriots vs. giants, 6:30 p.m., ch. 7

Upon closer review, it’s all on the line

FOXBOROUGH, MA JANUARY 22, 2012 AFC CHAMPIONSHIP NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VS. BALTIMORE RAVENS New England Patriots' Tom Brady #12 in the first quarter of the game against Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. (Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Photo)

Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Photo

Despite the protests of fans, the Giants are a nightmare matchup for the Patriots. New York is a much better team than it was in Super Bowl XLII; New England likely isn’t.

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.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/05/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/bradymontanasquare--90x90.jpg 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/2011-2020/2012/02/03/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/Super Bowl Jim Litke Football.JPEG-0f4f0-2236.jpg Head-to-head: Where the Patriots, Giants ranked in 2011

See where the Super Bowl rivals rank among the 32 NFL teams in a variety of offensive and defensive categories.

Three-strikes rhetoric heats up

With November looming, analysts say lawmakers may already have in mind that voting against the three-strikes proposal could become potent ammunition for opponents.

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.

GLOBE MAGAZINE

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/04/BostonGlobe.com/Magazine/Images/mag05cover2A1.jpg What if the lights go out?

In our wired society, surviving even a day without electricity can be a hardship. But thanks to the combination of freak storms and a groaning grid, darker days may still be ahead.

nevada caucuses

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2012/02/04/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/Romney Gingrich 2012.JPEG-0696c-235--90x90.jpg Romney wins Nev. by wide margin

Mitt Romney notched his campaign’s second straight victory, while Newt Gingrich reiterated he would stay in the race until the Republican convention in August.

Jeff Jacoby

What’s so good about a long GOP primary fight?

If Newt Gingrich is serious about having it out with Mitt Romney in a long, grueling slog for the Republican nomination, the next several months will be increasingly bitter. Would that be good for the GOP?

“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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Pupil, 6, dropped off at wrong bus stop

The incident, confirmed by a Boston School Department spokesman, occurred on students’ first day back at school after Christmas vacation, and followed months of frustration over tardy bus arrivals.

Politics

Political Intelligence

Romney, Brown face tests of sincerity

Mitt Romney and Scott Brown are two different political animals with two different political goals this year, yet their fates are intertwined with two offsetting challenges.

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.

Sports

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Welker is the Patriots’ little big man

The Patriots hit the jackpot when they traded for versatile slotman Wes Welker. Over five seasons and 83 games, he has 600 receptions, an average of more than seven per contest.

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