On Saturday, the Orioles celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak — alas, the last great moment in team history. Ripken was the face of the franchise for a generation, but let me distract from this week’s tribute by citing Jim Palmer as the greatest career Oriole. The winningest MLB pitcher of the ’70s, Palmer reeled off eight seasons of 20 wins or more, finished with a career 2.86 ERA and won three Cy Young Awards. There’s nobody like him anymore.

Afterthought: During TCU’s 48-14 win at Chapel Hill, casual fans may have needed reminding that Bill Belichick is considered a defensive mastermind.

Quick hit: Carolina fans to Belichick this week: “Do your job.”

Next up: To paraphrase a younger Belichick, the Tar Heels are “on to Charlotte.”

Odds are: Week 1 of college football drew historic TV ratings. That’s proof, it’s being said, that pay-for-play and the portal aren’t the fan turnoffs they were supposed to be. But isn’t it just as likely that online gambling has a lot to do with getting more people to a TV? What do you bet?

Initiation rite: Micah Parsons won’t officially belong to Green Bay until he shovels snow in a cheesehead hat.

Marquee matchup: Ravens at Bills Sunday night. The NFL’s answer to Texas vs. Ohio State, except with two accomplished quarterbacks.

Future watch: “It’s a maybe,” Roger Goodell said about the possibility of Taylor Swift performing at the next Super Bowl. In other words, “yes.” Why not just have America’s sweetheart get married at midfield?

Record bound: With one touchdown pass in his first two games, Patrick Mahomes will pass Dan Marino for most TD passes before the age of 30.

Wondering: Why would the NFL export an attractive divisional game between the Chiefs and Chargers to Brazil when Panthers vs. Jaguars was available?

Experiment extended: I barely had time to hate its first new kickoff rules before the NFL introduced another version for me to hate.

In passing: With the schedule running out, there hasn’t been an MLB no-hitter so far this season.

Bounce back: File under “that’s baseball.” Before sweeping a three-game series at the playoff bound Padres, the last place Orioles lost six of seven.

World’s game: Another Grand Slam tennis season passes without an American male singles champ. It’s been 22 years since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open, but who’s counting? Seriously, who cares? Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic, et al. play well to all audiences.

Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.