Leaderboard

Interview with Sacheen Littlefeather in today's Guardian, which she says will be one of her last.

Ok, so stats for Round 4 incoming (many based off what I did previously for R3): This round saw by far the most picks to date, with 279 across all 5 categories (Round 3's previous record was 225). We saw another increase in players, from 15 in Rounds 1 and 2, to 19 in Round 3 to now 23 in Round 4. 9 players have played all 4 rounds, the same number who had played the previous 3 (i.e. nobody has dropped out), plus Biblio who has played 3 and ran the first one (as well as all the others!). There are 7 first-time players this time around, another record, and we have lost 3 players as mentioned by BIblio above. The past 2 Scavenger Hunt champions, myself and Banana are back for another crack (R1 Champion Rotten Ali has not played any of the subsequent games, or been seen much since!) 4 categories this time broke the previous record for most picks in a category, which stood at 52 (Eurovision in R3 and Grammy Winners in R2). The new record holder is Summer Olympic Gold Medallists with 69, followed by Star Trek Actors (59), Pulitzer Prize Winners (57) and World Series Champions (53). Cabinet Ministers was the smallest with 41, which also breaks the record for most in the smallest category (Space Fliers in R3 with 38). Nichelle Nicholls, of Star Trek fame, was most picked this time, on 15/23 teams. Agnes Keleti (Olympians) and Douglas Hurd (Cabinet Ministers) (both 12) also eclipse the previous record of 11 (Nobby Stiles, World Cup, R3 and George H.W. Bush,, US Elections, R1). However, Nicholls pick on 15/23 (65%) can be bettered by George H.W. Bush (11/15 in R1 - 73%) and Lord Carrington (10/15 in R1 - 67%) from previous rounds. msc (0), Death Impends (2) and Perhaps (2) are the only ones who cannot win by the 3 uniques method - msc actually becomes the first player in Scavenger Hunt history to have NO unique picks! The previous low was me in R1, with 1. It is the first time msc and Death Impends have been unable to win this way (although both scraped to 3 in R3!), while Perhaps is a new player. On the other hand, Captain Hemlock sets a new record of 16 for most unique picks, beating FujimoriNoMorey's 15 from R2. Fellow newcomers Death by Arsenic (15) and Arghton (14) follow, along with Yorkshire Banker (also on 14). This was the first round of the Scavenger Hunt where Jimmy Carter was not a valid pick - just when he might actually go! He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize but didn't win, and he's never appeared in Star Trek. Returning picks from previous games include Paul Dooley (Star Trek Actors/Kevin Bacon Co-Stars), William Smithers (Star Trek Actors/Dallas Actors), Stephen Sondheim (Pulitzer Prize Winners/Grammy Winners), Nino Benvenuti (Olympic Gold Medallists/Title-Winning Boxers) and Douglas Hurd (House of Lords/Cabinet Ministers). Death Impends picked Hurd as a unique in R1 (House of Lords) and he stuck by him this time around, along with a few other people! Nino Benvenuti is picked by Spade as a unique in R4, but was not among his picks for Title-Winning Boxers in R2 (Biblio and me picked him!) Stephen Sondheim was a unique pick for gcreptile in R2 (Grammy Winners) and was picked again by him in R4, along with others. Captain Chorizo, msc and Death Impends all picked Paul Dooley among their Kevin Bacon Co-Stars in R2, but, despite all returning, none of them picked him this time around! He was picked by 3 completely different people this time. I do think it's wide open this time, and I'm curious as to whether the higher number of players contributes to a quicker game, or whether the James Bond Massacre was a one-off occurrence! I'm also very much a fan of the fact that the first 3 games were all won by a different method - it proves that any way can win, and you're always in the game with this one.

Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born American actor who appeared in more than 100 films, died in Boston of respiratory failure and throat cancer on this date in 2001. He was 86 years old. He won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for "Viva Zapata!" (1952) and "Lust for Life" (1956). Quinn, was a great creative personality too, he also dabbled in painting and drawing. He lived around the world, but spent his last years in Bristol. He bought a 10-acre compound on Poppasquash Neck. His widow asked the Town of Bristol for permission to bury him on his property. Her wish was granted.

What an absolute legend he is. Really hope he makes the century

Bob Richards is another throwback pick. I picked him in the first round as he was a presidential candidate under some fringe white nationalist party, several decades after his Olympic career.

DDP Pick Bridget Riley (90) has a chat about her life and work: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57332625

Death Notice for Morris Prigoff, better known as Moe or The Doc, who appeared on Storage Wars Texas: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/dallas-tx/morris-prigoff-10089659

Bill Scanlon, US Tennis player who in his day beat some of the greatest names around, reportedly dead at 64: Reached the semis of the US Open in 1983, best at Wimbledon was the quarters in 1979.

But DO listen to Matthew Sweet politely assassinating her career on BBC Radio here: Author realizes her new book contains gross inaccuracies on live radio - YouTube

Don't listen to this person. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Wolf

https://omny.fm/shows/on-point-with-alex-pierson/new-peer-reviewed-study-on-covid-19-vaccines-sugge A must listen. Heavy build up of spike proteins in women's ovaries . I wonder if that's why older women are having periods again after menopause and women are noticing changes to their periods. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-56901353.amp https://abc7news.com/covid-vaccine-menstrual-cycle-clinical-trials-and-side-effects-women/10557707/

UK Government plan on her being here next June as four day holiday planned for Platinum Jubilee.

Well, yeah, but... Time of death is way fairer because the relative levels of fame of any two deceased have a lot of impact on how quickly a death notification can be posted Re these two, nothing more specific than "Tuesday" offering itself for either atm, and loads of evidence their deaths have been widely reported but all reports appear to have come from a single source (likely one main news agency). Nacho's various death stories read very much alike regardless of where they're showing up. A suggestion - if I can't sort this in a couple of days I'll donate to the obesity charity on behalf of both winners!

The survivors. Dean Smith now seems quite safe at Villa unless he gets a promotion to another club. Hassenhuttl wont be sacked but is doing as well as anyone can at Saints so how much longer does he want to stay there? Guardiola tends to do 3-4 years then needs a break, hes been at City 5 years now so a sudden exit wouldn't shock. Farke surprised me. So did MK Dons, annoyingly. Carlisle I listened to one of Maryports more depressed posts on football. Gerrard? I assumed he'd either quit or get poached. He's safe until he wants to go now though. McPake - Dundee were a complete mess and prone to sacking managers, their sudden promotion push caught me by surprise. Albion Rovers seemed like a good bet for the bottom spot in the league if Brechin improved, but instead Brechin were fucking shite. Steve Bruce is a useless man (imo) who you just can't get rid of. As for Thistle we were in a complete mess and I'm not a big fan of Ian "glass half empty, and also smashed into little bits" McCall, so he seemed like a good candidate to walk, but I never saw us going on the best run of form in a decade to climb to 1st place in the last month of the season. We're not really a sacking club and that'll buy him more time. He's also a big Thistle fan, so if he can knuckle down and win another promotion I will gladly accept it.

Ok, so here's how the teams stand after a season: Rover and Out 1. Dean Smith (Aston Villa) - after last season's bare survival (thanks to *that* Sheffield United non-goal), I expected more struggles this time around but another big spending spree has seen an improvement (Martinez has been a predictably inspired signing). Will the progress continue into 21/22? 2. Sabri Lamouchi (Nottingham Forest) 3. Phillip Cocu (Derby County) 4. Joey Barton (Fleetwood Town) 5. Paul Warne (Rotherham United) - another change of league for Rotherham and a visibly devastated Warne refused to make a kneejerk decision on his future after the last match. Is he up for another promotion campaign or is it time to step back? 6. Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United) - I felt the temperamental Argentine may self combust in a difficult first season back in the Premier League, but Leeds have been surprisingly successful with their inconsistent performances, ending up in the top half. They seem to be prime candidates for Second Season Syndrome, though and I have a feeling Bielsa is set for a surprise exit at any point (he never signs for more than a season...) 7. Slaven Bilic (West Brom) 8. Lee Bowyer (Charlton Athletic) 9. Grant McCann (Hull City) - hated by Hull fans, a bad start to 20/21 was surely curtains for McCann, but it didn't come! Coasted to promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt, now can he keep them there and show he's made progress at this level? If this season's anything like his last time in the Championship, I can't see Hull giving him long. 10. Daniel Farke (Norwich City) - fancied Norwich to struggle a bit back in the Championship and that Farke would make an exit but another side that bounced straight back, so similar questions to McCann, can he keep them up? And if not, do Norwich pull the trigger this time to try and save themselves? 11. Hayden Mullins (Watford) 12. Carlos Corberan (Huddersfield Town) - felt like this was a classic "Number 2 steps up only to fail" scenario, but, incredibly at Christmas Huddersfield gave Corberan an extended contract to the end of 23/24 when they sat 12th. They finished 20th, 6 points clear of the drop zone and were absolutely woeful against my team Blackburn, losing 5-2 in our second-to-last home game of the season. Maybe next season it will click, otherwise, that's a big pay out. 13. Garry Monk (Sheffield Wednesday) 14. Neil Warnock (Middlesbrough) - been trying to remember why I put him in, as he's unlikely to quit and unlikely to struggle. Perhaps I assumed he would get bored and walk away. Might still happen, and I'm not sure he'll get 'Boro promoted. 15. Russ Wilcox (Scunthorpe United) 16. Mark Kennedy (Macclesfield Town) 17. Paul Lambert (Ipswich Town) 18. Sean Dyche (Burnley) - assumed he'd quit due to the uncertainty last summer, or that he'd be poached by someone else but, unsurprisingly, nobody fancied him. There's talk of him going to Palace, maybe he'll get investment from the new Burnley owners and stop around, but he's been there forever and something needs to change at some point soon. 19. Eddie Howe (Bournemouth) 20. Stuart McCall (Bradford City) Great Uncle Bulgaria 1 Eddie Howe (Bournemouth) 2 Dean Smith (Aston Villa) - see Rover and Out 3 Hayden Mullins (Watford) 4 Daniel Farke (Norwich) - see Rover and Out 5 Tony Mowbray (Blackburn Rovers) - my team. Not the success we were hoping for this season, and the fans are getting restless but the owners have faith in Mowbray and accept the difficulties of the Covid season. But if there's not significant improvement next season, I suspect his time may be up. 6 Paul Warne (Rotherham) - see Rover and Out 7 Paul Cook (Wigan) DNS 8 Lee Bowyer (Charlton Athletic) 9 Paul Lambert (Ipswich Town) 10 John Askey (Port Vale) 11 Darrell Clarke (Walsall) 12 Grant McCann (Hull City) - see Rover and Out 13 Ryan Lowe (Plymouth Argyle) - perhaps GUB expected them to struggle back in League One, but Lowe kept the Pilgrims up and has signed a new contract until 2024, so unless they get into difficulty, I suspect he'll be staying a while longer. 14 Steve Bruce (Newcastle United) - I'm sure this was expected to be a success at some point. The fans hate him and they flirted with relegation until March, but an astonishing end saw them finish 12th, miles clear of a woeful bottom 3. With fans back next season, will they do well enough to keep the mob at bay? Joe Willock is surely a key part of that equation. 15 Philippe Cocu (Derby County) 16 Mark Molesley (Weymouth) 17 Paul Doswell (Havant and Waterlooville) - I must profess I know very little about the non-league game. A risky pick given the possibility that Covid would curtail the season again (which it did), when they were mid-table with multiple games in hand (they'd only played 14 to some teams' 19). 18 Bradley Quinton (Welling) 19 Hakan Heyrettin (Maidstone) - similar story to Havant & W. Maidstone had only played 13 games and sat 2 places further down the Conference South when the season was cancelled. 20 Danny Bloor (Eastbourne) - Eastbourne were going well, 3rd in the Conference South at shutdown, having played all 19 games. Did GUB think he might get poached by someone bigger? It's not happened yet... 21 Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace) Buffalo Phil 1. Daniel Farke - see Rover and Out 2. Steve Bruce - see Great Uncle Bulgaria 3. Gerhard Struber 4. Tony Mowbray - see Great Uncle Bulgaria 5. Phillip Cocu 6. Grant McCann - see Rover and Out 7. Sabri Lamouchi 8. Alex Neil 9. Mark Warburton - has been under some pressure at QPR but ridden out the criticism and finished 9th. If the board expect a play off push next season, will failure to achieve that see his end, or are their ambitions less lofty than that? 10. Mark Bowen 11. Slaven Bilic 12. Pep Guardiola - this seemed speculative in all honesty! Did Phil think that he'd had enough? That seemed a possibility after a poor start to the season, but they responded as you'd expect, won 2 trophies, including regaining their Premier League crown and lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup semis and the Champions League final. Will he stay until he makes City Champions of Europe or is it next season or bust for Pep? 13. Paul Warne - see Rover and Out 14. Joey Barton 15. Michael Duff - well this was a turnup for the books! Little Cheltenham only went and won League Two! Seems unlikely they'll sack him next season, unless it's a horror show. 16. Richie Wellens 17. Dean Smith - see Rover and Out 18. Darren Ferguson - Take 3 in the Peterborough hot seat and once more he's got them promoted back to the Championship. Can he keep them there and, if not, will he be leaving once more to await his 4th stint in the job? 19. Lee Bowyer 20. David Artell - presumably Phil tipped Crewe to struggle in League 1, but they did well, finishing 12th, 8 points off the play offs and a whopping 19 clear of the drop zone. Anything similar will surely see him safe for now. msc 1 Roy Hodgson - Palace 2. Dean Smith - Villa - see Rover and Out 3. Ralph Hassenhuttl - Southampton - this seems perfectly feasible after a poor end to this season and a second 9-0 thrashing in 2 seasons. Seems like a good bloke and a decent manager but they need more consistency and to put all the pieces together to be more successful. If they start badly, I can see him getting the boot. 4. Pep Guardiola - Man City - see Buffalo Phil 5. Frank Lampard - Chelsea 6. Eddie Howe - Bournemouth 7. Gerhard Struber - Barnsley 8. Sabri Lamouchi - N Forest 9. Daniel Farke - Norwich - see Rover and Out 10. Russell Martin - MK Dons - barely survived last season but much improved this season, probably against msc's expectations. Only 9 points away from the League One play offs. A promotion push next season? Or, if they struggle, could it be curtains this time? 11. Grant McCann - Hull - see Rover and Out 12. Paul Lambert - Ipswich 13. Lee Bowyer - Charlton 14. Chris Beech - Carlisle - finished 7 points adrift of the League Two play offs, much improved from last season. Perhaps msc was expecting another relegation fight? Or perhaps that he'd end up somewhere else? He said in January he had no interest in jumping ship. 15. Michael Duff - Cheltenham - see Buffalo Phil 16. Steven Gerrard - Rangers - was this wishful thinking (I should know your allegiance msc, but it's passed me by!). A first SPL title in a decade and he's the new messiah. He'll only go for something bigger (does that mean waiting 'til Klopp goes?) 17. James McPake - Dundee - my knowledge of Scottish football isn't much better than my knowledge of non-league to be honest. But I know they beat Kilmarnock to get promoted to the SPL so he's in the good books at the moment. Seems like he's had some off-field issues from a few headlines on Google? Is that why he was expected to go? 18. Brian Reid - Albion Rovers - no idea. Looks like they were in trouble at Christmas but finished 7th out of 10 and well clear of relegation. Same again next season? 19. Ian McCall - Partick fn Thistle - more wishful thinking? Promoted as champions of Scottish League One and McCall is claiming they need to push for promotion from the Championship next season! Would a relegation battle see him out the door? 20. Steve Bruce - Newcastle - see Great Uncle Bulgaria Miracle Aligner 1. Eddie Howe (Bournemouth) 2. Sean Dyche (Burnley) - see Rover and Out 3. Paul Warne (Rotherham) - see Rover and Out 4. John Coleman (Accrington) - a club legend. Can't see him being sacked until he's ready to retire. Took Accrington to just 7 points shy of the League One play offs on one of the smallest budgets in the league. They could even make a promotion push next season! 5. Daniel Farke (Norwich) - see Rover and Out 6. Grant McCann (Hull) - see Rover and Out 7. Nathan Jones (Luton) - the second coming has gone pretty well. Barely survived on his return last season, but top half finish this time. Continued stability will mean he's fine, I can even see him potentially surviving a relegation, and as for being poached - he's already tried that once and it didn't work out, would he risk it again? 8. Graham Potter (Brighton) - much admired for the job he's doing and Brighton know they've got a good one. Could he be an outside pick for the Spurs job or another Premier League role if it became available (maybe Southampton?) Needs to get Brighton scoring more of the chances they create though if they're going to be more comfortable in the Premier League. 9. Steve Bruce (Newcastle) - see Great Uncle Bulgaria 10. Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace) 11. Gary Rowett (Millwall) - not as close to the play offs as last season but still backed by the club and ambitious. Birmingham haven't been as close to promotion since they sacked him. 12. Carlo Ancelotti (Everton) - will the early season optimism that petered out have dented his interest in the challenge? Or will it make him more determined to see the project through? Would Everton really sack a manager of Ancelotti's standing even if they're still in mid-table next season? Seems more likely it will be him walking away or a mutual decision, but not before the end of next season I'd suspect. 13. David Moyes (West Ham) - well who would have expected it? Back to his Everton best and has taken a floundering West Ham team into Europe. Looks secure for the foreseeable. 14. Neil Warnock (Middlesbrough) - see Rover and Out 15. Neil Harris (Cardiff) 16. Russell Martin (MK Dons) - see msc 17. Gary Monk (Sheffield Wednesday) 18. Chris Wilder (Sheffield United) 19. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 20. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Man United) - an improved league finish, a first cup final, but a defeat to a side that had never won a trophy before and some of the fans have had enough. How much longer can Solskjaer claim to be rebuilding and improving? Do they need to challenge for the title next season or would a cup be enough? Any other thoughts or opinions more than welcome, especially by those who know more than me about some of the more obscure picks. Definitely some surprises as to who's gone and who's still in post but I think it really is still up for grabs. There's a few of mine I'm not certain are going any time soon...

My government is going to recover from Covid by levelling up the country. Consequently, they will be bulldozing the Highlands and sticking them on top of Norfolk.

Yesterday I received the pre-ordered new album from Marianne Faithfull (with Warren Ellis): "She walks in beauty". First of all I had to break away from believing that I can listen to a typical MF-music album. The new album is spoken poetry underlaid with music. That's not a bad thing at first. But let's have a look on these 3 components (speech, poetry, music): speech/spoken: The marvellous Marianne Faithfull! As a big fan, I really like her special voice, wether she is singing or speaking. As a example I absolutely adore „After the ceasefire“ from her 1999 masterpiece „Vagabond Ways“. Very atmospheric, very nice story. MF really had a powerful and expressive voice, absolutely suitable for demanding literature and poetry, but also for rock, pop and chanson. So nothing to complain about at first. However, the new album consists only of spoken parts, probably because MF just can't sing anymore (because of several health reasons). Her voice almost consistently sounds powerless and breathless, and the lyrics are sometimes spoken very droning und read down. As a great stage interpreter, e.g. also of Brecht's texts, she would certainly have spoken the poems far more expressively at other times. poetry: Setting old texts and poems to music is a tradition. But I find it difficult to get access to these old English texts and I cannot say whether it would be easier for me in German. I know "The Lady of Shalott" in the version of the gifted Loreena McKennitt, who merges with this text in a very inimitable way with singing, interpretation and music. Unfortunately, MF can't do that here, I'm so sorry. Music: OMG, I can't stand this banter and jingling! This is worse than elevator music! This music is... absolutely nothing! Very uninspired soundscapes, which for me do not convey anything at all and sound the same in every track. Boring. Unworthy. Disappointing. But: I ordered the deluxe edition which comes in a beautiful booklet with poems and paintings. Since I haven't bought a CD for so long, I held the album very reverently in my hands and was reminded of the old days when CDs were also art. A nice moment. I'm going to add this album to my MF collection now - and it will just stay there. I would have wished for a good album (her last album from 2018 was great for example!), but unfortunately it didn't turn out to be for me. Marianne - I love you anyway!

Former NFL tight end Fred Arbanas, who won one World Championship and two Super Bowls as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, died at 82 years: https://www.kctv5.com/news/fred-arbanas-former-chiefs-player-and-jackson-county-legislator-has-died-according-to-county-party/article_84feb1c8-9fca-11eb-a090-b3cb98a7b80e.html He was a six-time All-Star selection in the American Football League.

https://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/synes-det-er-trist/73625035 Read about this on twitter: Hans Gaarder, a lead figure in the covid denialist movement in Norway has died at age 60 from covid.

I am serious. An international force should invade Brazil and depose their government. I think Bolsonaro is an arch-demon walking the earth. They let the virus run wild and it's only a question of time until a mutation is created that makes all the vaccines useless.

I assume we're all up-to-speed on Jack Nicklaus's granddaughters new husband Todger Strunk?

.

Eleanor Bron looked (to me at least) almost unrecognisable in her latest appearance on Midsomer Murders. Possible ill health? Will be sorry if so, as she is a fine actress.

Amongst the Boulder mass shooting victims. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56501686 Denny Stong, 20 "A Facebook profile for Mr Stong says that he lived in Boulder and began working for the King Soopers grocery store in December 2018. "I can't stay home. I am a grocery store worker," he wrote on his Facebook profile picture. Mr Strong described himself as a fan of planes, bikes and motorcycles. On 8 March, he asked people to celebrate his birthday by donating to a pro-gun rights charity."

I'd suggest post it here or else we'll end up picking the same people.