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2006 World Cup Draw Host Is A Ghost

OK then - the List of Players is up, the List of Picks has been double checked (and is probably still wrong!) and it is all posted up on Page 1. I think we are finally ready to rock. Many thanks to everyone who entered. In particular, thanks to anyone who submitted early, and to everyone for submitting the teams in an easy-to-process format. It made for a relatively stress-free Christmas/New Year, and means that the pool is ready to go a full 10 days earlier than last year. Your help on this is very much appreciated. We have a new record number of teams, with 65 teams entered in total, an increase of 8 on last year. A warm welcome to the 12 new players: @Captain Hemlock, @Funeralopolis, @Ghostofchristmaspast, @Imelda, @MalePoster, @Prophet, @Shamalka Amarasekera, @Sod's Law, @ThereWillBeDeaths7, @WillyWonka422, @Yvonneand @Zsa Zsa's leg We lost 4 players from last year: Chickencobra who has disappeared off the forum, JoeyRuss who said that he was not playing any pools this year, Superstar (formerly WhenThe), and @ImNotHadeswho is trying to convince us all that he has a life outside of this forum – yeah right! In total, there were 748 different valid picks, of which 522 were unique picks. That compares to 713 picks and 526 uniques last year. The drop in uniques was partly due to the fact that players concentrated on the big name picks more than in previous years. Jimmy Carter broke the record for most popular pick ever, with no fewer than 30 teams selecting the seemingly immortal ex-president. Esther Rantzen was not far behind with 28 picks, Jonnie Irwin had 27 and James Whale 26. The team of most popular picks is made up as follows: BRUCE WILLIS (14 picks) DICK VAN DYKE (11 picks) EDWARD, DUKE OF KENT (12 picks) ESTHER RANTZEN (28 picks) EVE MARIE SAINT (10 picks) FRANCOISE HARDY (10 picks) FRANK FIELD (21 picks) FRANZ BECKENBAUER (10 picks) GLYNIS JOHNS (15 picks) JAMES WHALE (26 picks) JIMMY CARTER (30 picks) JOANNE WOODWARD (18 picks) JONNIE IRWIN (27 picks) JUNE SPENCER (14 picks) LINDA NOLAN (17 picks) MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS (14 picks) NIGEL STARMER-SMITH (17 picks) POPE FRANCIS (11 picks) ROB BURROW (21 picks) ROBERTA FLACK (25 picks) SHANNEN DOHERTY (21 picks) STEVE McMICHAEL (19 picks) TOBY KEITH (14 picks) VANESSA REDGRAVE (12 picks) YOKO ONO (12 picks) In contrast, Andy Taylor went from 22 selections in 2023 to 1 selection this year. Kate Keltie went from 10 picks last year to 2, Jane Godley from 9 to 3, Rhod Gilbert from 11 to 4, and Randy Jackson went from 11 picks to not being picked at all this year. The Deadpooling Gods looked favourably on hosts this year after the carnage of late 2022. From what I can see, only the following selections did not manage to make the starting line: Jacques Delors Margaret Stuart Barry (Marked dead on Wikipedia, although details are sketchy) Maureen Flavin Sweeney Qapik Attagusiak Ryan Minor. There are suggestions that Oscar Quitak is also dead, but in the absence of anything solid, he stays for now. Let me know if I have missed anyone else. Last year, the “Who The Fuck Are They” award was shared among 3 of @chel's various obscure Russian scientists. This time around, it is like deja-vu, all over again. Chels team had a core of Russian scientists and “Academicians”, so obscure that when they walk down the corridor of their own institution, people nudge each other and say “who’s that old guy muttering to himself”. As I did last year, I promoted any of the subs who had “normal” fame like actors and writers, and filled the remaining slots with the slightly more famous of his scientists (“slightly” is doing a lot of heavy work in that sentence). You know a pick is obscure when they are winning the WTFAT award for the second year running, and this year award is given jointly to two of last year’s recipients: Vladamir (VV) Boldyrev – Siberian Chemist Yuri Kirilliovich Tolstoy – Russian Law Professor Chel has been warned that this is the last year that Russian Professors will be accepted, unless they have done something REALLY noteworthy. I put the names of rejected picks into a file named “Without Exceptional Prominence” (or WEP for short). Last year was a record with 11 rejections, but congratulations – you have exceeded it this year with 13. I hope you are all proud of yourselves They were as following: Joe De Angelo (ZSA-ZSA’S LEG) – Rejected under the “No Criminals” rule. Seems like a fairly high profile serial killer in the US, but my missus has never heard of him so he is gone. Bruce Murray (WEP) – I don’t care if he is part of the “Home and Away Family”. He is a cameraman on a soap, and that does not spell famous to me. Claire Sacco (WEP) – A TikToker with cancer. The “with cancer” bit is, by all accounts, the source of her “fame”. OUT Jonathon Mills (WEP) – submitted as a “Cricketer”. Which means he has scored a century for his local village second XI. If Stephen Fry had not invited him to Lords, we would never have heard of him, and that is how it should have been. OUT Kellie Finlayson (WEP) – better known to everyone, including her family, as “Wife of AFL star Jeremy Finlayson”. I really don’t know why I bother posting the rules every year. Gerald Pizzuto Jr. (WEP) – criminal. RTFR RTFR RTFR RTFR Tylee Kraft (SALMON MOUSSE) – Junior College Footballer. If you are going to submit college footballers, you better be able to show an article or two that doesn’t use the words “cancer” or “terminal” in it. Jim Waddell (SALMON MOUSSE) – the “Clallam Public Utility District Commissioner”. A civil servant, and a very low ranking, boring one to boot. Sean Wallace (SALMON MOUSSE) – Assistant coach Southern University football team. College Coaches are not automatically ruled out, but they better be the head coach, and it better be a high-profile college. Fail on both counts And then there is Chels list. Dmitriy Kharkevich (CHEL) – Russian Pharmacologist – also rejected last year, and you will be stunned to read that his fame has not increased very much since then. Dosmukhamed Kshibekov (CHEL). Last year he jointly won the WTFAT award as a Kazakh Geologist. This year, the Russian Wiki link I was sent called him a Kazakh Philospopher, but also calls him “Dosmukhamed Krzybekov” at one point, so I’m fucked if I know what is going on. Revaz Gamkrelidze (CHEL) – Russian Mathematician Vladimir Marchenko (CHEL) – Ukrainian Mathematician A few other names scraped in: Sammy Basso – transcends the FFBI rule, IMHO. Bobby “Rocket” Hehir – Ice Hockey Player who was drafted by the Boston Bruins, and who played professionally but never at NHL level. My first instinct was to disallow him. However, I would allow footballers who had never played in the Premier League, so I don’t think the lack of an NHL career should necessarily rule him out. He does seem to have quite a reputation in the Worcester, Massachusetts area, so he just about makes it. Interestingly, if you google “Bobby Hehir Ice Hockey”, the Hares Dead Pool 2024 now comes up in the first page of results! We are famous! Joye Lee-McNelis – I think I must have been in a good mood when I allowed her in. Head coach of the University of Southern Mississippi Women's Basketball team. She is the Head Coach, and has been for the past 20 years, and that’s why I let her in. On another day, I might have said no. Isabella Dryden – a “Canadian Educator”. OK, she is just a teacher. But she was teaching Computer classes at the age of 102! If any of you guys are doing that when you are that age, I’ll let you in too. So, on with the game, and best of luck to everyone, not least the poor buggers who are among the 748 names picked!

Fastest third DL hit ever.

First glance at the full chart which has been updated for Delors and Beckenbauer Earliest fourth hit previously was 17th Feb (2021)

If this pace continues, by 13th May there will be no one left alive.

Jimmy Carter could be hit number 50 at this rate

I should know better by now but voted for Jimmy Carter

The committee really has its finger on the pulse this year. 3 'hits' in 8 days is undeniably impressive and from their point of view an incredibly successful start to the deadpooling year.

At this rate (3 hits in 8 days) the entire DL will be dead by May 14, 2024, or, as most people will know it, the 5th anniversary of Grumpy Cat's death.

Erwin Schild (wiki) dead at 103. Reported by his son on Facebook here.

BBC Obit.

3 in 8 days, the grim reaper has been in fine form

Wow! Impressive. If it wasn't for this site, I would have had no knowledge of the three hits so far. People that have never crossed into my world. RIP all the same, working hard to feel less indifferent about this quick start.

Erwin Schild is a hit for @arghton, @drol, @Summer in Transylvania, @Trome and @gcreptile CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Seems like I've been proven wrong already

3 official Deathlist hits in 8 days. The enema ain't f*****g around. I cannot see anything but a record year for the Deathlist and DDP . 2024 is going to be one heck of a year.

Congratulations to the two people who picked Franz Beckenbauer!

Franz Beckenbauer, the legendary sweeper who played for West Germany's national team from 1965 to 1977, died at 78 years: https://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/fussball/unser-fussball-kaiser-mit-78-gestorben-franz-beckenbauer-ist-tot-86680790.bild.html He spent the bulk of his club career with Bayern Munich, appearing in 427 matches from 1964 to 1977. He also managed the team for a time after his retirement.

Surprised he's on the 2024 list, but what do I know, I thought Elizabeth II would live to 100. He had a recent personal tragedy, but he seems in pretty good shape for his age otherwise.

Don’t hate the player - hate the game. It’s tomorrow here. I stayed awake in order to put this to rest. No pun intended. 08/01/24 12:05am 35 The Rolling Stones — Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown 35 The Kinks — Waterloo Sunset 34 The Beach Boys — God Only Knows 33 The Troggs — Wild Thing 30 Donovan — Sunshine Superman 28 Los Bravos — Black Is Black 28 Cat Stevens — Matthew And Son 27 The Monkees — Alternate Title (Randy Scouse Git) 27 Manfred Mann — Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James 27 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich — Bend It -2 25 The Hollies — Stop Stop Stop 25 Traffic — Hole In My Shoe 25 The Lovin’ Spoonful — Daydream 24 The Spencer Davis Group — Gimme Some Loving 24 The Mindbenders — A Groovy Kind Of Love 22 The Move — Flowers In The Rain 22 The Hollies — I Can’t Let Go 16 The Move — Night Of Fear 18 The Mamas And The Papas — Dedicated To The One I Love +4 13 The Seekers — Morningtown Ride 06 Keith West — Excerpt From A Teenage Opera  00 The Beatles — Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever Gone -4

Once again, we all know what was meant by tennis. NO. This thread shouldn’t be expanded to include people no one has ever heard of. We all know tennis stars. No one here can make a single person who has ever struck a ping ping ball to save their life. If they’re any good they were Olympiads and we’ve a thread for that.

08.01.2023 35 The Rolling Stones — Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown 35 The Kinks — Waterloo Sunset 34 The Beach Boys — God Only Knows 33 The Troggs — Wild Thing 30 Donovan — Sunshine Superman 29 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich — Bend It 28 Los Bravos — Black Is Black 28 Cat Stevens — Matthew And Son 27 The Monkees — Alternate Title (Randy Scouse Git) 27 Manfred Mann — Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James 25 The Hollies — Stop Stop Stop 25 Traffic — Hole In My Shoe 25 The Lovin’ Spoonful — Daydream 24 The Spencer Davis Group — Gimme Some Loving 24 The Mindbenders — A Groovy Kind Of Love 22 The Move — Flowers In The Rain 22 The Hollies — I Can’t Let Go 16 The Move — Night Of Fear 13 The Seekers — Morningtown Ride 10 The Mamas And The Papas — Dedicated To The One I Love +4 10 The Beatles — Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever -6 06 Keith West — Excerpt From A Teenage Opera

I like that there's no room for ambulance chasing in this pool. Subs must be used in order, so you have to wait for three more deaths before your newest sub goes into play.