2026 Super Bowl guide: time, TV, and entertainment – Boston.com

Levi’s Stadium, home of the 49ers, is the site of Super LX between the Patriots and Seahawks. Aaron M. Sprecher

Super Bowl

Guide to the 2026 Super Bowl: Game time, how to watch, entertainment plans, and more

Read about everything you need to know about Super Bowl LX — from kickoff time to halftime headliner Bad Bunny, national anthem performers, and betting odds.

Levi’s Stadium, home of the 49ers, is the site of Super LX between the Patriots and Seahawks. Aaron M. Sprecher

By Andrew Mahoney, Matt Pepin, The Boston Globe February 2, 2026, 4 minutes to read

It will be the Patriots vs. the Seahawks in the 60th edition of the Super Bowl, which will be played at Levi’s Stadium, the home of the 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Here are details about the game.

When, where, and how to watch

Date/time: Sunday, Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m. kickoff

TV: NBC has the broadcast. The game also will be streamed on Peacock, Tubi, and the NFL app.

A radio broadcast will be on NFL+, Sirius XM, and the Westwood One sports radio network.

Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

Home/away teams: The AFC champion is the home team for even-numbered Super Bowls, while the NFC gets the odd years. The main advantage for the Patriots being the “home” team is getting to choose the color jersey players will wear, and the pick is in — their all-white away uniforms.

The Super Bowl LX uni 🙌 pic.twitter.com/3W7hpIWC2q

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 29, 2026

At stake: In addition to the sterling silver Lombardi Trophy presented to the winning team, each member of the winning team receives $178,000. Each member of the losing team receives $103,000.

Entertainment and musical performances

Halftime headliner: Bad Bunny

National anthem: Charlie Puth

Others: Brandi Carlile will sing “America the Beautiful” and Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

The national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be performed by deaf performing artist Fred Beam in American Sign Language. Julian Ortiz will sign “America the Beautiful.”

Bay Area band Green Day will perform at an opening ceremony that will celebrate six decades of Super Bowl history and include on-field appearances by past Super Bowl MVPs.

How they got here

Patriots: New England went 14-3 to capture the AFC East title and the No. 2 seed. After defeating the Chargers, 16-3, in a wild-card matchup and the Texans, 28-16, in the divisional round, the Patriots traveled to Denver and defeated the top-seeded Broncos, 10-7, in the AFC Championship game.

Seahawks: Seattle went 14-3 to win the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed, earning a bye. After defeating the 49ers, 41-6, in the divisional round, the Seahawks beat the Rams, 31-27, in the NFC Championship game.

Last Super Bowl appearance and records

New England: The Patriots last reached the Super Bowl seven years ago, defeating the Rams, 13-3, in Super Bowl LIII. They are 6-5 overall as they get set to appear in a 12th Super Bowl, the most in NFL history. The Steelers, Cowboys, and 49ers are tied for second with each having been to eight.

Seattle: The Seahawks are 1-2 in the Super Bowl, having last appeared 11 years ago, when they lost Super Bowl XLIX to the Patriots. Their one victory came the previous year when they rolled over the Broncos, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Previous Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium

Levi’s Stadium has hosted one other Super Bowl: In 2016, the Broncos defeated the Panthers, 24-10, in Super Bowl 50.

The San Francisco Bay Area also hosted Super Bowl XIX in 1985 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, with the 49ers prevailing, 38-16, over the Dolphins.

Officiating crew

Shawn Smith will be the Super Bowl referee for the first time. Smith has worked as an NFL official for 11 seasons, and had 11 previous playoff assignments.

The other officials will be umpire Roy Ellison (3 previous Super Bowls), side judge Eugene Hall (3), back judge Greg Steed (2), down judge Dana McKenzie (1), line judge Julian Mapp (debut), field judge Jason Ledet (debut), and replay official Andrew Lambert (debut).

Odds

For the first time this postseason, the Patriots are going into a playoff matchup as underdogs.

Here’s a look at the odds as of Wednesday morning, with pointspread and over-under:

• DraftKings Sportsbook: Seahawks minus-4.5 points | 45.5
• FanDuel Sportsbook: Seahawks minus-4.5 points | 45.5
• BetMGM Sportsbook: Seahawks minus-4.5 points | 46

Story lines

• All eyes are on the right shoulder of Drake Maye, it seems. The quarterback was listed as limited at Thursday’s practice and did not throw a pass in the relatively small window the media had to view practice.

• The Patriots’ nine most recent trips to the Super Bowl featured Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as coach. The torch has been passed to Maye and Mike Vrabel in their first year working together.

• He’s retired now, but you can expect to hear Malcolm Butler’s name quite a bit. The former defensive back made the interception that delivered a 28-24 win for the Patriots over the Seahawks 11 years ago in Super Bowl XLIX. Seems like he’ll be a popular figure making the media rounds in Santa Clara.

• The two most repeated story lines are going to be about the promise of redemption for the Seahawks, and particularly for their quarterback, Sam Darnold. Chad Finn explains.

• Darnold has the chance to be the first quarterback from the 2018 draft — a group that includes Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson — to win a Super Bowl.

• Vrabel is seeking to become the first person to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach for the same organization.

• Now in his 11th season, and first with the Patriots, wide receiver Stefon Diggs is set to make his first appearance in a Super Bowl.

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Vrabel’s pregame message resonated with Drake Maye, Patriots – Boston.com

New England Patriots

Mike Vrabel’s pregame message resonated with Drake Maye, Patriots before win over Ravens

“You take it for granted. Just what a beautiful sport. The best sport out there.”

Drake Maye helped lead the Patriots to a comeback win over Baltimore on Sunday. (Danielle Parhizkaran / Globe Staff)

By Conor Ryan, December 22, 2025, 11:20 AM, 3 minutes to read

Hours before Drake Maye helped the Patriots erase an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Ravens, the Patriots quarterback heeded the message doled out by his head coach in the visiting locker room at M&T Bank Stadium.

New England was dealing with plenty of adversity entering Sunday’s primetime matchup — fresh off of collapsing against the Bills at Gillette Stadium the previous weekend. 

Compounding the Patriots’ woes was the sting of the injury bug, with New England soldiering on without key cogs like Milton Williams, Will Campbell, and Robert Spillane on Sunday night. An already reeling New England depth chart would be further sapped of its talent as Sunday’s bout carried on.

But as Maye and the Patriots took to the field in enemy territory, Vrabel preached the importance of relishing the moment — especially amid a season where a once-rebuilding New England franchise has consistently punched above its weight.

That message rang true for Maye, especially in the aftermath of Sunday’s dramatic 28-24 victory. 

“You take it for granted, man,” Maye said postgame. “You take it for granted. Just what a beautiful sport. The best sport out there. This game, it’s brutal. There’s times with injuries and losses that weigh on you, but this winning feeling, there’s nothing like it. Coach reminded us of that pregame. 

“He said, ‘You can’t buy that back, winning in that locker room.’ At his age, he always says, ‘I wish I could suit up again.’ You just can’t buy that. He said, ‘You can buy anything else in life, but you can’t buy this time we’re in right now.’ And what a time it is.”

New England overcame several hurdles on Sunday, be it those aforementioned injuries or several early miscues that prevented the Patriots from piling on points against Baltimore.

But in crunch time, Maye played some of the best football of his young NFL career. 

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Here are the Boston Public Library’s most-borrowed books of 2025 – Boston.com

Here are the Boston Public Library’s most-borrowed books of 2025

All of the top ten most-borrowed books in 2025 were written by women.

A view of the grand staircase lions by Louis Saint-Gaudens near the entrance of The Boston Public Library. (David L Ryan/Globe Staff)

By Annie Jonas December 17, 2025 | 2:58 PM

2 minutes to read

The Boston Public Library released its most-checked out books in 2025 this week, and like last year, women authors dominated the list.

All of the top ten most-borrowed books in 2025 were written by women, with romance novels taking the first three spots on the list. 

“Onyx Storm” by romantasy author Rebecca Yarros claimed first place, and was borrowed more than 9,000 times this year, according to Melissa Andrews, BPL’s Chief of Collection Management.

Sarah J. Maas, another romantasy heavy-hitter, came in second for her book “A Court of Thorns and Roses.” Emily Henry’s “Happy Place” took third, down from its first place spot last year. 

The list also had its fair share of New England authors. Rhode Island-based author Alison Espach took the number five spot for her novel “The Wedding People,” followed by “Hunger Games” author Susan Collins, a Connecticut resident, in sixth.

“The most-borrowed titles of 2025 span a mix of genres, settings, and storytelling styles, yet they share one clear thread: new releases from authors building stronger connections with readers,” Andrews said in a statement. “This shows that readers continue to seek out stories offering both familiarity and connection, returning to worlds and voices they love while discovering something new that grows and evolves with them.”

Over the course of the year, the BPL lent a combined 7.5 million physical and digital items, welcomed more than 3.2 million people to its locations throughout Boston’s neighborhoods, and signed up 129,745 new library cardholders.

The Top 10 Checked Out Books in 2025:

“Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros 

“A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas 

“Happy Place” by Emily Henry 

“Demon Copperhead” Barbara Kingsolver 

“The Wedding People” Alison Espach 

“Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins 

“The Women” by Kristin Hannah 

“Shield of Sparrows” by Devney Perry 

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins 

“Great Big Beautiful Life” by Emily Henry

In addition to the most checked out books of the year, the library also released its top five books across mediums and age groups. Check them out below. 

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Affable comedy acting legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old – Boston.com

Entertainment

Affable comedy acting legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old

Just last year, he became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy, for a guest role on the soap “Days of Our Lives.”

Dick Van Dyke accepts the award for outstanding guest performance in a daytime drama series for “Days of our Lives” during the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) APDick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews dancing in a scene from the Disney movie ” Mary Poppins” in Hollywood, Calif. June 25, 1963. (AP Photo / Don Brinn, File)

By The Associated Press December 13, 2025, 2 minutes to read

Comedy icon Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday, hitting the century mark some six decades after he sang and danced with Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins” and starred in his self-titled sitcom.

“The funniest thing is, it’s not enough,” Van Dyke said in an interview with ABC News at his Malibu, California home. “A hundred years is not enough. You want to live more, which I plan to.”

As part of the celebration of Van Dyke’s birthday this weekend, theaters around the country are showing a new documentary about his life, “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration.”

Van Dyke became one of the biggest actors of his era with “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which ran from 1961-66 on CBS; appeared with Andrews as a chimney sweep with a Cockney accent in the 1964 Disney classic “Mary Poppins” and, in his 70s, played a physician-sleuth on “Diagnosis: Murder.”

This May 25, 1964 file photo shows Dick Van Dyke, left, and Mary Tyler Moore, co-stars of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” backstage at the Palladium with their Emmys for best actor and actress in a series at the Television Academy’s 16th annual awards show, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)

Also a Broadway star, Van Dyke won a Tony Award for “Bye Bye Birdie” to go with a Grammy and four Primetime Emmys. In 1963, he starred in the film version of “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Just last year, he became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy, for a guest role on the soap “Days of Our Lives.”

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