MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Latest from the Super Bowl (all times local):
5:27 p.m.
The New England Patriots have won the opening coin toss for the Super Bowl and have deferred to the second half.
The Philadelphia Eagles will start the game with the ball and hope to be the first team to score on the opening possession of the Super Bowl since Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for Chicago against Indianapolis in the 2007 game.
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5:25 p.m.
No players from New England and Philadelphia were kneeling or sitting during the national anthem before the Super Bowl.
Nearly all the Patriots stood in line with their right hands over their hearts during Pink’s singing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
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5 p.m.
Police in Minneapolis have removed protesters who locked themselves across a light-rail line near U.S. Bank Stadium, temporarily halting trains carrying fans to the Super Bowl.
Live footage from the scene Sunday showed police working to unlock or cut locks the protesters had used at the stop near the University of Minnesota’s West Bank station. That’s about a half-mile from the stadium.
The footage showed protesters in zip ties waiting to board a bus to be carried from the scene.
Protesters blocked the line shortly after 2 p.m., saying they were protesting police brutality as well as the light-rail line being turned over to Super Bowl fans for the day.
Metro Transit was busing fans the rest of the way to the game.
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4:45 p.m.
Carson Wentz is throwing passes in warm-ups for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The injured quarterback was walking gingerly and not stepping into the throws as he worked alongside starter Nick Foles.
Wentz tore a ligament in his left knee against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. Foles led playoff wins against Atlanta and Minnesota.
Foles is trying to join Bob Griese, Doug Williams and Jeff Hostetler as backups to win Super Bowls after starting no more than five games during the regular season.
The Eagles are playing the New England Patriots, who are trying to win their sixth Super Bowl with quarterback Tom Brady.
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4:29 p.m.
President Donald Trump is expressing appreciation for U.S. service members, who he says make occasions like Super Bowl Sunday possible.
Trump said that, while many service members can’t be home to enjoy the American tradition with family and friends, ”they are always in our thoughts and prayers.” He said they’re owed the ”greatest respect for defending our liberty and our American way of life” and their sacrifice is ”stitched into each star and every stripe of our Star-Spangled Banner.”
Trump also said: ”We hold them in our hearts and thank them for our freedom as we proudly stand for the National Anthem.”
The president has been critical of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest unfair police treatment of minorities, calling it disrespectful to service members.
– Darlene Superville reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida
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4:20 p.m.
Winning the NFL MVP award might not be a great omen for Tom Brady.
The last eight winners of the AP MVP award to reach the Super Bowl have lost the game, including Brady in the 2007 season against the New York Giants.
The other MVPs to lose the big game since Kurt Warner did the regular season-Super Bowl MVP double in the 1999 season for the Rams are: Warner (2001), Rich Gannon (2002), Shaun Alexander (2005), Peyton Manning (2009 and 2013), Cam Newton (2015) and Matt Ryan (2016).
Brady would rather join Warner, Steve Young (1994), Emmitt Smith (1993), Joe Montana (1989), Terry Bradshaw (1978) and Bart Starr (1966) as the players to win the regular season and Super Bowl MVPs in the same season.
– Josh Dubow
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3:55 p.m.
Conspiracy theorists had a field day when New England was penalized just once in the AFC championship game against Jacksonville.
But there hasn’t been a huge discrepancy in playoff penalties in Patriots games during Bill Belichick’s time as coach. The Patriots have been penalized an average of 4.7 times per game in the playoffs since 2001 for 37.5 yards, only slightly lower than the opponents’ 5.1 penalties for 41.9 yards.
New England has thrived when it avoids penalties in the playoffs, winning 15 of 17 games when called for fewer penalties than the opposition. That compares to 3-1 when the total penalties are even and 9-6 when the Patriots have more penalties.
The Patriots are going for their sixth Super Bowl title against Philadelphia.
– Josh Dubow
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3:40 p.m.
A small group of activists protesting police brutality have shut down a light-rail line carrying fans to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.
About 30 activists walked onto the city’s Green Line at the Stadium Village stop shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, stopping trains in both directions.
The line runs from downtown St. Paul to the heart of Minneapolis, and is a main way some fans are getting to the game between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
Chinyere Tutashinda, a spokeswoman for the activists, says some chained themselves along the track.
Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla says the agency has contingency plans to get riders the rest of the way to U.S. Bank Stadium. He says he’s confident they’ll be there for kickoff.
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3 p.m. CT
The coldest Super Bowl Sunday won’t be felt inside cozy U.S. Bank Stadium.
The overnight temperature in Minneapolis reached minus-6 degrees and was up to 2 degrees around four hours before kickoff between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
The coldest previous range was the Detroit Super Bowl in 1982, with a low of 5 degrees and a high of 16 when it was played at the Silverdome. There was a chance for the Minneapolis high to reach 5 on Sunday.
When the Super Bowl was in Minnesota at the Metrodome in 1992, the outside temperature at kickoff was 26 degrees. That’s the average high here for Feb. 4.
The coldest outdoor game in Super Bowl history was in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium in 1972, when the kickoff temperature was 39 degrees.
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For more AP NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
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