RoverAndOut

Can I say I feel slightly embarrassed and humbled at receiving a bye to the second round. On the other hand, this is the furthest I thought I'd get so....WINNING!!!

A fate I am under no illusions could be heading my way...

Half gone now. The first and last to set foot on the moon are now reunited up there. Godspeed Eugene.

So many things to consider!

Oh yes, I knew one of my Lords had to fall sooner or later!

Ah I see. And then we have around 10 days to pick our teams for the next round, unless it is clear we haven't got a cat in hell's chance of getting through, in which case don't bother. 🙂

This competition is surprisingly compelling. So many possible permutations and it can all change very quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if someone currently waiting for more than 2, or even someone who's nowhere right now ends up winning it. Also: Who's Charles Lyell..? :\

Oh sod it, I'll have a go. I've not got the pedigree of some on here, but I've big ambitions. Call me Crawley Town or summat. And I hope the draw's nice to us minnows, I'll save the money-spinning away day for the quarter finals. Couple of questions: unique picks across all matches or just between the two players in each match? And is it 1 month on, 1 month off or what? I'm just wondering if a match is played across an entire month at what point we get the chance to pick for the next round, or do we start planning ahead in the hope of progression? Small points I know, but still...

So much for Liz Smith. Now will Philips make it to 2017 or have you done for him too..?

Updated for Glenn. Really sad, a legend in the truest sense of the word. The last of the Mercury Seven joins the rest.

Points! 5 more points if you please! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38178486

Totally forgot about this - too much on. Good luck to those who entered, I'm in Ali's corner as I picked Zsa Zsa in the MMDP and it would have been rude to change when she's 6 months closer to death.

Why the hell didn't I have Jimmy Young on my list?! This is what you get when you're chasing unique hits over deadpool bait...congrats to those who score points, and doubtless threaten my promising chances in this pool... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37903108

I'm Rover and Out and I approve this message.

I'm not convinced she'll have to wait. Brexit has thrown all the rules out of the window, and the mainstream press desperately want Brexit (see today's front pages for proof) - if they think May will have a better chance of achieving it after an early election then you can guarantee the Mail and the Express and the Murdoch Press will all be in full support of the Prime Minister's 'brave decision' to gain a mandate to force through Brexit. I also share the cautionary tale about the perils of ignoring an early election, although right now I see no way she doesn't win in 2020 anyway. On the original point, this Stephen Phillips seems a decent chap on the whole, y'know, despite being a Leaver and a Tory and all that...

Another one bites the dust. Tory Stephen Phillips quits over irreconcilable differences with the government's Brexit policy. Not clear whether he intends to stand for re-election. One for the UKIP brigade perhaps? Government majority could be reduced yet further... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37872899

Actually starting to get excited! If I'm right (and I'm pretty sure I am), while Mr Goldsmith's principled stand is points for about 8 people, none of Rockhopper, Young Maryport or The Engineer picked him so...I'm winning?! Sure, it won't last, but we're 18 months in nearly now and I'm winning a deadpool (that's not really about death but still...) Apologies by my (probably not-that-missed) absence, I have recently (September) started teacher training and it's rather demanding. I still check in periodically (particularly when I have points to check!) but don't contribute so often at the moment.

That's what I understood, although I haven't seen any mention to that effect yet.

This is going astonishingly well. Still fear a crash and burn to follow mind.

Indeed he does. Shows that he only ever cared about his career and control freakery. He thought he was so strong he would win the referendum easily. Now he doesn't even give a damn about his constituents and walks away from them. Pathetic. But focusing on what's important, did anyone pick him? Yup. Kerching! The minute he told Lansdale he wasn't standing for a third term I knew he wouldn't see the parliament out. Didn't think it would come through quite these circumstances mind...

Maybe I'm being thick but who's the dude on the left..?

I thought she looked better in her Quantum Leap days personally...

Bravo...

I don't like speculating, especially when it seems nobody - including the German authorities - knows anything. The initial outbreak of gunfire appears to be caught on camera and shows no signs of any shouts of Allah-u-Akbar or anything else for that matter, though it's not in the ISIS handbook that you have to shout it before you start presumably. I also saw somewhere that another clip of a gunman on a roof seems to catch him shouting something derogatory about Turks and that he is German, which again fuels the far-right thing. The BBC said they may have recovered the body of a gunman and that the lack of secondary attacks anywhere else suggests either they've escaped (but surely there'd be CCTV to help them there) or that they're dead. If this guy is dead, maybe he was a lone wolf who then shot himself (pundits likening him to a possible Breivik-type character - I think it was the 5th anniversary of his attack as well today). Also...and I know this is awful to say...even taking into account the 'significant injuries' that have yet to be given a number or severity, doesn't 9 seem a very low casualty number for a multi-pronged attack on an enclosed environment? I'm no expert on this sort of thing, but I feared numbers akin to Nice when I heard 'gunmen entering shopping mall'. The confusion, even several hours later, is also slightly odd. Clearly things are chaotic, but this one just doesn't feel quite as cut-and-dry as Nice did. But to answer your question...is it wise to try and use logic when considering the motives of a person or persons who thinks killing people who have done them no harm is a sensible course of action? Just a thought...

It was Thursday last week when Nice happened. Friday was the coup in Turkey. Anyway, there's suggestions this isn't Islamic extremism, possibly far right nationalists instead. But it's all just speculation right now. Getting pretty pissed off with all the death a destruction though. What is the point...