Giants celebrated in the Canyon of Heroes

The World Champion New York Giants were celebrated Tuesday with a ticker-tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes, the same lofty lower Manhattan boulevard where the famous and the esteemed have been lauded in times past -- renowned figures such as Charles Lindbergh, Albert Einstein and Pope John Paul II.

The Super Bowl champs secured their win Sunday against the New England Patriots in inspiring fashion, and Tuesday's bash on Broadway kept the excitement and emotion soaring.

Their fans -- an estimated 1 million faithful, delirious with joy -- smothered their Giants heroes with waves of confetti, an estimated 40 tons.

At a ceremony at City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg dubbed the city the "Big Blue Apple," and coach Tom Coughlin spoke of his phone call from President Barack Obama, who praised the team's tenacity in the face of adversity.

Still, as in the Super Bowl, the biggest star of the day was Eli Manning, whom Bloomberg called "the coolest customer in town . . . and -- let's be honest -- the best quarterback in the National Football League."