Spellman Scorecard: Bears don't know how good they have it

Just let me start with this: Had a good week of practice, so I'm pretty excited about getting Scorecard going here.

Careful what you wish for:

You'd think Bears players would want to play as hard as they possibly can for Marc Trestman because I'm pretty sure they don't know how good they have it right now.

Coulda been:

Just read an awesome piece about Arizona coach Bruce Arians written by Michael Silver at NFL.com.

That Arians was a finalist for the Bears job gives me some hope for Phil Emery.

That Arians wasn't named the Bears coach makes me wonder about Phil Emery.

Real nice move:

While the Cubs grab the headlines for their pursuit of guys like Russell Martin and Jon Lester, the White Sox quietly just made a real nice move in signing reliever Zach Duke.

Real nice.

It continues:

Jan vs. Flo

Good riddance:

The NHL has decided to scrap the "dry scrape" of the ice surface before starting overtimes.

To be honest, I didn't mind the 5-minute or so delay it caused, but that phrase - dry scrape - always gave me the willies.

Poor kid:

Really feel bad for Hawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk - the guy was having such a good rookie season and then boom, out three to four months following patella surgery.

Hoping like heck he makes it back for the playoffs.

California dreamin'

November 29 could be a big day for the folks at Arlington.

And no, that's not when yet another gambling bill gets oh so close before barely failing down in Springfield.

Rather:

It's when Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome may try out the turf for the first time in the Hollywood Derby at Del Mar.

If he takes to the grass, there's a possibility Chrome heads to Arlington next August to run in the Million.

For a race that's struggled to attract big names, well, they don't get much bigger than that.

Irish eyes are smiling:

Good to see Arlington riding champ James Graham among the five finalists for the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.

Can't get enough of:

Jimmy Butler.

Just a pleasure to watch.

End Game:

Sad to see sports talker "The Game" come to an end.

That's a lot of people out of work.

Ugh

Driving me crazy:

Two radio commercials are getting on my nerves:

No. 1: The one where Mike Ditka wraps up his spiel by saying "if I had a team like that I would've won more championships."

Well coach, you had a team like that for about 5 years, so you had your chance.

No. 2: The one about No. 2.

WWBCT:

As the final seconds wound down in the Bears victory Sunday, I couldn't help but wonder What Would Blake Costanzo Tweet?

Didn't find anything.

Hmm.

Fantastic Freddie:

Goalie Frederic Cassivi, who helped the Wolves capture the 2002 Calder Cup championship, was one of four people selected for induction into the AHL Hall of Fame.

Well done.

And finally:

Here's hoping that you and yours have a Happy Thanksgiving!