New York welcomes conquering heroes

Two days after their grueling season concluded with a tense victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants took a victory lap in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

The celebration kicked off with a parade that wound north up Broadway’s Canyon of Heroes, amid a sea of confetti, horns and fans in blue jerseys, and ended with a ceremony at City Hall Plaza, where Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg presented the players with keys to the city.

“Today I am declaring the Big Apple the Big Blue Apple, and if you got a problem with that, you can talk to this guy,” Bloomberg said, gesturing to former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. Bloomberg added, “We are here today because this team of Giants believed in each other and because you believed in them.”

For the throngs of fans who showed up, the day started early. Bleary-eyed police officers who had been in position since before sunrise wielded cups of coffee. Stacks of Giants-centric newspapers were for sale, as were red, white and blue balloon hats and miniature American flags. Occasionally, mini footballs and rolls of toilet paper soared across the street, drawing chants and screams from the crowd.

Backpacks stashed with bottled water, potato chips and cookies – perhaps left over from Super Bowl parties on Sunday – fueled the fans, who used everything from sick days to camera phones to face paint to show their devotion.

“The Giants are our life,” Ross Turrini, who brought his son and daughter, Nick and Emily, ages 11 and 14, to the city Monday night from Merrick, N.Y., to stake out a good spot. By 7:30 Tuesday morning, they had scored prime viewing territory.

The Giants’ welcome did draw criticism – as some have argued that returning Iraq War veterans deserve one of their own. Tuesday’s parade was the fourth in the city since 2000 to honor either the Giants or the New York Yankees.

The parade lasted about an hour. The Giants players rode on floats, and 14 red-and-blue double-decker buses carried team personnel and their family members and friends.

By 2 p.m., street cleaners were working their way up and down Broadway and leaf blowers were moving the confetti and crushed soda cans away. The Giants made their way to East Rutherford, N.J., where about 30,000 fans waited for a second celebration at MetLife Stadium – the team’s home stadium.

Some in attendance there even got to touch a piece of history when Giants running back Brandon Jacobs capped the boisterous celebration by taking the Vince Lombardi Trophy and walking it around the stadium to give delirious fans in the lower rows a chance to lean over and put their hands on it. It was an impromptu moment that fit the mood of the afternoon.

“We just came from a great parade in the Canyon of Heroes, but when you pull into this place and see all the fans, there really is no place like home,” team co-owner John Mara told the cheering crowd.

RICKY RETIRES, AGAIN

Ricky Williams is retiring from the NFL, again. But this time, it appears to be for good.

Williams, 34, told the Baltimore Ravens he won’t be back to fulfill the second year of his contract.

Williams retired previously before the 2004 season when facing a four-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. He returned in 2005, then left to spend the 2006 season with Toronto of the Canadian Football League.

EXTRA POINTS

The Bears hired former Seahawks offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates to coach their quarterbacks. … Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno has been charged with drunken driving and careless driving after getting pulled over Feb. 1 in south Denver. … Rian Lindell, a former Washington State and Seahawks kicker, will return for a 10th season with the Bills after signing a four-year contract worth about $11 million. … An MRI revealed that Giants tight end Jake Ballard tore his left anterior cruciate ligament during the second half of the Super Bowl.