Happy Friday!

Today’s edition is going to be short thanks to a late baseball practice for one of the boys last night. Thankfully, it’s 2024, and I was able to watch Connor Bedard make his return to the Blackhawks last night from the bleachers.

Connor Bedard returned to the Blackhawks lineup tonight and managed to score a point despite the Hawks losing their eighth straight game and their ninth in the last 10 contests.

Here’s a look at Bedard’s assist on Philipp Kurashev’s second period goal last night:

"I was pretty antsy all day. I was kind of running around all the time. Felt like a kid. I was just excited to get back. I felt, going in, confident,” Bedard said after tonight’s game of his return to action after being sidelined for 41 days with a broken jaw.

Bedard looked a little rusty in the first period, skating just under five minutes withuot no shot registered. He picked it up in the second period, doubling his ice time and logging a trio of shots on goal and by the time the third period rolled around, Bedard looked like he was settling right in.

Even though the Blackhawks lost again, it was really great to see Connor Bedard playing again.

Tab had the story on Bedard’s return to action and the Blackhawks loss to the Penguins in his story last night:

In February, during Black History Month, you can pay tribute to lesser-known basketball heroes from the Black Fives Era with HOMAGE's new collection. Never heard of The Black Fives Era? That’s okay. It’s always a good time to learn something new.

We've partnered with HOMAGE to raise awareness of the Black Fives Era during Black History Month and support the Black Fives Foundation.

Yesterday’s Best

CHICAGO BEARS

• I gave it six weeks before I did my 2023 report card for Justin Fields. I wanted to wait some time after the regular season ended before re-watching every game from Fields' third season with the Bears in order to let my emotions settle. If you’re a fan of the Bears staying the course, I suggest you read this.

• The Bears made a pair of roster moves on Thursday, parting ways with veterans Cody Whitehair and Eddie Jackson. Whitehair had been with the Bears since 2016. Meanwhile, Jackson has been with Chicago since 2017. Over The Cap estimates the Bears are now $66,996,157 under the 2024 salary cap. They have around $55 million to spend in free agency after accounting for dead money and cap space set aside for draft picks.

• We have another not-so-promising update on the fate of the Bears plans of building their next stadium in Arlington Heights.

CHICAGO BULLS

• The Bulls front office made it seem like Chicago was a competitive team last week when they did nothing at the trade deadline. As Eli writes, that’s simply not true.

• The Bulls pursued Danilo Gallinari in the buyout market, but he chose to sign instead with the Milwaukee Bucks (an actually competitive team).

CHICAGO CUBS

• Have you checked out the videos of Shota Imanaga’s first bullpen in a Cubs (crappy knock-off) jersey? If not, you should, because they were good. Shota, not the crappy new Nike jerseys, to be clear.

What’s on deck?

Both the Bulls and Blackhawks are not playing tonight, but the Blackhawks will play against the Ottawa Senators at 2:00 PM CT on Saturday. Matinee hockey, and Connor Bedard’s second game back? Sign me up!