Pats re-sign CB Bodden to 4-year deal (AP)
The New England Patriots have kept another free agent from leaving, re-signing cornerback Leigh Bodden to a four-year deal. Bodden’s deal, which was announced by his agent on Twitter, comes on the same day the Patriots confirmed that they re-signed defensive lineman Vince Wilfork. Wilfork and his agent announced the deal on Saturday.

Chiefs sign former Jets RB Jones (AP)
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agent running back Thomas Jones, who led the New York Jets to the AFC championship game last season and was the NFL’s third-leading rusher. The Chiefs announced the deal Tuesday but declined to disclose the terms. Jones had career highs of 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.

Panthers end 7-game skid, top Flyers 7-4 (AP)
David Booth wasted little time in settling a score, then helped the Florida Panthers snap their longest losing streak of the season. David Booth had a goal and three assists and the Panthers snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Booth also fought in the first period with Flyers captain Mike Richards, whose open-ice hit in an Oct.

Blackhawks score 3 in 3rd to top Oilers (AP)
The Chicago Blackhawks needed two periods to get up to full speed against the lowly Edmonton Oilers. Niklas Hjalmarsson, Dustin Byfuglien and Jonathan Toews scored in the third period to help the Blackhawks beat the Oilers 5-2 on Wednesday night for their fifth victory in six games. Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland also scored for the Blackhawks, who increasingly dominated as the game progressed.

Iran’s role model and inspiration - on skis
The first Iranian woman to take part in the Winter Olympics says she hopes she’ll be able to inspire Muslim women all over the world to get involved in sport, the BBC’s Marcus George reports.

Euro champions Germany fall to GB
Great Britain’s women secured a 7-4 verdict over European champions Germany for their third win in four matches in the group stages in Vancouver.

Tebow’s Focus on the Family ad could change future Super Bowls
At about 6:43 p.m. ET, one simple ad changed the Super Bowl forever. It’s now an accepted truism that the Super Bowl is as much about the advertising as the on-field action; of the estimated 100 million people who will view this year’s game, a significant number can’t identify anyone outside of Peyton Manning(notes). But almost everyone will remember the commercials –- in particular, one entitled “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.” Focus on the Family - Tim Tebow Ad @ Yahoo! VideoIt appears simple enough: Pam Tebow telling a heartwarming story about her rather famous son, former University of Florida star quarterback Tim Tebow, punctuated with a little CGI’d violence. Indeed, given all the hype that had built up about the commercial — the rumor that it would be a strident anti-abortion screed, for instance — many viewers were left with an “is that it?” feeling afterward. (A slightly different version of the ad aired before the game.) But it’s what’s implied, what the ad represents, that could fundamentally alter the Super Bowl commercial landscape. Over the past 43 Super Bowls, commercials have grown from simple product pitches into pop-art touchstones as companies spend millions for 30 seconds of the nation’s undivided attention. They’ve run the gamut from provocative to subversive, ridiculous to sentimental. They’ve employed celebrities and ordinary people; they’ve praised and mocked their subjects. But until Sunday, they all had one thing in common: They stayed away from the charged worlds of politics, religion and morality. With one gently pitched 30-second ad, however, all that has changed. A door previously closed has now been cracked open. The ad isn’t simply an advocacy of a particular moral position; it has the potential to be a watershed moment in our national discourse if we allow real-world concerns to impact our entertainment. For most of its 44-year existence, the Super Bowl has advocated only one form of morality: worship of the Super Bowl itself and its sponsors. Certainly, some companies have pushed the bounds of good taste, and the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake wardrobe malfunction of 2004 caused ripples throughout popular culture that are still being felt. But for the most part, the Super Bowl advocated and promoted a mainstream, middle-of-the-road existence that steered clear of divisive or controversial subjects. Some ads make news because they were rejected. Indeed, GoDaddy.com has built an entire cottage industry on promoting its banned Super Bowl ads. This year, GoDaddy’s ad featuring driver Danica Patrick and an effeminate football player didn’t pass muster with CBS, nor did an ad for a male dating site called ManCrunch.com. Both had provocative, potentially controversial themes. Which, in turn, makes the approval of Focus on the Family’s ad an interesting case study. Certainly, there’s no mistaking Focus on the Family’s intent or the magnitude of its controversial message, even if this particular ad’s content doesn’t incite any fiery emotions. The ad is the first chapter of a story, not the story itself. The ad campaign also serves as a stake in the ground for Tebow himself. Tebow embodies unimpeachable, almost unbelievable moral fortitude. He’s gone on record as saying he is still a virgin and will remain so until marriage, and in a post-Tiger Woods world, he makes for an attractive corporate spokesman. Ironically, his willingness to appeal to only a segment of the population may bolster his public image. We’re in polarizing times, where public figures are more than willing to trade mass appeal for targeted devotion. (Think Sarah Palin, for instance, who’s phenomenally popular now with right-leaning crowds despite having deeply unfavorable ratings with other segments of the American public.) If Tebow is willing to make that trade, it puts him in stark opposition to the tradition of megapopular athlete pitchmen like Michael Jordan, who famously declined to take political stands under the rationale that those who might be in opposition to the message buy shoes, too. On a larger scale, though, the Tebow ad has the potential to change the landscape of Super Bowl advertising, and, in turn, the national post-Super Bowl conversation. Advocacy groups tend to follow the approach of siblings appealing to their parents: they did it, so why can’t we? The Tebow ad now serves as precedent; from now on, a network that turns down an advocacy ad is inviting a lawsuit, or at the very least wide-scale protests. The result could be that networks give equal time to opposing points of view, leading to a can-you-top-this cycle of advocacy messaging. Certainly, one of America’s most fundamental rights is that every organization has the right to speak its piece. And if said organization happens to have the millions necessary to buy airtime during the Super Bowl, there’s a valid argument for allowing them to do so. But what about the many millions who look at the Super Bowl as an escape from the thorny political and moral issues of the day, who want nothing more than to watch some football and laugh at a few amusing ads along the way? Should money and political ambition trump the original purpose of the game? Do we need to have moral and ethical discussions involved in every corner of our lives? Or is that exactly what we need? Years from now, as we sit through Super Bowls stuffed with ad after preachy, chastising ad, we just might long for the simpler times of burping frogs. Other popular stories on Yahoo!: • Coach’s gutsy call pays off big for winners • Is Peyton Manning back to being a choker? • New Orleans parties after team wins Super Bowl • Watch: Best and worst of Super Bowl ads • Buy Saints championship merchandise

Catalans players bailed
Five players from rugby league team Catalans Dragons are bailed after being arrested over a disturbance in Leeds which left two men injured.

Super Bowl prop bets, for your cash-burning considerations
The wait for the actual game to begin can be maddening. If you’re tired of hour number 22 of the Super Bowl pregame show, and you’d like to poke around and gamble on ridiculous things, here’s a primer on some of the more ridiculous options out there. From betED.com: Here, you can gamble on which company’s commercial will be the highest-rated in USA Today’s ad meter. The favorites are Anheuser-Busch at 2.5-to-1, and Frito-Lay at 3-to-1. The longest shot is the U.S. Census Bureau at 22-to-1, and even at those odds, I think the people at betED.com are overrating the comedic potential of the Census folks. From Sportsbook.com: You can bet on the total of Kim Kardashian’s lovely measurements: 34-26-39, -38.5 vs. Reggie Bush’s(notes) total rushing and receiving yards. Essentially, you’re gambling on whether or not Reggie Bush will have more than 60.5 rushing and receiving yards, but it’s always more fun if we can objectify a Kardashian in the process. You can also bet on Pete Townshend of The Who going over or under 5.5 windmill maneuvers while playing the guitar. At the conclusion of the game, someone will get the MVP trophy, and he will most likely thank somebody. You can bet on who he’ll thank first. The best bet is God at 4-to-5, followed by his teammates at 2-to-1. The longest shot is the coach at 9-1. This one’s becoming a yearly staple: When the winning team dumps a cooler of ice-cold Gatorade on their coach at the conclusion of the game, what color will it be? Clear or water is the most likely at 3-to-2, with yellow right behind at 5-to-6. If it’s blue or red, cha-ching! Those pay 12-to-1. From Bodog.com: Carrie Underwood’s rendition of the national anthem can be a money-making venture for you. The over/under on how long it takes her is one minute and 42 seconds. Because sideline reporters always make such great gambling outlets, you can bet on which sideline reporter will appear on camera first, after the opening kickoff: Solomon Wilcots or Steve Tasker. My advice here is to consider the Freeney factor. Find out which guy is on the Colts sideline, and put your money there. Let’s tie America’s favorite legal gambling operation, the stock market, to America’s favorite illegal gambling activity, betting on the NFL. Here’s what that looks like: Saints win, Market up: 7-to-2 Saints win, Market down: 17-to-4 Colts win, Market up: 3-to-2 Colts win, Market down: 19-to-10 If you’d like to bet on someone else’s misfortune, here’s one for you. If any member of The Who smashes their guitar, you can bet on what the guitar will hit first. The floor is the odds-on favorite at 1-to-5, followed by a speaker or a microphone. If it’s the drummer or a fan, you get paid 200-to-1. From BetUS.com: I love the cross sports bets here, and this one’s my favorite. The winning car number of NASCAR’s Bud Shootout against the total number of points scored in the first half. Well done with that one, oddsmaker. This is a good one, too. Notre Dame center Luke Harangody went up against South Florida earlier today, and you can bet on his total points + total rebounds -0.5 vs. the distance of first field goal made in Super Bowl XLIV. As it happened, Harangody had a nice day, with 19 points and 15 boards. And finally, you could’ve bet on the number of touchdown passes by Peyton Manning(notes) vs. the number of birdies carded by Phil Mickelson in the final round of the Northern Trust Open. Through 13 holes, Mickelson’s made only two birdies.

OF Johnson agrees to deal with Dodgers (AP)
Outfielder Reed Johnson has agreed to a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johnson spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Cubs after beginning his major league career with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2003. He hit .255 with four homers and 22 RBIs in 65 games for the Cubs last season. He has batted .282 in 784 career games, with 52 homers and 306 RBIs while playing extensively at all…

McLane apparently keeping Astros (AP)
Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane is apparently keeping his team. McLane, who bought the team in November 1992 for about $117 million, had set a Jan. 31 deadline for an investment group to make an offer. On Monday, McLane said “nothing materialized” and he was looking ahead to the 2010 season.