Helen_Thomas: I noticed that the Post-Gazette used all Associated Press photos of the Pirates-Reds series at PNC Park. I can see not sending a photographer to Philadelphia and Washington to save money during these economic times, but are things so bad that you can't send a photographer across the Clemente Bridge?

Jerry Micco: We did run Peter Diana photos on Monday from the Sunday game, but while we plan to staff every single home game, sometimes other assignments are needed and we know we can rely on AP to back us up. I'm not sure of every circumstance of what happened on Friday and Saturday, but if you want to email our photo editor Larry Roberts, you can reach him at lroberts@post-gazette.com. And sometimes, we prefer an AP photo. It's rare, but sometimes it happens. We have a very good photo staff and we use them quite a bit in our section.

theWellHungarian: Hi Jerry-- Sorry for being MIA the past few weeks. Is it just me or do Penguin fans have the shortest memory of all fans. Last year, in the 1st 3 series Geno dominated. Marian Hossa (Sid's linemate at the time) anointed him as the best player in the world. Yes, I will agree he did not look great against Detroit, but none of the Pens looked great against Detroit. Fast forward to this year's play-offs--- Malkin is 3rd in scoring in the playoffs. Without him we do not win the series against Philly. Game 2: #2 Star; Game 3: #3 Star; Game 6: #1 Star (series clinching game) ... To say he fizzles in the playoffs is inaccurate. I agree, he needs to step his game up, I think he will answer the challenge and dominate tonight .... Thoughts?

Jerry Micco: I'm amazed at how quickly fans here throw great players under the bus. When I worked in the Bay Area, it just wasn't that way with the fans there. More passion here, but also a lot more "what have you done for me lately?" attitude, and then they are stunned that these guys leave when they have a chance. I think Malkin has not played well against the Caps. Kunitz, Staal, Kennedy and Guerin fit that category, too. Outside of Crosby, offensively, who has played well? I think Malkin will step up and will play better. I don't know if he'll dominate, but he's certainly capable.

praveen: Hey Jerry, as much as I delight in seeing Hossa shut out for 3 games, that was a horrible call at the end of Game 3. The ref was hiding behind the rule when he should have done a better job spotting the puck. That was clearly not in control.

Jerry Micco: If he lost sight of the puck, he has to blow the whistle. But to me, the replay showed that the whistle came after the goal. I guess they take into account that he was in the process of blowing the whistle, but nonetheless, it cost the Wings a chance at a tie and maybe a victory.

bubs: What's your assessment of the Steelers draft? Who did the Steelers 'steal'? Any missteps?

Jerry Micco: I don't think there were any missteps and no one struck me as a "steal." I think getting Frank Summers in the fifth round was a very good pick. He's going to be a great short-yardage guy, something that has been missing for a couple years with this team. I think the Steelers were happy to see Ziggy Hood still on the board when they picked. They needed D-Line help and he'll provide it. Some drafts had him going 25-30, which would have meant the Steelers would miss him. Also, if AQ Shipley can compete at center, getting him in round 7 would be a steal. But he has some work to do to get to that point.

Tony_Almeda: Are you ready for another summer of Brett Favre b.s.?

Jerry Micco: Not really, though I was not ready for it last year, either. As I've said before, the guy's a hall of famer and deserves all the accolades he gets. But, this yearly retire-then-play scenario is old. I don't know how much he's got in the tank, but he does know the Vikings offense, since Brad Childress ran that same offense in Green Bay. I don't know, if I'm the Packers, I'd love a couple shots a year at him.

Scuba_Steve: I think criticism of Malkin is fair. He wasn't just one of a cast that struggled mightily against Detroit. He was one of the best players in the world who was a liability every time he touched the puck! He's not the reason they are struggling, but it's fair to criticize him for not being able to do more to elevate them. Great things are expected of great players so it's logical to be more critical of him than, say, a player like Kunitz. It's all just opinion, of course, but I don't think that's throwing him under the bus.

Jerry Micco: Have you heard the vitriol of fans so far? They are ready to unload the guy because he's not scoring every time he touches the puck. Sure, you can criticize Malkin for the past 2 games, that's certainly fair. But some people are saying he's not good in the playoffs. That's flat wrong. He was terrific in the Philly series. He needs to play better than he is now for the Pens to have a chance, but I think it's off base to say he's become a liability.

Tony_Almeda: You made a good point about fans in this town. I know people that want to blame Roethlisberger and Crosby for every loss and never give them any credit. I don't get it either.

Jerry Micco: It's a tough sports town in that sense. It really is. The fans here are great ... when you're winning. I guess that's true everywhere, but here, it seems great games are forgotten if you have any type of bad stretch. The only fans who are crazy loyal, to me, are Pirates fans. They have been bad for so long, but fans still come out for them. Not this time of year, and the weather has been miserable, but come summer, you'll still get good crowds. Of course the Penguins have all these sellouts now, but a few years ago, they were talking about relocating. The Steelers, well, what can you say? But still, guys like Big Ben are targets when they don't win.

theWellHungarian: remember a few years ago when FSN was televising Cleveland Cavaliers game and calling them Pittsburgh's 4th franchise? Did they do that just because the Pens' uncertainty or because not enough people jumped on board? I jumped on board and my God is that team fun to watch, not only Lebron, but also Delonte, Varajeo, etc.

Jerry Micco: I think they were looking for quality programming and the Cavs certainly would provide that. An excellent team that's fun to watch. And the Cavs would love to get into this market more. But with the popularity of the Pens these days and the contract with the Pirates, FSN has a full slate.

Scuba_Steve: Just to clarify Jerry. I think he's been just a "neutral" force in this series. I was referring to the Detroit series last year when I said he was a liability. And yes, calling for him to be traded is absurd!

Jerry Micco: He was terrible against Detroit, I'll give you that. He has been neutral in this series, except for the late, dumb penalty in Game 2. I think there's still something with him and Ovechkin. Can't prove anything and can't even guess what it is, but something about Ovechkin affects Malkin. He needs to take whatever that is, compartmentalize it, and then go play. He is an absolute game-changer when he's on his game.

Tony_Almeda: Were you surprised Kunitz wasn't suspended? If one of the Flyers did that to Fleury we would be calling for him to be suspended for the rest of the series. I thought it was cheap and warranted a suspension of at least a game.

Jerry Micco: I was shocked he didn't get a game. An obvious dirty play, but because Varlamov wasn't injured, the league just did the fine and let it be. I'm sure the Caps haven't forgotten about it, though. Fleury may get run a couple times tonight. And I'll guarantee Varlamov will be run some tonight. The Pens have to crash the net to be effective.

theWellHungarian: how important is it for pitchers like Maholm to be able to stay consistently 'down' in the zone? i keep hearing that during broadcasts and not quite sure i buy it

Jerry Micco: Maholm can go up in the zone if he's got a fastball in the mid-90s, but he doesn't. Of course, he has to go up sometimes to vary his location, but he's most effective down and away because of his changeup and curve. He can spot a fastball that's 89 MPH and it looks like 95 if his change is working.

bubs: Along the lines of Hungarian's question -- I also remember that the Cavs did a marketing push here and ocassionally their games were on the WB or some such network -- do you know if the Pens have made or do make any similar sort of push into the Cleveland market?

Jerry Micco: I don't. I'd be surprised if they did because they get such good ratings here that they'd not want to splinter that. I don't think Cleveland's much of a hockey town, but I do know there are plenty of NBA fans in Pittsburgh.

praveen: The total ineffectiveness of Sykora is baffling. Maybe move Talbot or Cooke to Malkin's line

Jerry Micco: They may have to do something like that. I have to think Sykora isn't 100 percent. He scored 25 goals this season and has been absent for 2 series. He doesn't seem right at all. I could see a Cooke/Sykora switch, but I don't know how Sykora helps a third line that isn't scoring, either.

theWellHungarian: I was listening to Mark Madden the other day & he was saying about how the Pirates should sign Barry Bonds. After seeing the crowds on TV, it certainly would help attendance. They can't even fill up the seats behind the dish and along 1st & 3rd baselines. In my opinion that is pathetic!

Jerry Micco: First of all, they won't sign Bonds and he would not come back here. So let's get that part of fantasy baseball out of the way. The Pirates generally do not draw well in May. They don't really draw until school's out. And let's face it, the weather has been pretty poor these past 2 series, particularly the Milwaukee series. And they don't help themselves when they pull a 1-5 homestand. Ugly.

praveen: The media needs to hype the Anaheim-Red Wings series. To me, that series is even more intense.

Jerry Micco: It's a great series, probably the second-best one of this round (behind Pens-Caps). But part of the problem is some of those games have a 10:30 start time here and not a lot of folks stay up to watch them. I think it's a terrific series and if Detroit is not careful, they could be down 3-1 headed back to the Motor City.

praveen: Do you know what the scheduling snafu that caused the NHL to schedule back to back playoff games later on in the week for the Pens-Caps?

Jerry Micco: I don't, but my guess is arena availability came into play. This happened last year for Pens-Sens, when they had back to back games. It's not always the league that does this, but a lot of times it's whether or not the arena is available.

praveen: Pirates 12-14. welcome back to reality. I hope the Pirates won't use injuries as an excuse since that is part of the game.

Jerry Micco: Well, the only guy who is hurt is Doumit. And they supposedly have a deeper bench with guys like Monroe and Hinske. I think the problem is just how inconsistent they are both in pitching and at the plate. You get a well-pitched start and the bullpen blows it. Then you get a lousy start and the bats aren't good enough to overcome that. It's all a part of a team that because it's so young, it's so inconsistent. Guys like Moss, Andy LaRoche, Morgan and McLouth do not have all that much big league experience. And you rely on those guys to come through. Because they are young, sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. But you need to play them or you'll never know how good they are.

praveen: I was initially surprised when I heard that the attendance for Pens games is even higher than Pens games back in the superstar filled Pens of 91-93 days. Do you think it is because teens back then were the first generation of diehard Pens fans on a mass scale and now you got two generations into the Pens now on such a mass scale?

Jerry Micco: I think it's the latter. You have a generation that remembers the great Cup teams and became fans, and you have a younger generation that has latched on to hockey as their sport of choice. A very nice situation for the Pens.

theWellHungarian: Now that the Pirates have returned back to Earth... Who is all available at the deadline? Sanchez, Wilson, LaRoche?

Jerry Micco: All three, I'd think, along with Monroe and Hinske. Of course, you're then looking at a similar collapse as they did the final 2 months of 2008. Lose those 3 and you have guys who probably shouldn't be playing every day, doing just that. And you have to see what those guys would bring you. Would they bring the prospects you need? Not likely. They desperately need bullpen help, but so does everyone else.

Tony_Almeda: Any chance that the entire playoffs could be broadcast on Versus and NBC? Their HD signal is cleaner, they have better production and best of all no Steigy and Bob! And no bad weather in Atlanta will knock out their signal.

Jerry Micco: I'm sure the NHL would prefer that, but FSN does so well with their ratings for Pens games that they would hate to see that happen. Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey don't bother me as much as they seemingly bother others. The Atlanta/lightning strike thing, though, is really lame. You have to be set up for that and do a quick switch if you can do it.

Tony_Almeda: Where did Boston-Chicago rank among all-time NBA series? It was one of the best I've ever seen by far.

Jerry Micco: I guess it's one of the best first-round series, but there have been series later in the playoffs that have been better. And I think late-round series are more intense, so I'd give it very high marks, but then note it is a first-round series. Great games throughout, though, I'd agree.

theWellHungarian: Kunitz, Guerin, Fedotenko, and Sykora can't do anything offensively. That's 4 of the top 6. I'd like to see Malkin on Crosby's wing with Cooke as the mucker. Then have 3 brusing lines

Jerry Micco: I've heard a couple people say they should unite Geno and Sid and then maybe the other lines could get more dirty goals because they'd have a chance to have better matchups. Guerin, though not extremely physical, is a terrific passer and seems to be in the right place all the time. I'd keep him on the first line. Your second line could be Staal, Kunitz and Fedotenko. Remember when Kunitz first came here? Staal was his center and they were terrific. Then your third line could be Talbot, Kennedy and Sykora.

praveen: I have to chime in on the Malkin bashing. He was MIA in 07 against Ottawa. He tailed off starting with Philly and was worse than some of the role players against Detroit last year. Now he is off to a bad start against the Caps. Not quite Barry Bonds-ish. But this is happening every year for a crucial series.

Jerry Micco: I think if he doesn't play as well as he does against Philly, they may not win that series. You have to credit him for that. Some guys are not as good come playoff time, but I think you'd still rather have him than not. I mean if he's that bad, or as bad as you say, do you bench him? Put him on a fourth line and power plays? I think he does more than score and folks forget that. Yes, dumb penalty in Game 2, but defensively he's very good and when he's out there, you force the other team to match up. That won't be as easy here the next 2 games.

Tony_Almeda: Will Jack Bauer be able to fight off his bad health and stop the attack?

Jerry Micco: He'd better. He seems to be battling hard, but I'd have figured in the last 4 hours of shows, they'd have discovered a cure. They usually can do that on this show.

theWellHungarian: Way off topic, but how nasty is the Russian team gonna be at next year's olympics... Ovechkin, Malkin, Semin, Kovalchuk, Chara, etc ... I mean wow!!

Jerry Micco: The Canadians will be the favorites and will have home crowd. The Russians, though, probably have the best team. And you can take your pick of great goalies, too.

ajt123: Who has it worse, the Pirates vs. Milwaukee, or the Pens vs. the Caps

Jerry Micco: Oh, Pirates, no question.

bubs: How do you think the other AFC North teams did in the draft? Can they unseat the Steelers? And do the Steelers avoid the Super Bowl hangover this season?

Jerry Micco: I thought Baltimore had a very good draft, Cleveland a so-so draft and Cincinnati a good draft if some of those reaches come through. As for a letdown, I don't see that happening. Unless there's an offseason problem (Ben and his bike) like after Super Bowl XL.

ajt123: Where we all fooled by the decent start by the Pirates?

Jerry Micco: No, a lot of folks said, "let's see how they are on June 1." So folks know this team can tease and then go back to what they have been. That said, they are only 2 under .500 and have played the Cards well this season. I don't think anyone thought these guys would have a winning season. I said 70 was my over/under. But as long as they are competitive as the season moves along, that's fine. I'll leave the door open for them until June 1. If they are 2 under .500 at that point, I'll say they are competitive and that's good for the team they have.

praveen: Is there a Pittsburgh native baseball version of Larry Foote who wants to return to the hometown Pirates team for chump change? Is it true Foote will be taking a big pay cut so he can return to start at home?

Jerry Micco: I'm not sure about the money, but he seemed to want out of here and to head to Detroit. That's fine. You want the guys who want to be here. He was a good linebacker here, but no matter where he goes, he's a 2-down linebacker. I don't think he can pass cover.

theWellHungarian: I really hope I'm wrong on this but do you think Malkin is scared of getting run by Ovechkin? One of my friends who isnt a Pens fan brought this up to me and after watching closely, he definately isnt as aggressive in the neutral zone or open ice when Ovechkin is on the ice at the same time. I know he's wrong, but just pay extra attn when the 2 are on the ice tonight

Jerry Micco: This has happened to Malkin from Ovechkin, so I'm sure that's in his head some. But I don't think that's the issue here. I think he has a healthy -- maybe too healthy -- respect for Ovechkin. I think Geno should play his game and if he does, he'll be fine. He can't have anymore bad games this series. He doesn't have to score 3 goals a game, but he needs to make his presence known on both ends. And that may mean banging on Ovechkin for a change.

Jerry Micco: I need to run back to work. Thanks again for taking the time to talk. I always enjoy this hour every week. I'll be back next Wednesday at noon, so please tell your friends who can take the time to talk sports. And thanks to my regulars for coming by again today!