Final Post

This will be my final post for this blog as the semester is winding down. Hopefully my blog has presented information to some people. I know I learned a lot from my classmates' blogs and hopefully you were intrigued with mine as well.

The M249 SAW

The M249 SAW (squad automatic weapon) was once known as one of the best light machine guns in the american military.  Known for its fast fire rate and reliability, the SAW had earned its right to be part of almost all infantry squad/ fire-teams on the front lines.  With that said, that was back in the 90s with its belt fed only design, but now, the M249 has only gone down hill since.  The current version of the SAW is no longer as reliable as it once was.  The designer had come up with the idea to turn the weapon system into a magazine fed weapon as well as belt- fed in order to increase economy of rounds throughout a fire-team.  With the new magazine feed system, the bolt carrier group was opened up more and has cause it to be very loose around bolt and chamber.  This causes rounds to easily get jumbled around inside which increases the likelihood of jamming.  Along with the jamming problem, the lack of range has created an issue in the middle east due to rounds not being able to hit targets effectively in the mountainous regions.  Even with these issues, the M249 is still widely used throughout all branches of service with rifleman squads in order to effectively suppress enemy combatants in firefights. 

Will the Wings Clinch the playoffs?

With only 7 games left in the season the 9th place Red Wings are currently struggling to clinch the playoffs for the 25th year straight.  While being tied with the Philadelphia Flyers at 85 points, each game can mean life or death for the Red Wings.  The problem the wings face currently right now is their wildly inconsistent play.  With goal-tending struggling each game more and more, it is being questioned that if Mrazek can handle being a starting goalie anymore.  With his save percentage dropping in the recent weeks compared to when he led the league in save percentage.  He seems to have lost his complete sense of concentration.  Although he is not all to blame, both offense and defense have struggled to keep their composure consistently throughout games.  Both sides of the ice need to focus on their forechecks and need to cycle the puck better in order to achieve that 8th place spot in the playoffs.

Can the Pistons snag a playoff spot?

With the NBA season winding down and with the playoffs quickly approaching, one question still remains, can the Pistons make the playoffs this year?  With one of the best pickups around the deadline, Tobias Harris has quickly fit in with the Piston's playing style.  With an average of 14.4 points per game is the fourth leading scorer for the Pistons.  While the Pistons have shown great improvement over the past years with Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson leading the team on offense and defense, this team shows great potential for making the playoffs this year.  With that said, there schedule does not show in there favor, due to facing some of the leagues best teams including OKC, Miami, and Clevland.

Jagr is one of the greats.

It is no surprise that the oldest player in the NHL, Jaromir Jagr, is still putting up numbers similar to his rookie year.  Jagr has been consistent throughout his career and has kept up with the changing NHL each year.  With 27 goals and 57 points in his first year, he is currently only two goals away from matching those numbers.  With 25 goals and 57 points in this current season he still is acting like he is nineteen.  Recently he has put up critical numbers that has had him pass Gordie Howe on the all-time points list and is currently only 27 points behind Mark Messier for second in NHl's all-time points leader board.

Jimmy Howard must go.

Over the past couple years, the Detroit Red Wings has had decent goal-tending with Jimmy Howard and has always been reliable.  This was until Petr Mrazek stepped up last year and showed the organization that he was more than just a backup.  This year Mrazek has claimed the starting position over Jimmy and has left the Wings with one question, "What to do with Jimmy Howard?" With having a starting goalie salary still, Jimmy takes up too much space for a back up and is not consistent in his playing to stay with our organization.  Over the course of this year, Jimmy has been very inconsistent and has shown that he often chokes under pressure.  Overall he is a decent goalie, but not starting material, he is constantly out of position, doesn't have the recovery time he used to and is terrible in overtime situations.  With a .903 save percentage and a 2.94 goals against average he has not shown the Wings that he is here to stay.  With that said, the issue of whom to trade for in order to get rid of him comes up.  With allstar players like Stamkos, and Drouin leaving the lightning after this year, it brings up possible trade rumors between these two teams. Also we could pick up more defense from Anaheim as there have already been rumors about Sami Vatanen coming over for Jimmy.  Whatever the case may be on thing is clear, the Red Wings need to get rid of Jimmy Howard.

Super Bowl

This past Super Bowl was an interesting one to say the least.  The retiring of one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game.  Personally i  wanted the panthers to win, I've always liked the panthers and rooted for them when they lost to the Patriots in 2004.   To me i thought this game was sort of rough to watch.  It was a very defensive game and frankly upsetting seeing that both offenses couldn't produce points.  Both defenses were unreal that game; it had looked like every time carolina was on offense, cam had only a matter of seconds before the broncos defense got to him.  I feel that Cam played by himself that game.  His receivers kept dropping the ball, he had no O-line, and rushed most of the yards.  Although I am upset about the outcome of the game, it was nice to see Peyton's final game winning the Super Bowl.

NHL all-star game

If anybody didn't know, the NHL All-star game was the this past weekend in Nashville.   It was interesting to see the changes that were implemented this year.  It was a nice change of pace to see the normal two team five on five match up turn into a new layout.  The 3 on 3 mini tournament consisting of 4 11 player teams turned out really well in my opinion.  With more room on the ice it was exciting to see the players cycling the puck more and more; along with several more breakaways, the games were never boring.  It was exciting to see Red Wings Forward, Dylan Larkin out there on the ice representing out team.  In my opinion it was especially awesome since Larkin grew up in th e town right next to mine, and he once practiced at the local arena where I have skated many times before.  Hopefully Larkin will fully develop into a Detroit superstar throughout his career here.

Super Bowl

Alright, so the Super Bowl is just around the corner.  Personally i am glad to see Brady fall this past Sunday.  Its interesting to see how Manning will do this time around, because last time versus Seattle.... it was embarrassing and not even a fun game to watch. I am hoping to watch an actually game this year against Cam Newton.  It will be interesting to see these two different offenses collide in such big game.  While Manning has Thomas on the outside, it will be an intriguing duel with Newton's Running game along with Olsen in his back pocket.

Welcome

Hello my name is Andrew, but i go by Andy.  I am 20 years old, I love sports and other active events.  I am a American Ninja Warrior Trainer and a Reservist in the Marine Corps infantry.  In this blog, I will most likely be discussing on current events. Due to my occupation and interests certain topics like military or sporting type of events will be more than likely discussed throughout the semester.