Thursday Grab Bag: Drive Thru Sprinklers

There is a sprinkler system dousing the drive-thru line at Burger King during the early evening.

I've noticed it a couple times now.

It can't be good for business. Who wants to order a burger with a full-spray car wash swirling overhead and through the car window?

And part of the point of fast food is that it's fast. I would bet at least a small percentage of potential customers would rather skip to the next McDonald's, Arby's or Sonic before parking their cars and ordering inside.

Speaking of consumption, has anybody cooked up some Cider or your warm winter drink of choice? It's a bit chilly tonight.

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Football power poll: Not much movement this week. Aztec's stayed at No. 1 all season while Shiprock and Navajo Prep have been 6-7. Piedra Vista's holding onto No. 5 for now. 

Week 6 Rankings

1. Aztec (2-3) -- The Tigers escaped Alcatraz -- er, St. Pius -- with a blocked field goal, earning a 22-20 victory. Aztec's faced a difficult schedule, a rash of injuries, a few bad breaks and lots of inconsistencies, but they needed to win to keep alive realistic hope of attaining one of the top five seeds for the state playoffs. (Previous: 1)

2. Kirtland Central (2-3) -- The Broncos did their best FHS impression, nearly executing an improbable comeback before losing to Silver 34-28. The Scorpions are getting all the talk about being an improved team, and deservedly so, but the Broncos have made tangible progress each game. Now they need to clean up their special teams coverage. (Previous: 2)

3. Farmington (2-3) -- Finally, a no doubter. The Scorpions beat Capital 42-6 -- that's 36 points for the mathematically challenged. Their first four games were decided by a combined 21 points. FHS is now +17 for the season in total points. (Previous: 3)

4. Bloomfield (1-3) -- The Bobcats fell behind big to Socorro and lost by 20. They've dropped two games to ranked 3A opponents and another close game to KC. Not cause for mass disappointment, but they haven't shown the ability to make a deep run in the state playoffs. (Previous: 4)

5. Piedra Vista (0-5) -- The Panthers are still a question mark. They've looked like a terrible football team, but they've played the toughest schedule in the district. What will they do this week against Albuquerque in what should be a competitive matchup? (Previous: 5)

6. Shiprock (4-0) -- The Chieftains ought to be scouting KC while they have a few weeks off. They face Bernalillo next week and need to win to preserve the luster now attached to the game with the Broncos, but it's difficult to picture them keeping up with an improving KC team. (Previous: 6)

7. Navajo Prep (3-2) -- The Eagles dazzled Navajo Pine with their rushing attack. Coach John Gutierrez impressed me. He's coached for several decades and took the gig as somewhat of a favor to give back to Prep. But he's not taking his job lightly. He fussed at several of his players for missed assignments during the blowout win and the players respect him. (Previous: 7)

*****

Football polls: Aztec remains at No. 5 in the 4A Coaches' Poll, while Kirtland Central climbed two spots.

4A
1. Belen (14) 140 points
2. Goddard 119
3. Artesia 115
4. Volcano Vista 85
5. Aztec 83
6. Silver 78
7. St. Pius 57
8. Kirtland Central 27
9. Valencia 17
10. Del Norte 14

3A
1. Lovington (8) 98
2. Raton (1) 87
3. St. Michael's (1) 79
4. Albuquerque Academy 55
5. Socorro 55
6. Bloomfield 46
7. Cobre 39
8. Portales 37
9. Hatch Valley 20
10. Ruidoso 20

*****

Soccer chaos: Farmington and Piedra Vista topped our girls soccer power poll since the beginning of the season. That'll get re-examined after this week.

Aztec slipped past Farmington 2-1 on Tuesday, the same day Kirtland Central shocked Bloomfield 3-0. Aztec beat Kirtland 4-1 earlier in the season.

There are plenty of district games remaining and nothing gets decided Week 1. But the Lady Tigers and Lady Broncos just served notice that this could be one of the wildest district races I've witnessed since moving to the Four Corners in mid-January.

Here's the latest 4A poll:

1. Los Alamos
2. Volcano Vista
3. Albuquerque Academy
6. Farmington
7. Piedra Vista
8. Kirtland Central
9. Aztec

The FHS and PV boys' teams still look dominant, but we'll see if that continues to hold true as Aztec visits FHS on Saturday at 11 a.m.

*****

Links of the week: If you want a reminder of how good we have it in the United States, check out this man, who won a tiny color TV because he killed 83,450 rats in Bangladesh.

Then there's this woman. She's insane. 

Three questions. 1) I doubt the guy cleaned out the tank every day. How unhealthy is this? 2) Wouldn't it be easier to flush them down the toilet? 3) Really?

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher