Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and we’re all ready to return to the grind. Hey, we flip the calendars to February this week! Spring is right around the corner.

I spent the weekend on a beach in San Diego with the family, and I was pretty disconnected from sports, so I’ve got ten shorter thoughts on things that I did happen to catch this weekend, whether on social media or the ride back home last night.

1: The Chicago Blackhawks head into the All-Star Break riding an unfortunate steak.

On Saturday night, Chicago’s loss to the Calgary Flames sent them into the All-Star break riding a franchise-worst 20-game road losing streak. Chicago is 0-19-1 during that stretch, and they have been shut out in four of their previous six games. It’s been 139:21 since the Blackhawks scored their last goal, and they have 10 total goals in their previous 10 games.

2: Connor Bedard’s return to the lineup can’t come fast enough.

It’s been 11 games since Connor Bedard went down with a fractured jaw on January 5. It feels like an eternity. The following month is going to feel the same. I watched bits and pieces of the Blackhawks’ loss to the Flames on Saturday night while I was out to dinner, but one of my younger brothers texted me on Sunday morning and said he felt as though the Blackhawks should have paid him for his time on Saturday night. This team isn’t fun to watch right now, and much of that stems from 98 not being on the ice. They’re not great when he is, but at least there’s a reason to watch.

3: I will say this about the Blackhawks MASH unit...

They play hard. They’re missing a lot of scoring firepower with Bedard (jaw), Hall (knee), Athanasiou (groin), Johnson (foot), and Beauvillier (wrist) out of the lineup, and it’s showing in the box score. But if you can get past the lack of pucks finding the back of the net, their team of grinders out on the ice is playing their role pretty well.

4: Dan Campbell’s aggression played a role in the Lions’ loss, but he doesn’t regret his decisions.

Dan Campbell’s decision to go for it on fourth down twice in the second half on Sunday in San Francisco helped the 49ers beat the Lions and punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII. But don’t expect Campbell to regret his decision. Campbell said after the game that he did not regret his decision and understood the scrutiny coming his way. Personally, I think it’s pretty easy to second-guess Campbell after the fact, especially when you lose by three points, but at the moment, I believe Campbell made the right call. The execution wasn’t there, but the results didn’t change the process for me.

5: Never bet against Patrick Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes wasn’t incredible on Sunday. He was pretty pedestrian for the standards we’ve placed on him over the years. But he was as good as any quarterback on the field yesterday, completing 30 of 39 passes for 241 yards, a touchdown, and a 100.5 passer rating. He’s heading back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last five years.

6: Patrick Williams was in a walking boot on Sunday and missed the game against the Blazers.

Williams said before the game that he was wearing the boot at the team's instruction as a precautionary measure after he was ruled out of last night’s contest with left foot soreness. Williams also said on Sunday that the soreness in that left foot has worsened as the season progressed. Hearing that this is something that he’s been dealing with all season and is now worsening isn’t the news we want. We’ll know more early this week.

7: I hope Patrick Williams is fine, but I’m so listless with the Bulls right now that I don’t care.

This team is such a drag. They preach continuity, but what’s the attraction to continuously being a play-in tournament hopeful? While the wife and I were on our way to San Diego on Friday, I was scrolling Twitter during her turn to drive, and I saw K.C. Johnson’s mock trade ideas regarding a potential Zach LaVine to Detroit. The trades were so underwhelming that I laughed out loud in my car. That’s not a shot at K.C., but rather a shot at the Bulls for putting themselves in the situation where they have to take a hit to unload LaVine’s deal.

8: We’re 15 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training!

With the Super Bowl matchup set, we’re two weeks from the final game of the 2023 NFL season, and just days after the season ends in Las Vegas, teams begin to make their way to Arizona and Florida to start spring training.

9: One of the new faces at Cubs Spring Training will be reliever Hector Neris.

Neris played in 71 games for the Astros last season, and in 68-plus innings, he recorded a 1.71 ERA and 77 strikeouts. His splitter, his second-most used pitch after his four-seamer, was one of the best pitches in baseball. Neris gives the Cubs some bullpen flexibility with Spring Training right around the corner.

10: As excited as I am that baseball is right around the corner, I’m even more excited for the NFL Draft because the Bears QB conversation has reached nauseating levels.

I’m so sick of the Bears’ quarterback conversation. Bears Twitter is a cesspool of cultists in one direction or the other, spending hours on end moving the goalposts for their pick under center next season. But it’s reached a personal level where many attack the other player. I’ve repeated this time and time: you can have a preference and not get weirdly personal in spirit, tearing the other quarterback down.

Yesterday’s Best

CHICAGO BEARS

• The Bears hired a new defensive coordinator over the weekend! Chicago hired Eric Washington on Saturday afternoon. Luis has an immediate reaction and some deeper thoughts on the books over at BN Bears.

• Matt Eberflus will still be calling plays next season, regardless of who the defensive coordinator is.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

• Saturday was Steve Larmer day at Bleacher Nation Blackhawks:

CHICAGO BULLS

• More on Patrick Williams’ injury and what it means for Williams and the Bulls:

CHICAGO CUBS

• More on the Cubs’ singing of Hector Neris from Brett:

What’s on deck?

Both the Blackhawks and Bulls teams have the night off tonight!