Snow storm forces postponement of Patriots Super Bowl parade

While a couple of New England Patriots stars already got a Disneyland lap of honor in sunny California, the rest of the team will have to wait until Wednesday to get their Super Bowl parade back in snowy Boston.

A ferocious winter storm, which swept across the Northeast and dumped a record-breaking 40 inches of snow on the Patriots' hometown, has forced the postponement of Tuesday's scheduled victory procession.

“Due to today’s bad weather and the worsening forecast for tonight, the New England Patriots and the City of Boston have made the mutual decision to postpone the victory parade,” Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement. “We thank everyone for their flexibility and patience during the planning of this parade and we look forward to celebrating with Patriots fans during better weather on Wednesday.”

The parade route — beginning at the Prudential Center, travelling down Boylston and Tremont streets, and ending at City Hall —will not change.

A storm warning was also in place for dozens of cities across the Northeast and Midwest as Boston saw its snowiest seven-day period in the city's history yesterday with 40.2 inches of snow breaking the old record of 31.2 inches in January, 1996. Monday alone saw over a foot of snow fall in one day- another record breaker- with 15.9 inches according to the National Weather Service.

Flights at Boston's Logan Airport were cancelled as the snow continued to fall and temperatures plunged to 12 degrees Monday. Boston schools were also to shut again on Tuesday.

Meanwhile,  while Boston was still digging out, Julian Edelman and Malcom Butler — whose last-second interception helped the Patriots clinch the title —  performed a special lap of honor with Mickey Mouse at the Disney theme park.

Just guessing that the Patriots fans, still partying after Sunday's stunning Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks, won't mind extending the celebration another day.

Giants Plane Diverted From Snow-Bound Minnesota

The New York Giants have plenty of reasons for avoiding the Minnesota Vikings, a team who have beaten the Giants four straight times, but not showing up to the game is a novel way to not lose.  On Saturday, the Giants charter plane--en route to Minneapolis--was diverted to Kansas City after a snow storm closed the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Giants spokesperson, Pat Hanlon, said the team will spend the night in Kansas City and try to fly into Minneapolis Sunday morning.  The NFL said the game will be played at it's scheduled noon (local) start time. 

The hassle of being re-routed and getting up early for a new flight could be a competitive advantage to the Vikings (5-7) who routed the the Giants (8-4) last year.  The Giants are tied with the Philadelphia Eagles and fighting for a playoff spot. The last thing they need is a distraction of this sort.

While the NFL hasn't dismissed the possibility of postponing the game, getting into Minneapolis might cause it to happen.  The Twin Cities forecast calls for a snow warning until 6 a.m. Sunday with 10-12" of snow possible combining with wind chills of minus-20 to minus-35 degrees.  The Giants are hoping the runways are cleared by morning.

The New York media has been stuck in New York airports as well.  All airports around Minneapolis have been closed until 3 p.m. Saturday so many flights have been cancelled or postponed.  The Vikings cancelled a Miller Lite pre-game party outside the Metrodome.

One person who might find a silver lining inside of this blizzard is Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.  The Wrangler Guy, coming off a bum ankle and shoulder injury, will be facing a sleep-deprived Giant defense.  A postponement of the game would give him a little more time to heal. 

I was wondering who or what would end Favre's consecutive game streak--the NFL, his shoulder or Jenn Sterger--but it looks like Mother Nature is giving him a helping hand.