By David Scott
Boston Sports Media Watch

The former flight attendant who has been walking the aisles of the Patriots’ locker room for the past 16 months is flying back to Houston.

Jerome Solomon, the Boston Globe’s Patriots’ beat writer, confirmed on Thursday that he will be returning to his hometown paper, the Houston Chronicle, after just one full season on the Pats’ beat. Solomon said he expects his last day at the Globe to come in mid-August.

For Globe sports editor Joe Sullivan, it’s just another desk change during an endless-summer-of-desk-changes. The tumult wouldn’t be so troublesome if it weren’t such a pivotal time in the Globe’s Print/Internet merger and evolution. It’s hard enough to map the future with a full staff, but having staff shake-up can only add to the Sully Excedrin headaches.

For now, it is expected that recently promoted, Mike Reiss, will slide up to the No. 1 slot, something that observers have seen occurring over the past few days of Globe Pats’ coverage. On Thursday, for instance, Reiss handled the main story (BradyGate Day 2) and the notebook, while Solomon did sidebar duty (Reche Caldwell). The transition, it would appear, is already underway (Reiss had the Sunday notes column this past week as well).

With the departure of Solomon, the city’s lone black sportswriter, the Globe has now had three Patriots beat writers in the past three seasons (Nick Cafardo, twice; ESPN’s Michael Smith and Solomon).

In addition, Sullivan’s sports desk has also, in a matter of weeks, lost its primary Red Sox beat writer, Chris Snow (to the Minnesota Wild); its primary Bruins beat writer, Nancy Marrapese-Burrell (to more of a general assignment position); and now, its primary Pats’ beat writer. Celtics’ beat writer Shira Springer, it would appear, deserves some type of loyalty reward from the 17 Percenters.

Snow’s vacancy seems to be going to Amalie Benjamin, while Fluto Shinzawa is taking NM-B’s spot. Reiss will, of course, get help from utility man, Nick Cafardo, Ron Borges, and likely a Julian Benbow-type of Globe correspondent.

. . .The Solomon departure comes at an intriguing time on the Pats’ beat. The newly-formed Dynamic Duo of the Herald’s John Tomase and MetroWest’s Albert Breer, is in the midst of a banner week with two days of Bruschi wrist injury stories and the tandem’s renewed vigor over at the Herald’s “Point After” Blog. (Radio Mike Felger is also in the mix, but it’s Tomase and Breer who are doing the dirty work.)

Both Tomase and Breer are bulldog-reporter-types, who wear their Herald badges with pride and vigor. If they ARE the scrappy underdogs plying their trade FOR the scrappy underdog, so be it. At least you know who they are and you should also know they’re not going anywhere. If Hank Herald uses all three of them correctly (led by Felger’s voice) and continues his paper’s progression to splashy back pages – to match the recent splashy front pages – they will have two very solid anchors to splash away with in the T&B Boys.

. . . Don’t be foolish enough to think, in this battle to be your Pats Info Provider, that it’s a two pony race. The ProJo.com has been consistent throughout Training Camp and the sometimes-overlooked Patriots.com has been keeping pace – if not surpassing – much of the mainstream folks, with its podcasts, streaming audio and video (Not to mention this phone number where “CampCasts” are also available: Get daily Training Camp information and listen to daily podcasts. Call the Patriots Training Camp Hotline at 508-549-0001 brought to you by Talking Street.) (Talking Street’s a pretty cool concept, eh?)

. . . Solomon, who turns 42 later this month, was hired to the Globe, from the Chronicle in the Spring of 2005, after seven years as a full-time Chronicle reporter. The return to his hometown will allow Solomon to be closer to his family – including a 70-something mother, and his 90-somethng grandmother. He said his new job at the Chronicle will place him in more of a Page 2-type of columnist’s role as the paper begins, in earnest, its efforts to beef up its web presence, quality and importance. Solomon will be able to write on a variety of sports and topics, but will likely remain a strong NFL presence for the paper and its site.

(As of Thursday afternoon, Chronicle staffers had still not “officially” been told of Solomon’s return, but the announcement was imminent according to a high level editor in the sports department. Some paperwork needed to be finished up before the hiring could become “official.”)

Both papers – the Chronicle and the Globe – are Top 15 in the nation for circulation, but Solomon indicated that he never quite felt at home here in Boston. The chance to get back to Houston – at what is believed to be a much higher salary – was not something he could refuse. Especially, Solomon said, after he discovered that the cost-of-living charts don’t lie.

“What I paid for heat in one month here during the winter is what I’d pay for an entire year in Houston,” said Solomon. “Overall, it was a good experience for me here, but the chance to get back to Houston is too good to pass up.”

Shots has also been told that Solomon was sought by a couple of other newspapers in recent months, including USA Today.

At the Chronicle, Solomon will be re-united with a former assistant editor of his, Fred Faour, who has been the Chron’s SportsEd for a little over a year. Faour had been instrumental in Solomon’s original hiring at the Chronicle, following some stringer work Solomon had done for the paper. In short time, he became the Big XII writer. (Still, Solomon, has a huge affinity for college sports, especially college basketball, and he was never able to satisfy that Jones in Boston. “They NEVER talk college sports here,” he said. “Never.”)

. . . And yes, that first paragraph above was true; before turning to sportswriting in the 1990s, Solomon spent 10 years as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines.

. . . Conveniently, the Chronicle’s website still has a page and email link for Solomon. (Which might be a good example of how needy the Chronies are in terms of a re-vamped web presence. The guy’s been gone for over a year, how can his email still be up there?)

. . . Here’s Shots’ two cents on the short-lived Solomon Era at the Globe:

The first day I ever met Solomon was yesterday (Thursday). We talked for some 20 minutes in person and than another 20 or so on the phone. We probably didn’t become “fast friends,” but I do think we’ll keep in touch down the road – if only to see how far Solomon can take his new, almost free-form, Chronicle gig and develop into the “wacky” personality> that one of his colleagues recently referred to.

In those 40 minutes of sometimes spirited debate, I gleaned some pretty intriguing things about Solomon and, for his part, he most certainly impelled me to re-think some of my past criticism of his work. But I also attempted to put forth to him, my belief that the “Big Dog” – in this case, the region’s No. 1 newspaper and its No. 1 Pats beat guy – are held to a higher standard, simply because of who and what they represent.

Do I “go after” the Globe a disproportionate amount? Probably. But it’s because of the esteem and respect I hold for that page and its potential power.

Are the Globe – and its beat writers – supposed to get EVERY breaking news story of merit? No, of course not. That would be an insult to all of its competitors.

But when they (or him) appear to miss on one (the recent Maroney signing saga comes to mind), they get more of the attention – sometimes at the expense of their lesser, yet still substantial, achievements. Solomon had his share of ‘scoops’ and he acquitted himself just fine on the beat. What he did in Boston will almost assuredly make him better in Houston. He worked his beat, established sources and grew into his roles in both print and on TV (mostly for NESN’s “SportsPlus”).

We never saw the “wacky” side, but beat writers aren’t necessarily supposed to show that side. Solomon always wrote well and reported well and believe us, there are lot worse NFL beat guys pulling in newspaper paychecks.

*****AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. . .*****

The heat makes everyone crazy, we should all be convinced of that by now.

You know how I know this to be true?

Because I pay attention to such matters. Matter like these:

• I pay attention when I get emails like this from a Mountain State Shots Loyalist:

Enjoy your columns very much.
Could you please chastise Jerry Remy for his incessant use of “obviously” in every damn sentence?
You have a way of getting everyone’s attention
Thank You

(Shots pays attention to that, by the way, because flattery gets you everywhere, every time.)

• I pay attention when the Globe’s resident sports business insider, Sasha Talcott appears during the lame duck days CN8’s “Sports Pulse.” (It will re-launch in the 11 p.m. slot the day after Labor Day with a completely new look, feel and name.)

Talcott is emerging nicely for the Globe’s business desk on most sports matters. She won us over largely during the Globe Magazine GameOn! Roundtable earlier this summer, withstanding the overt, harmless flirting of Shaughnasty, who shared the dais with her.

• I pay attention when the Pats’ Media Guide weighs in at 504 pages (including covers) and I pay particular (juvenile) attention when the somewhat unfortunate box heading of “Family Affair” appears in the midst of the text of Bill Belichick’s eight-page bio. It is, alas, a note about BB being one of just four NFL head coaches whose Pops (ala Steve Belichick) had played in the league (Joe Walton, David Shula and Mike Nolan).

• I pay attention when an in-house, full page, Sunday paper ad touts the tweaking of the Sunday Boston Globe Magazine. Said tweaking will include the long overdue regular column from Shots’ fave, Charlie Pierce and, we fear, the dropping of the “Coupling” column, which was ominously omitted from the ad copy touting the changes’ debut this coming Sunday. (An email to the Coupling editor went unanswered.)

Globe Mag editor, Doug Most has done some good things over there since his arrival but the anchoring of Pierce with a column should have been his very first step. Better late than never and no better time for Pierce, who will soon be asked to go into overdrive to promote his forthcoming Brady book.

• I pay attention when the Summer X Games has gender equity problems. Which means ESPN has Title IX concerns. Which means they moved quickly and expertly to squelch this one. The squelching included, quite masterfully, the dedication of some two minutes of the story into the ESPNEWS cycle on Thursday.

To recap: A property created, owned and run by the Worldwide Leader had to give hush money to some X Ladies who were aiming to get all uppity about the lack of X Opportunities (and $$$$) for girls named Fabiola and Dallas.

Somehow, that all makes sense in ESPN Land.

• I pay attention and wonder why was this image on the Herald’s “Point After Blog”? Why, oh why? Did Felger lose a bet?:

Sara would not approve.

• I pay attention to everything Alice Cook does for her bosses, because I maintain that she is the most underrated, underutilized talent in Boston TV – news, sports, weather, whatever. She never fails to deliver and it sometimes can be enough to make up for the cacophony of station-mates, “Bob and Burt” (Lobel and WEEI Laugh Track, Steve Burton).

• I pay attention when a link to Duke’s site is emailed to me. Wanna bet the Track Gals do too?

• I pay attention when the heatwave breaks, the wind comes off the water and Percy the Dog stops panting like a dehydrated Black Lab.

And after I pay attention – I retire to the big aluminum lounge chair in the sand.

Perhaps you should too.

David Scott writes from a seaside shanty on the shores of Hull, Mass. And can be reached at shotsATbostonsportsmedDOTcom