Five thoughts on five things as the football world gets ready for the unveiling of the NFL schedule at 8 p.m. Wednesday:

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*No one — absolutely no one — understands the potential of TV sports more than the NFL. The other sports — pro and college — aren’t even close. And that has been the case for decades. What used to be a simple press release sent out by the league in the middle of a weekday in the spring, with virtually all fans not getting to see what it contained until they tuned in to the sportscast on the 6 p.m. local newscast, has turned into a primetime TV show, with all kinds of teases leading into it over three or four days.

*The NFL also does a great job of spacing out its main events throughout most of the year so there is always something fresh and new to check out. The only break in the action, during which everybody working in the league or associated with it takes their vacation, is a three-week period from late June into early July. Once the Fourth of July passes, the trickle of activity begins leading into training camp.

*I always laugh when media people tell stories about what a crabby guy Bill Belichick was when he was head of the New England Patriots for two decades. He was a docile pussycat there compared to what he was in his five seasons (1991-95) as head coach of the Browns. And some of his worst moments came when he was interviewed about the Browns schedule when it was released. No matter what the question was, his answer was basically the same: “The league makes the schedule, we look at when and where our games are, and we show up.” And somewhere in that schedule — twice a year, in fact — Belichick’s Browns were “on to Cincinnati.”

*To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Browns will have few primetime dates. It’s what happens when you go 3-14, have a terrible offense and don’t know who will start at quarterback. Indeed, it wasn’t a pretty sight last season.

*That the Browns drafted quarterback Shedeur Sanders will enhance their appeal at least a little bit, even if General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, whose disdain for the pick was there for all the world to see when the TV cameras showed the draft room, won’t like it, appreciate it or even acknowledge it. The aftermath of that embarrassing public relations debacle will continue to play out for a long, long time.

Steve King