“He was a true professional, but he’s like the best friend you have, too,” said Register sports editor Sean Barker said. “He was my confidant. I talked to him every single day, about stories, about the paper, everything. We had a couple of battles, but it was like family. He never let it last long.”

Solomon’s ability to move on has found immortality on YouTube. After Providence College’s Ryan Gomes, from Waterbury, lit up UConn in January 2004, Solomon asked Jim Calhoun, “Recruiting is hardly an exact science, but what does Gomes do that blows you away now that maybe no one saw?”

Solomon never said how did you miss on Gomes and never meant anything like that. He was talking about Gomes’ improvement. After he famously carpet f-bombed the XL Center, Calhoun came to this realization. He called and apologized to Solomon the next day. Solomon’s reaction? Calhoun didn’t need to apologize.

Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant wrote,

“As a columnist, he stood his ground without histrionics. I admit there were a few times when I felt, wow, if I wrote black, Solomon would write white. And if I wrote white, he would write black. When I told him this once, he said, “I wasn’t aware you were wrong that many times.”

And then he smiled.

Barker said condolences from sportswriters poured in from around the country.

Tweets and messages came from across the sports world Sunday. Some of the most prominent names in sports journalism offered their condolences: Jack Curry, Andy Katz, Dick Vitale, Peter King, Les Carpenter, Adrian Wojnarowski, Seth Davis and many others.

They are household names to sports fans.

They all knew Dave. They all respected him. And they all liked him. A lot.

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Some numbers from the 2008 final day: Ratings ranged from a 3.2 in New York to an 8.3 in West Palm Beach. (Old people love intercontinental golf!) The day averaged a total overnight of 4.4 nationwide.

So, how does that compare to other events? continued…

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Well, other than the fact that it’s a ton of money, it shows that English Premier League clubs can be profitable. During the last few months, American owners of Liverpool and Manchester United – two of the biggest teams in the world – have been lambasted (for good reason) because the debt they took on to purchase the teams is overwhelming their books. (More detail here and a great story about Liverpool fans stalking the owner here.)

Arsenal, on the other hand, is putting a fine product on the field – the Gunners currently sit tied for second in the EPL – and are filling the coffers. You know, like the Pittsburgh Pirates, except good.

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On the same day when reports about yet another study linking football to concussions come to light, The New York Times‘ Richard Sandomir pens a story questioning Fox’s discussion of the concussion suffered by Philadelphia Eagles’ Stewart Bradley.

In the story, Sandomir points out that while commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman expressed dismay and concern after the initial hit, they didn’t follow up when he returned to the field (a decisions that has drawn criticism). The pair noted the move surprised them, but didn’t comment further.

Hey, can someone call Pam Oliver?

The sideline reporter, Pam Oliver, should have been asked to offer an on-site assessment of how Bradley looked and was moving – especially after he did not play the final series of the half. Had Bradley been removed as part of a defensive strategy – or for medical reasons? Aikman said he noticed that Bradley was not playing the final series but was uncertain why he did not mention it.

With the NFL focusing on head injuries, “significance should be attached to a player who wobbles, totters and collapses, needs medical attention, then gets the green light to play within minutes.” Hear hear.

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Comparing the two genders, male sports fans are likely to say the Internet is the best place for sports content (36.6 percent) compared to female sports fans who give the edge to TV (36.2 percent).

In general, sports fans are using the web to check scores and stats (59.2 percent), to read sports-related news (47.4 percent) and to watch sports-related video clips.

Ranking surprisingly low on the list was using the Internet to play fantasy sports (11.8 percent). continued…

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