Mascots_Rule: Is the Post-Gazette planning to get an official mascot? I mean, other than Reg Henry? The only problem will be choosing the best nickname--the possibilities are endless! At this point, I'm leaning toward either Inky McPage or Newsy McPaper. Do you know when the contest starts?

Jerry Micco: It'll never have the staying power of Steely McBeam. I don't think we at the P-G, creative as we are, could ever come up with anything better. I think we'll leave the sports teams to the mascot business. But I do like Inky McPage.

Dingy_Harry: Bettis said that Kordell was set up to fail here, which I find to be absurd. In my view, the Steelers gave Kordell much more time to develop than most organizations would have and they ran an offense that allowed him to succeed in 2001. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Jerry Micco: I thought he was given a chance to succeed, but that the Steelers ran out of ways to use him. In reality, I never thought Stewart was a great QB, but he did some things other QBs couldn't do. I don't know, except during the slash years, that the Steelers ever used him correctly. Maybe part of that was Kordell wanting to play QB and then the team trying to build an offense around him. I think he had his chances, but not everyone makes it.

MPM: It appears that we may get to see Steve Pearce called up in September since he's continued to hit well since being promoted to Triple A. With Adam LaRoche hitting .331 since the All Star break, it doesn't make sense to sit him. However, it also doesn't appear to be a good idea to me to promote Pearce and have him sit on the bench for September with sporadic at bats. Any thoughts on what Jim Tracy might do if Pearce is promoted?

Jerry Micco: Probably use him as a pinch hitter and an occasional replacement for LaRoche, who as you point out, is finally hitting the ball like everyone thought he would. It wouldn't hurt Pearce to come here and get a taste. You could even experiment with him in right field, which is where I believe Indy is playing him. But his next step is winter ball or the instructional league to learn how to play the outfield.

Dingy_Harry: Would you start Townsend or McFadden?

Jerry Micco: I lean toward McFadden, but according to what I've seen and read, Townsend seems to be winning that job. I still think McFadden should be starting because of his upside, but you win the job on the field.

Ocho: Why is Tony Armless still on this team, let alone the starting rotation? This just shows how incompetent Dave Littefield really is.

Jerry Micco: He's here because he has no one else to start and they paid $3 mil for him. He had a couple good starts and now a couple of bad starts. It's what you get out of a No. 5 starter. Unfortunately, he's the best they have at that spot.

Ocho: Is Ray Fittipaldo off the PSU beat this year? And if so, why?

Jerry Micco: Ray is not on the PSU beat, Ron Musselman, who we hired from our sister paper in Toledo, is on the beat. Ray will continue to cover Pitt basketball for us. The reason is that PSU football and Pitt basketball are considered major beats at the paper. Doing both, which Ray did last year, is an absolutely exhausting assignment. Ray did a terrific job, but was beat by the time Pitt finished its season. It's better to have 2 folks do those beats.

Jerry Micco: Chat room patrons: There may come a time during this chat that we're all knocked out of the room. Post-Gazette.com is remaking the web site and the launch may come during this chat. Just give it a couple minutes, then return. It'll be a very different looking site and should be pretty exciting. It'll have it's normal start-up bugs, but otherwise, we should be fine. So if you all get zapped, come on back. We'll keep it going.

The_HYDRANT: Do you watch the LLWS?

Jerry Micco: Nope.

1Hawk: How much longer do you think the Cubs will contend for the National League Central title this year?

Jerry Micco: I think they'll contend to the end, even though they've got some key injuries. They have a very good team, about $200 million worth of guys, so they should contend. I don't think Milwaukee is going to be good enough to pull away from anyone.

roninbuc: Jerry please tell me that Dan Duquette is just the first CEO name to leak out? Nutting better know that bringing in him with this Expos connection to Littlefield and Tracy would mean another year of their incompetence, oh wait maybe that's exactly what he wants. Your thoughts on Duquette's resume in baseball?

Jerry Micco: Great in Montreal, terrible in Boston. And Duquette may decide he can be CEO/GM and tell Littlefield to take a hike. The Pirates are more like Montreal than Boston, so maybe the team needs that type of approach. But I'd like to hear more from Duquette before forming an opinion. And more from Bob Nutting, too.

PirateApologist: I will make fun of Steely McBeam as much as anyone else, but I make fun of the Pierogies too. But don't you find it amusing that some "fans" are truly angry about this mascot?

Jerry Micco: I wonder why they care. Seriously. It doesn't affect them in the slightest. No one will even notice him unless he gets in the way of the game.

roninbuc: Doesn't the confirmation by Dejan in Sunday's PG that Ryan Howard was offered to the Buccos in 2004 and DL turned it down because his people thought Howard had a hole in his swing, really cement Littlefield's status as a horrible evaluator of MLB talent?

Jerry Micco: In some cases, yes. But also, Brad Eldred at that time was considered a similar prospect. And if you have a guy in your system that is similar, you tend to lean toward your own guy. In hindsight, yeah, pretty terrible move on his part. But that's 3 years later.

roninbuc: Has Chuck Greenberg given any indication he would be interested in the Pirates CEO job? Heard his name mentioned early, but not recently. How would he do in the position?

Jerry Micco: I don't know Chuck, but guys who have been here and covered the team for a long time do. I don't know his interest, but we're looking into who is interested in the team. I have no idea how he'd do. But could he be any worse than things are now?

PirateApologist: Jerry, what is the etiquette as far as using the P-G as source material. Sometimes when I listen to the afternoon sports shows, it seems like they are taking things right out of Dejan's Pirate Notebook, but not saying that it came from the P-G. Is it understood that tv and radio gets a lot of its info from the AP and local papers?

Jerry Micco: It upsets us when they do that, but what can you do? You hope professionalism is used and sometimes it is. And, to be honest, they have reporters too and get plenty of stuff on their own. But we post items on our Web site and they are up there for all to see. We like receiving credit for our hard work and I know I appreciate it professionally and personally when other media outlets credit us.

Ocho: They have Shane Youman, who wasn't that good but still better than Armas.

Jerry Micco: Is he? I mean they have almost similar numbers. Maybe you go with him, but I think you pretty much get the same results.

Sandlot_Wizard: Do you think DL will promote McCutchen and Walker in Sept. along with Pearce to try and show something to keep his job? Seems like most of his moves recently have been to help short term and for that purpose.

Jerry Micco: I think Pearce and McCutchen will come up in September, but I'm not sure about Walker. He's trying to get a more veteran team because like most managers, he trusts veterans. It's paid off with a much better bench and while I don't like the price paid for Matt Morris, I think he still has a year left in the tank.

Joe: What is the big knock on Kemoeatu? Do you think if one of our starting guards went down he would be able to step in and be adequate. I heard the big knock on him is that he's to stupid to know who to block, but when I've focused in on him he seems like he has the potential to be dominant.

Jerry Micco: He played well in the Green Bay game, I thought, and not so well vs. the Redskins. He's young, but I think he's adequate. I don't know that he's a starter, but he could develop that way. He's big and nasty, which are two good requirements for the job. Let's see how he does on Sunday, when he should get at least a half of playing time.

roninbuc: Pitt obviously needs to win all of their home games with a weak schedule (attendance should be pretty ugly with empty seats), but if Wanny gets the team to gel on D, and Stull can manage the O efficiently with a big assist by McCoy, which two road games are most likely for a Pitt upset? Virginia and Mich St, or maybe Rutgers or WV?

Jerry Micco: I'd say Virginia and Michigan State. I think Rutgers and WVU will be too good. I think Pitt can be anywhere from 5-7 to 7-5. I don't think those home games with UConn, Cincinnati and South Fla will be walkovers. They are going to have to play well to beat them, especially the latter two.

Sandlot_Wizard: Will the Pens make any more moves before training camp starts? I've heard they have inquired on Peter Forsberg.

Jerry Micco: I think Forsberg wants to be a first of second-line center and the Pens don't need that. I think that they are done for the most part. But if an injury occurs in camp, don't be surprised if they go fishing for a replacement via trade.

PirateApologist: Jerry, this may sound like the most apologetic thing I have ever asked about the Pirates, but is the whole Matt Wieters thing still news? If he is a complete bust, we will never hear about him again. Chris Shelton never seems to get mentioned anymore, but when he was on a tear, I heard more about him than Jason Bay.

Jerry Micco: Let's see how Wieters does before we crown him the next Ted Simmons or Carlton Fisk. Yes, he looks like the real deal, but maybe he won't be. That's the thing with young guys, you never really know it does take time to develop them. The Pirates are going through that with the three starting pitchers (Snell, Gorzo, Maholm) and with McLouth, Doumit, Bautista and Paulino. Those are all Pirate products and if you are going to build from within, patience is a key. If Weiters is the real deal, we'll know in a few years.

Ocho: Do you think it's a good thing that no one really expects anything-record-wise-from the Steelers this season?

Jerry Micco: The Steelers' fans always expect to win a Super Bowl, are you kidding me? I've heard people talking 12-4 or 11-5, which is a mighty stretch.

PirateApologist: Again, not to sound too apologetic, but I think that Littlefield should be made fun of for the moves he did make (Chris Young, Rule 5) instead of the moves he didn't make (Howard). He's made enough horrible moves, no need to bring up the moves he could have made.

Jerry Micco: No doubt on Chris Young. But, how about Nady for Perez? A terrible move? Bay for Giles? Josh Phelps off waivers? Getting Sanchez for Suppan? LaRoche for Gonzalez? Now I'm no DL apologist, but those aren't awful deals. And the team isn't good for a variety of reasons. For me, it's the pitching, particularly the bullpen that let them down. So you draft a reliever, Moskos, to hopefully shore that up. Makes sense, but bottom line is if you don't win in this business, you aren't employed for very long.

PirateApologist: Does Pitt make a bowl this year with their soft home schedule?

Jerry Micco: The have a good chance to do it. Maybe at 6-6.

roninbuc: Is all of the Cowher bashing by his former players just the routine for a coach who has been on the job for that long? Or was there a lot of tension between the Chin and a lot of his players? How do you think Bill will do on CBS? Anything that times air time away from Sharpe is a good thing.

Jerry Micco: I'm sure some guys liked him and some guys didn't. It's like any job: the boss isn't exactly universally loved because the boss has to say "no" sometimes. Comes with the territory. I think a lot of guys did like Cowher, but now some guys can pop off because there's no penalty involved. I think he'll be OK on CBS. It's his first year so I don't expect much. Ocho: Will you be joining Bob Pompeani after afternoon Steelers games on the CW?

Jerry Micco: Right now, that's the plan. We'll be on after the show he does with Edmund Nelson.

Ocho: Have you ever thought of starting a fantasy football league on here?

Jerry Micco: I think we have something on our Web site that allows folks to join a fantasy league.

Sandlot_Wizard: Seems that Pitt could surprise some people if McCoy is an impact RB and the defensive line is as good as advertised. Run the ball and play D? You can win some games that way.

Jerry Micco: No doubt, but the O-Line is a bit banged up now, and the LBs and secondary are a bit green. But McCoy seems like the real deal and from what I'm reading, Stull is very steady. I think if Pitt is less than, say, 5-7, then it's been a really bad year for them. Maybe even if they are less than 6-6.

Ocho: I meant to say the national media, and even getting overlooked in the AFC, with the Patriots, Chargers, Ravens, and Colts.

Jerry Micco: All those teams mentioned, at least on paper, are better than the Steelers in my opinion. Maybe you get an argument on the Ravens, but until the Steelers prove they can handle that team's defense, then the Ravens have an edge.

website_guy: The PG's new website looks really cool Jerry ... did you do all that? ;-)

Jerry Micco: Actually, I did nothing. Hopefully, readers will enjoy it. We aim on delivering the same great news, video, slideshows, audio, chats, Q&A's, all of it, but in a different, more refreshing look. It's a work in progress. Hope you enjoy it.

Sandlot_Wizard: I'm hoping DL doesn't trade Jack Wilson, because of the type of players he has been going for (the Craig Monroe's). If he's a lame duck, shouldn't Nutting step in and tell him not to sell out future development for these last 40 games?

Jerry Micco: I'll let the Wison-for-Monroe thing stand, but I'll address the next part of your question: Maybe he's not a lame duck. Maybe Nutting has already said to potential CEOs, you have Tracy and Littlefield for a year and then you decide to renew them. Maybe that's what's going on.

Sandlot_Wizard: What is the word on Spaeth? Has he been as good as they thought when they happily drafted him?

Jerry Micco: He seems to be coming along, albeit slowly. Have they even thrown a pass to a tight end? I guess Miller caught a shortie last game. Spaeth is a rookie and he'll need a bit of time to develop. But I still don't think the Steelers are counting on big things from him this season.

Steely_McStupid: Best sports movie ever?

Jerry Micco: Caddyshack. At least the funniest. Remember the Titans is a wonderful movie.

Joe: Who do you think makes the team at running back? Is anyone a lock outside of Parker?

Jerry Micco: I think Davenport is a lock. I really like Gary Russell. I think if he's on the rookie squad he's going to get scooped up by someone. My list would be, and this probably isn't Mike Tomlin's list: Parker, Davenport, Russell, Davis, Kreider, Haynes.

website_guy: How badly does Penn State beat Notre Dame this season? And can you believe how much tickets are going for?

Jerry Micco: I think this year Penn State will handle Notre Dame, which will have a bit of a down year. I can believe it. It's still one of the great matchups in the country. While I don't think PSU has a natural Big Ten rival, the games with Notre Dame seem to be very spirited. I know USC-Notre Dame and Notre Dame-Michigan perhaps mean more to Irish fans, but Penn State-ND is a good match up.

Sandlot_Wizard: Will the Steelers be able to rush the passer this year? That was their downfall last year, getting no pressure w/ front 4. Can these rooks add to that?

Jerry Micco: The jury's out on Timmons because of his injury. I've not had a good look at him. Woodley seems to be pretty strong on pass rushing. The front three should be solid in that, but I don't see so much from Haggans and Harrison, who are the starters. The Steelers need to get pressure from 4 or 5 rushers and not always count on all-out blitzes. They haven't been great thus far, but you wonder how much Dick LeBeau is really using in the preseason.

Steely_McStupid: I've been watching some of these preseason games on NFL Network and practically every team has network broadcasters working their games. The Steelers have a local sports anchor, an insurance salesman and a weatherman.

Jerry Micco: God, that's actually funny. I never thought of it that way. Hey, KDKA buys those rights so it's their call who they want to put on the air. And it's the preseason after all. I don't think Bob does a bad job on play-by-play. It's not what he normally does, so he's not Al Michaels, but he's certainly not awful by any stretch.

Steely_McStupid: I'm wondering why the Steelers didn't take the center position more seriously in the offseason. Mahan didn't see much playing time in TB and now they are going to go with him? It's hard to believe this franchise has had 3 centers the last 35 years and now this bozo who couldn't execute a snap Saturday night is taking over?

Jerry Micco: Tomlin like Mahan and while he didn't play much in Tampa, don't sell him short. Yes, the botched snap is a problem, but he seems to be able to handle himself pretty well in one-on-one situations from what I've seen. And it seems that center is his natural position, though Tampa had him at guard. I'd like to give him a chance because I think he can be a good one. Maybe not great, but very good.

Steely_McStupid: What do you think about Comcast's battle with the Big 10 Network?

Jerry Micco: Sounds like a battle royale to me. Hey, I'm a Penn State alum and I love to watch college sports, but I don't want to pay extra for the Big Ten network. I'm an Armstrong subscriber, but my cable bill's high enough, thank you. Often times if Pitt and PSU are on at the same time I can do one on TV and one on the radio. And if both are on, I switch back and forth because we cover both. It try to catch WVU, too. Or, I TiVo the games. But I don't see myself getting giddy over at Big Ten network.

Jerry Micco: Well folks, time to head back to the desk. I'm not going to be here next week because of a schedule conflict, but we'll have a replacement. Thanks for taking the time to chat. I always enjoy the company!