SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) The Latest on Super Bowl Sunday from AP reporters covering the game, the telecast, the commercials and fans around the world (All times local):
1:29 p.m.
There will be two reigning MVPs on hand at Levi’s Stadium today for Super Bowl 50.
Golden State Warriors guard and NBA MVP Stephen Curry will bang the ”Keep Pounding” drum for the Panthers, the team confirmed Sunday. Curry, who grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and played at nearby Davidson College, remains a huge Panthers fan. He even wore Panthers gear at Warriors practice the day of the NFC championship.
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL’s MVP on Saturday night.
Curry also hit the drum before the team’s home opener against the Houston Texans. The Panthers viewed it as a good luck since they didn’t lose at home all season.
Hitting the drum before the game is a tradition honoring the late Sam Mills, a former Panthers linebacker and coach who died of intestinal cancer inspired the message of ”Keep Pounding.”
– Steve Reed reporting from Santa Clara, California.
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1:20 p.m.
Team spokesman Steven Drummond said the Panthers had no problems with curfew on Saturday night and there have been no off-the-field issues leading up the Super Bowl.
”We have checked all of the boxes and we’re good to go,” Drummond said.
– Steve Reed reporting from Santa Clara, California.
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12:05 p.m.
You can follow the Super Bowl on the Empire State Building.
The building will become a virtual scoreboard, tracking the game action. At kickoff, the building’s tower lights will be split in the colors of the Broncos and Panthers. Each score, the building will sparkle in the scoring team’s colors and remain lit for the team holding the lead. After the game, the building will sparkle in the winning team’s colors for one hour. It will remain lit for the Super Bowl champion until sunrise.
11:40 a.m.
Security was heavy and visible Sunday around Super Bowl locations, from hotels in San Francisco to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Drones are banned around the stadium and there are overall flight restrictions.
And San Francisco will not have large-scale public viewing spot downtown, unlike the way the city offered such opportunities for the baseball San Francisco Giants’ World Series championship runs in 2010, `12 and `14.
The FBI opened a multi-agency command post last week about six miles from Levi’s Stadium that will be continuously staffed.
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11:30 a.m.
Fleets of buses carrying fans and media to Levi’s Stadium left San Francisco – where many of the Super Bowl week events took place – around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, arriving in Santa Clara about an hour later.
The West Coast location means the game starts at 3:30 p.m. local, and the tailgating started around 10:30 a.m.
A little early for beer and sausage, although that probably won’t stop anyone. Some of the tailgates also offered breakfast fare.
The Latest: Stephen Curry to bang ‘Keep Pounding’ drum
