David Simon had said last October, right after Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, that he had put the department store chain "in the rearview mirror." He called the whole situation "tragic" but said hotels, office spaces and gyms would move into malls and fill gaps left behind by Sears, J.C. Penney and others. The topic of Sears' fate specifically didn't come up on Friday's conference call, other than Simon saying the company was on its 200th unsecured creditors committee with Sears, now.