High School Boys Basketball – Friday January 6, 2017
Quaker Valley – 78
Beaver Falls – 58
Pittsburgh Penguins center Cody Glass (19) and Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Jesse Puljujarvi (18) hug Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, middle, after he scored the tying goal, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)
A shot by Seattle Kraken’s Chandler Stephenson gets past Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins ran out of patience waiting for two-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry to emerge from a slump, placing him on waivers Wednesday ahead of a pivotal seven-game road trip that could determine the course of the rest of their season.
The 29-year-old Jarry is 8-7-4 with a 3.32 goals against average and a .886 save percentage this season for Pittsburgh, which is on the fringe of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference due in large part to subpar play in net.
The Penguins have allowed an NHL-high 173 goals, with neither Jarry nor Alex Nedeljkovic establishing themselves behind a defense prone to lapses.
The Penguins will call up promising rookie Joel Blomqvist to join Nedeljkovic on the road trip, which starts on Friday in Buffalo. Blomqvist went 3-5 with a 3.60 goals against average and a .904 save percentage during a stint in Pittsburgh earlier in the season.
It seems unlikely a team would be willing to claim Jarry and pick up his salary, meaning Jarry will be reassigned to the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once he clears waivers.
“At this point, (I) just feel it’s best in the long run for the team and for Tristan to allow Joel to come up here,” Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas said Wednesday. “We think over the past year-and-a-half, with his play in Wilkes-Barre and when he’s been up here with us, he’s earned the right to have a go at it.”
The decision comes 18 months after Dubas signed Jarry to a five-year deal with an average annual value of $5.375 million. Jarry was an All-Star in 2020 and 2022 but has struggled most of the last two seasons.
“He’s continued to come in here, put the work in and that’s not been a question at all,” Dubas said. “That just hasn’t materialized the way we would like it to on the ice. At this level, you get to the point where you have to do what’s right … for him and for us.”
Jarry ceded the starting job to Nedeljkovic last spring. While he reclaimed his spot atop the depth chart coming out of training camp, he stumbled out of the gate and was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a lengthy conditioning stint.
While there was a brief uptick in his play after he returned, Jarry has lost five straight starts and continues to struggle early in games. He’s allowed a goal on an opponent’s first shot six times this season and allowed a shorthanded goal on Seattle’s second shot in a 4-2 defeat to the Kraken on Tuesday.
“When you lose, this is the kind of stuff that can happen,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said Wednesday. “A goaltender already has a ton of pressure, and it’s difficult for us because we feel like as a team we’re responsible if we don’t give our goalies enough help sometimes. I think that’s the tough part.”
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, who took his team to task for defensive letdowns in the third period against the Kraken that opened up the door for Seattle’s comeback, believes there’s a chance Jarry will make his way back at some point.
“I don’t think you make the All-Star team twice if you don’t have a certain level of talent and you’re not capable of making timely saves,” Sullivan said. “So, I know that Tristan has it. I believe to my core that he’s an NHL goaltender.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates after a goal by teammate Jalen Chatfield (not shown) with Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (39) nearby during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. The Bengals won 19-17. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins’ Bryan Rust (17) celebrates with Sidney Crosby (87) after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens walks on the field as teammates work out prior to an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen watches his three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)
Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter (11) celebrates after sacking SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings during the second half in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
FILE – The Netflix logo is shown in this photo from the company’s website, in New York, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer
Netflix will have one of its biggest days Wednesday since the site launched in 1998 when it airs two NFL games for the first time.
“NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix” begins with a two-hour pregame show at 11 a.m., before Pittsburgh hosts Kansas City. Baltimore faces Houston in the second game.
The streaming giant agreed to a three-year contract in May to carry Christmas Day games.
Where will the games be available?
Netflix’s 282.3 million subscribers in over 190 countries will be able to stream the games, marking the first time one outlet has distributed an NFL game globally. Netflix will have the games available in five languages — English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.
The games will also air on CBS affiliates in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Houston. NFL policy dictates that games on cable or being exclusively streamed must also be on an over-the-air station in the competing teams’ markets. It will also be available on mobile devices in the U.S. for those who have NFL+.
Why is the NFL putting Christmas Day games on a streaming platform?
The biggest reason is money. The league is getting $150 million from Netflix for the two games this season. It also continues the NFL’s moves into streaming — Thursday night games are in their third season on Amazon Prime Video and the “Sunday Ticket” package moved to YouTube TV last year.
But Christmas is on a Wednesday when games usually aren’t played.
That’s true, but the league wasn’t about to give up Christmas after seeing the ratings. Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, averaging 29.48 million.
The Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens and Texans played on Saturday, giving them the same turnaround they would have if they played on Sunday and then Thursday.
What is at stake for the teams playing?
All four have clinched playoff spots in the AFC, but seeding remains up for grabs.
Kansas City (14-1) can clinch the top seed — which would mean a first-round bye and home field throughout the playoffs — with a win over the Steelers. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are tied atop the AFC North at 10-5, with the Steelers holding the tiebreaker due to a better conference record.
Houston (9-6) has wrapped up the AFC South and holds the fourth seed.
Has Netflix fixed its streaming problems from the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight?
Netflix hopes so. Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports, said the system was stress tested, and then some, during the Nov. 14 bout, along with internet service providers reporting they were also overwhelmed by the surge that occurred before and during the fight.
The bout peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, including 38 million concurrent streams in the United States. According to the website Down Detector, nearly 85,000 viewers logged problems with outages or streaming leading up to and during the fight.
Could there be the same number streaming the games that there were during the fight?
Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
The largest audience for a streamed-exclusive NFL game was 23 million on Peacock for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs.
Nielsen will measure the ratings for the Christmas Day games, with early numbers expected late afternoon on Thursday.
When could there be surge in demand on Wednesday?
It will probably beat kickoff for both games, but especially around 5:45 p.m. EST. That would be near halftime of the Ravens-Texans game, and when Beyoncé will be performing.
What other celebrities will appear?
Mariah Carey will kick off the day with a taped performance of “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
There is no word if Taylor Swift will make the trip to Pittsburgh to watch her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift has been spending time in Kansas City since she wrapped up her Eras Tour two weeks ago.
How many Christmas games will Netflix carry in the next two seasons?
The NFL will have at least two games on Dec. 25 in 2025 and ’26, with Netflix slated to have at least one each year. Amazon Prime Video will have a night game with Christmas on a Thursday next year.
Does Netflix have an interest in other sports?
Netflix’s worldwide partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment will begin on Jan. 6 when “Monday Night Raw” moves to the streaming service.
On Friday, Netflix secured the U.S. rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
