Wormfarmer

Bingo. Might have said "born 1938 or more recently".

Game Announcements: 18 entries have been received, the pool is now closed to entries. I posted a summary table on page 2 (should have done it above), hope it is legible as it was a big file. Solo and duo bonuses are in effect this year. I will do some more tinkering with the entry list when I get a chance, to make it hopefully more reader friendly. Good luck, all! I have posted the lists above, but a lot of the detail I wanted to include (in the form of fonts and underlining) did not transfer which included solo and duo names. I will tinker more with it later. Here are few fun facts about this year's rosters: Out of 498 picks, 185 of them are solos (with another 82 names being duos). That's about 37% of the total picks that will earn solo bonuses if they die. Sean submitted the most original list, with 23 of his 26 names eligible for a solo/duo bonus. On the other end of the spectrum Joey Russ and Death Impends only have 9 names (each) eligible for those bonuses. Deadpool titan George HW Bush is only found on TWO lists, making him a duo bonus opportunity for Wouk This Way and Clorox Bleachman. I guess the B and G spots were pretty damn loaded this year! Most surprising name (to me) found on a list goes to Wouk This Way, who has Evelyn "Champagne" King at the K spot. I have her hits cd, but hadn't thought much about her in years! Good luck, Wouk.

GCReptile (2017-18 champ)(24) Wormfarmer (12) Bibliogryphon (21) YoungWillz (22) A - George Alagiah eileen ash Alicia Alonso A. Charles Aznavour 3 (1924) B - Bernard Tapie barbara barrie Barbara Bain B. Bev Bevan (1944) C - Clive James carol channing 3 Carol Channing 3 C. Chevy Chase (1943) D - Devin Lima 1+1938 doris day 3 + duo Doris Day 3 + duo D. Dave Bartholomew 1 +solo E - Egidius Braun jean erdman Mark Eden E. Ennio Morricone (1928) F - Pete Frates alfred william frankland Fenella Fielding 3 + duo F. Roberta Flack (1937) G - Greg Gilbert greg gilbert (Delays) Graeme Garden G. Gary Rossington (1951) H - Hector Timerman 1+duo+38 Col. Hal Halvorsen Herbie Hancock H. John Hume (1937) I - Irrfan Khan lee iaccoca James Ivory I. Sir Jeremy Isaacs (1932) J - Spencer P. Jones 2+duo+38 al jaffee Jasper Johns J. John McCririck (1940) K - Charles Koch kenneth kaunda Kenneth Kaunda K. Dilip Kumar (1922) L - Leah Bracknell norman lloyd Loretta Lynn L. Lyndon LaRouche 3 +solo M - Pauline Maroney matt millen Mary Midgley 3 + solo M. Shane MacGowan (1957) N - Nobby Stiles nichelle nichols Nichelle Nicholls N. Nichelle Nichols (1932) O - Sinead O'Connor jose ortiz (jose jose) Yoko Ono O. Yoko Ono (1933) P - Anna Pavord "little" richard penniman Philip Pullman P. Leslie Phillips (1924) Q - Bishop Francis Quinn - 4 carmel quinn Mary Quant Q. Anna Quayle (1932) R - Li Rui 2 + duo kenny rogers Richard Rogers R. Sumner Redstone (1923) S - Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 Stefán Karl Stefánsson 3+38 Stephen Sondheim S. Sidney Poitier (1927) T -Thuy Thanh Truong charlie trippi Teddy Turner T. Tina Turner (1939) U - Albert Uderzo brian urquhart Albert Uderzo U. Albert Uderzo (1927) V - Marieke Vervoort monica vitti Vernor Vinge V. Gloria Vanderbilt 2 +solo W - Dawn Wilson wally westlake William Wollard W. Sir Frank Williams (1942) X - Gao Xingjian Xi Xi Ni Xiong X. Xiao Gang (1958) Y - Neil Young chuck yeager Arnold Yarrow Y. Mike Yarwood (1941) Z - Jiang Zemin billy zoom Franco Zeffirelli 4 Z. Franco Zeffirelli 4 8 solo 6 duo 10 solo 6 duo 17 solo 3 duo 12 solo 6 duo Joey Russ (31) Yorkshire Banker (6) Death Impends (44) Clorox Bleachman (28) A: John Andretti Ed Ames George Alagiah A: George Alagiah (1955) B: Kathleen Blanco Anne Baker author Leah Bracknell B: Leah Bracknell (1964) C: John Cocks 2+ duo+1938 Earl Cameron Pearl Carr C: Rosalynn Carter (1927) D: Devin Lima 1+1938 Diana Athill 1 + solo Don Lusk 1 + solo D: Bob Dole (1923) E: Clarissa Eden Avril Elgar Ed Ames E: Luis Echeverría (1922) F: Stuart Fraser Frank O'Farrell William Frankland F: John Franzese (1917) G: Jill Gascoine Sandy Gall Denis Goldberg G: George H W Bush (1924) 1 H: Bill Heine 1+1938 Estelle Harris Bill Heine 1+1938 H: Ursula Haverbeck (1928) I: Ian Mckellen Ion Iliescu IM Pei 2 I: Lee Iacocca (1924) J: Jose Jose Jose Jose Jose Jose J: Katherine Jackson (mj's mom) K: Kulsoom Nawaz 1 +1938 Robert Kuok Kathleen Blanco K: Kirk Douglas (1916) L: Leah Bracknell Artie Lange Bruce Lietzke 2 +solo+38 L: Lessie Brown (1904) 1+solo M: John McCain 2 John McCain 2 John McCain 2 M: John McCain (1936) 2 N: Michael Nesmith John Netton Nobby Stiles N: Kulsoom Nawaz 2 +1938 O: Nobuhiko Obayashi Edna O'Brien Richard Arvin Overton 3 O: Nobuhiko Obayashi (1938) P: Genesis P-Orridge Pearl Carr Genesis P-Orridge P: Giuseppina Projetto (1902) Q: Bishop Francis Quinn -4 Anna Quayle Bishop Francis Quinn - 4 Q: Francis Quinn (1921) 4 R: Fernando Ricksen Bill Rodgers "gang of 4" Li Rui 2 +duo R: Charlotte Rae (1926) 2 S: Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 Barbara Steele Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 S: Stefán Karl Stefánsson 3+1938 T: Bernard Tapie Bella Thorne Hector Timerman 2+duo+38 T: Bernard Tapie (1943) U: Gudrun Ure Brian Urquhart Albert Uderzo U: Gudrun Ure (1926) V: Marieke Vervoort Violetta Chamorra Joe Vento V: Marieke Vervoort (1979) W: Herman Wouk 2 Murray Walker Herman Wouk 2 W: Herman Wouk 2 X: Lui Xia xi xi (poet) Bao Xishun X: Lil Xan (1996) Y: Chen-Ning Yang chuck yeager Chuck Yeager Y: Jiang Yanyong (1931) Z: Franco Zeffirelli 4 Mario Zagallo Franco Zeffirelli 4 Z: Franco Zeffirelli 4 4 solo 5 duo 15 solo 5 duo 3 solo 6 duo 8 solo 3 duo Fixed Business (26) Sir Creep (33) RadGuy (53) Captain Chorizo (41) A: Babiker Awadalla Azreen Manan NO John Andretti Al Attles-A B: Leah Bracknell Barrie, Barbara Leah Bracknell Leah Bracknell-B C: Jacques Chirac Colo, Tava John Cocks 2 +duo+1938 Chiyo Miyako - 1 + duo D. Kirk Douglas Do Moui 1 +solo Devin Lima 1+1938 Bob Dole-D E: Bill Eadie Etchegaray, Cardinal Roger Doug Ellis 3 + solo Luis Echeverria-E F: Aretha Franklin 2+duo+1938 Frates, Pete Aretha Franklin 2+duo+1938 Stuart Fraser-F (Musician) G: Jill Gascoine Gustav Gerneth Glen Glenn Denis Goldberg-G H: Bill Heine 1 +1938 Hilda Hanson NO John Hume Maralyn "Mad Dog" Hershey-H I: Carl Ikeme Irwin Young Ion Iliescu Im Pei 2 J: Jose Jose Jose Jose Jose Jose Jose Jose-J K: Val Kilmer Kathleen Blanco Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar-K L: Steffan Lewis 2+solo+38 Littlefeather, Sacheen Philomena Lynott 2 +solo Le Duc Anh 1 +solo M: Shane MacGowan Miyako, Chiyo - 2 +duo Stirling Moss John McCain 2 N: Nobby Stiles Nawaz, Kulsoom 2 +1938 Kulsoom Nawaz 2 +1938 Nobuhiko Obayashi -N O: Richard O'Sullivan Olive Boar - 2 + solo Nobuhiko Obayashi Richard Overton- 3 P: Nicholas Parsons Pratley, Marsh Luis Palau Pedro Morales 2+solo+38 Q: Anna Quayle Quinn, Bishop Francis - 4 Quincy Jones - comedian Bishop Francis Quinn-4 R: Charlotte Rae - 2 Remigino, Lindy - 2 Lindy Remigino - 2 Lindy Remigino - 2 S: Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 Shivakamura Swamji 3+solo Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 T: Bernard Tapie Tiwari, ND 2 + solo Thuy Thanh Truong Ted Mack 1+solo U: Gudrun Ure Urquhart, Brian Brian Urquhart Uljana Semjonova-U V: Monica Vitti Vento, Joe Atal Bihari Vajpayee 2 + solo Joe Vento-V W: Murray Walker Willie Wood Herman Wouk 2 Herman Wouk 2 X: Bao Xishun (2nd tallest) Xanana Gusmao Xi Xi Bao Xishun-X Y: Chuck Yeager Yeager, Chuck Yusuke Yamaguchi 5+solo+38 Yasuhiro Nakasone-Y Z: Franco Zeffirelli 4 Zion, Roger Franco Zeffirelli 4 Franco Zeffirelli 4 7 solo 4 duo 15 solo 3 duo 7 solo 4 duo 6 solo 4 duo theoldlady (3) Sean (19) Toast (18) Torva Messor (26) A. Alan Alda John Andretti April Ashley ANTON Coppola B. Bob Dole Leah Bracknell Brian Blessed Beverly Cleary C. Christopher Walken Charles K Kao 1 +solo Carol Channing 3 Mary Carlisle 2 + solo D. Dilip Kumar Douglas Hurd Dickie Davies DEVIN Lima 1+1938 E. Clint Eastwood Ernie Sigley Edward Enfield 5 +solo Clarissa EDEN F. Michael J. Fox Fanella Fielding 3 + duo Lawrence Ferlinghetti FERNANDO Ricksen G. Ruth Bader Ginsberg George Lazenby Greg Gilbert GREG GILBERT (Delays) H. John Hume James Harris (Kamala) Robin Herd HEATHER Locklear I. I.M.Pei 2 Don Imus Richard Ingrams I.M. Pei 2 J. John McCain 1 Spencer P Jones 2+duo+38 Clive James JOSE JOSE K. Val Kilmer Kirk Douglas Kenneth Kaunda KIRK DOUGLAS L. Larry King Leslie Phillips Loretta Lynn LAWRENCE LESHAN M. Michael Moore Mary Wilson (singer) John McCririck John MCCAIN 2 N. Nobby Stiles Nanci Ryder Nichelle Nichols NICHELLE NICHOLS O. Ryan O`Neal Olivia De Havilland Owen Oyston Richard OVERTON 3 P. Peter Alliss Martin Peters Sidney Poitier PETE Frates Q. Quincy Jones Quentin Blake Randy Quaid QUINCY Jones (Comedian) R. Roberta McCain Robert Wagner Ray Reardon Charlotte RAE - 2 S. Shannon Doherty Stephen Hillenburg 1+solo+38 Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 STEFAN Karl STEFANSSON 3+38 T. Tommy Chong Tim Healy Christopher Tolkien Louise TOBIN U. Carrie Underwood Ursula Andress Gudrun Ure Gudrun URE V. Valerie Harper Vera Lynn Monica Vitti VERA Lynn W. Walter Mondale Walter Mondale Herman Wouk 2 Wally WESTLAKE X. Xaviera Hollander Xabi Alonso Xiaoliang Xie XIE Qimei Y. Yoko Ono Mike Yarwood Yaky Yosha YASUHIRO Nakasone Z. Zola Budd Zizi Jeanmaire Mario Zagallo Franco ZEFFIRELLI 4 16 solo 2 duo 16 solo 7 duo 12 solo 5 duo 8 solo 4 duo Unknown Man (18) WoukThisWay (15) Charles Aznavour 3 Bibi Andersson Leah Bracknell Bernard Tapie Carole Cook Charles Aznavour 1 Kirk Douglas Dennis Norden 1 + solo Carl Erskine Earl Cameron Lawrence Ferlinghetti Friedrich G. Beckhaus Jill Gascoine George Bush Sr 1 Valerie Harper Estelle Harris Bernard Ingham Ian St. John Clive James Clive James Ken Kercheval 3 + solo Evelyn Champagne King Chasey Lain Leah Bracknell John McCain 2 John McCain 2 Nobby Stiles Yashuhiro Nakasone Sinead O'Connor Olivia DeHavilland Javier Perez de Cuellar Prunella Scales Carmel Quinn Albert Quixall Charlotte Rae - 2 Sumner Redstone Stefan Karl Stefansson 3+38 Sally Jesse Rafael Desmond Tutu Desmond Tutu Gudrun Ure Gudrun Ure Dick Van Dyke Agnes Varda 2 + solo Betty White Herman Wouk 2 Bao Xishun Xavier Woods Chuck Yeager Tu YouYou Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin 9 solo 4 duo 12 solo 5 duo This standings list is updated with all scores I am aware of through the end of the game: (Thanks for all your help with the obits) FINAL STANDINGS FOR YEAR 2 place pts 1 53 RadGuy 2 44 Death Impends 3 41 Capn Chorizo 4 33 Sir Creep 5 31 Joey Russ 6 28 Clorox Bleachman 7T 26 Torva Messor 7T 26 Fixed Business 9 24 gc reptile 10 22 YoungWillz 11 21 Bibliogryphon 12 19 Sean 13T 18 Unknown Man 13T 18 Toast 15 15 Wouk This Way 16 12 Wormfarmer 17 6 Yorkshire Banker 18 3 theoldlady As of YoungWillz' score with Charles Aznavour, everyone is now on the board. NEW LEADER! Phantom of the Midway=RadGuy takes over from Sir Creep with the big Devin Lima hit, which also scores for 3 others. Oddly, everyone who had Devin had him at the D spot, so they only get one point + the age bonus. Richard A Overton, oldest WW2 vet and oldest American male. Three 3-pt scores with Richard, moving 3 serious contenders up the board a little. Doug Ellis now updated - solo for our leader Phantom=RadGuy who makes a huge leap out front. Don Lusk at the D spot for D Impends, moving him one spot up the leaderboard. Lessie Brown gives clorox a solo shot at the L spot, worth 4 pts. Carol Channing is the latest to report, found on 3 lists. Toast, Biblio and Wormfarmer each move up 3 pts worth for the alliteration. BAM! Big solo hit with the Swamiji for Sir Creep, who narrows the gap on leader Phantom=RadGuy to only 1 pt. These guys are good. BAM! solo for Yorkshire Banker with Diana Athill Duo for John Cocks - 5 pts each for JRuss and our mighty leader Phantom = RadGuy Solo shot for YoungWillz with alliterative Lyndon Larouche - good for 6 pts and a jump up the leaderboard. Big hit for 6 of us with Bishop Quinn. 4 points each for hitting the "Q". Missed score at the end of Dec - Hector Timerman is a duo for Death Impends and GC Reptile BIG HITS for the following: Toast get 8 whoppin pts for Ed Enfield with the vowel alliteration and a solo blast. But the biggest score possible comes to RadGuy with a letter Y alliteration, solo blast AND 1938 bonus with Yusuke Yamaguchi, which earns him an instant 10 pts and pushes his lead to the almost unreachable. Congrats on setting the bar! Le Duc Anh is the latest hit and a solo for Capn Cho. Updated for a missed death - Bill Heine scores 3 pts for 3 players, one of which is Death Impends who moves into a tie for 2nd. Phantom of the Midway has gone back to his old moniker RadGuy, so from now on he will be accounted as such. The Unknown Man improves his lot several spots with an alliterative K solo hit (Ken Kercheval). A duo at the double D for Bibliogryphon and Wormfarmer with Doris Day Li Rui scores 3 pts for 2 strong teams I.M. Pei designs his casket for 2 pts for 4 teams, as everyone used him at the "I" position Herman Wouk is on almost half the lists for 2 pts Updated for Franco Zeffirelli, plus two solos for YoungWillz (Vanderbilt and Bartholomew) - - that's 3 HUGE hits, but too little , too late, Willz! Late credits: Ted Mack and Pedro Morales - 2 solos for Capn Cho. Steffan Lewis a solo for fix bus. Both climb the standings board! Last update: credit to Wouk for a solo at the "V" spot to move him ahead of your host into 15th place PLEASE CHECK YOUR LISTS AND NOTIFY ME IF YOU FIND ANY SCORING ERRORS OR YOU WERE NOT CREDITED FOR A QO HIT! I WILL ACCEPT THESE UNTIL JULY 5TH, THEN THE STANDINGS WILL BE FINAL! THANK YOU ALL FOR PLAYING, SEE MY POST IN THE THREAD ABOUT ABC DEADPOOL III. Sir Creep is going to run the ABC Deadpool III, check for a new thread soon (start date Aug 1, 2019?)

Thanks Joey, for catching the missed hit way back in Jan. It has been a big jump for Zsa Zsa since the last update, but it appears time will run out on his surge and pending a last minute hail mary from Wormfarmer, GC Reptile will take the title. I am in the middle of a move, and just now got my computer up and running at the new house. So I have a lot of catching up to do before the new game starts. Suffice to say, those who intend to play can get a list of 26 names together, very similar to last year, but keeping in mind I will be less generous with prefixes and titles (like Queen, unless that really is the person's name [as in Queen Latifah]). Also, single named individuals (Beyonce, Cher) will be counted as a first name, unless it is clearly documented that they are using their surname. Finally for now, the 1937 bonus will become the 1938 bonus. I will try to start the new thread and lead off with the rules by Saturday. Thanks for your patience. It is a busy time for me to be starting a new pool!

If the NYT gave him an obit (which they did), then say no more. Joey gets a point. Table updated.

Give me a minute to sort this all out. I will end the speculation and set some clarity soon.

Well, I can see where this is going. I appreciate all the input. I also like free play, but I just figured that it would be fun to have the extra incentive to have something to play for. But I kind of see now that a lot of you guys already put a very high level of effort into it with or without the stakes. So we will carry on as last year, with only a symbolic trophy to the winner. I also appreciate the ideas from Toast on how to get the game started. But I am not sure if I have the gumption for all the organizing and retyping needed on my end . . . . .let me think. I don't see anything so far against the idea of jokers, so that may be the way to go this year. Ears still open to more feedback until the end of June . . . . .

Sweet Jeezus, Joey. All this time I thought I was playing against Malcolm X and Joey Russ was just your pseudonym.

Well, the days left in this inaugural version of the ABC are ticking away, and it looks likely that GC Reptile will be the first name on the trophy. I intend to recruit for a second year and will start a new thread for it. There will be a few rule changes (by popular demand), and I am considering making it a pay to enter pool, with prizes at the end. I wanted to see how many would opt out (or in) if that was the play. I suggest $10US entry, with first place getting 60%, second 25%, and third 10%, with 5% to the host to manage it all and send out the checks. I would probably cap it at 20 entries if we got that many. If we do go pay to play, I will be more strict on the acceptable names (ie. no Queen Elizabeth for the Q) Major rules change; BE GONE protected names! I can hear the cheers already. Instead, we will have jokers. Each player gets 3 jokers, each worth a bonus 3 pts if they hit. Once a name is designated with a joker, it can still be used by future players, but not designated as a joker. Second change; I will not be first to submit my list. I will wait until there are at least 6 entries before I submit my list, maybe more if they come in quickly. These are some thoughts so far, give me some feedback if it sounds better than the first year. I would like to start right around July 1.

I note that a late obit for Jerry Maren came in early June. His date of death is listed as May 24, a month in which our leader, Sean, had him at the 4 pt slot. I was about to award him retroactive points, but further investigation uncovered a violation of the consecutive months rule, as he had Jerry Maren in his 5 pt slot for April. So Sean stays put at 18 pts. Nice try, Sean!

JUN TEAMS 5 pts 4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt Sean (18) George HW Bush john mccain ted mack denis goldberg lindy remigino gcreptile (17) angie douthit lee noble lindy remigino marieke vervoort andrew young (US Amb) The Quim Reaper (13) leah bracknell Le Duc Anh clive james nobby stiles herman wouk Fixed Business (12) longkoonan wolfgang bosbach shivakumara swami Dilip Kumar Germa Wolde-Giorgis Joey Russ (9) + 1 meng lang denis goldberg barnabas dlamini bishop francis quinn jon hiseman Captain Chorizo (7) +5 matt cappotelli rudy boesch colin butts lindy remigino tinto brass EXU (6) bobby george kirk douglas val kilmer bill oddie peter bonetti Prophet (6) dieter thomas heck william hurt queen beatrix anne boydens michael karkoc Wormfarmer (6) john mccain leah bracknell Stefan K Stefansson Le Duc Anh matt millen Youwanticewiththat (5) BOU1 (4) chiyo miyako michael j fox stan lee rosalyn carter Le Duc Anh Yorkshire Banker (3) bobby brown (23) Roseanne barr bobby brown (singer) bobby brown (24) bobby brown (40) Sir Creep (2) bishop francis quinn angie douthit john mccain George HW Bush nobby stiles Bentrovato claus von bulow bill treacher raul castro little richard jimmy greaves Bibliogryphon marieke vervoort clive james fernando ricksen genesis P Orridge arnold yarrow ebless FujimoriNoMorey lessie brown renee simonot bishop francis quinn chiyo miyako john mccain theoldlady david prowse nobby stiles George HW Bush clive james morgan freeman Deathray and Unknown Man are dropped from the scoring table this month I see no rule violations so far this month - nice job coaches! Cap'n Cho - keep your eyes on Melinda Whale for qualification, but I see it as a stretch

I know I am sitting on GHWBush for a potential 6, but my draft list for June is getting pecked and I might not get a chance to enter tomorrow, so I am going in early too . . . John McCain Leah Bracknell S K Stefansson Le Duc Anh Matt Millen

MAY TEAMS 5 pts 4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt Sean (18) john cruickshank jerry maren (CM vio) john paul stevens prem tinsulalonda Le Duc Anh gcreptile (17) nobby stiles Le Duc Anh hector timerman karolosp papoulias corey struggs The Quim Reaper (13) George HW Bush john mccain fernando ricksen kenny rogers chiyo miyako Captain Chorizo (7) Le Duc Anh ted mack melinda whale? john mccain George HW Bush EXU (6) leah bracknell violation: rule CM chris rea leslie phillips Stefan K Stefansson Prophet (6) Wormfarmer (6) rosalyn carter kenny rogers George HW Bush jose jose danny farquhar Fixed Business (5+5+2) david goodall nobby stiles katherine jackson ray wilson (fball) johnny clegg Joey Russ (5+4) matt cappotelli tessa jowell Le Duc Anh lindy remigino john mccain Youwanticewiththat (5) BOU1 (4) don lusk leah bracknell john mccain George HW Bush jose jose Yorkshire Banker (3) Denis Goldberg George HW Bush vera lynn june spencer esther jenner Bentrovato akihito david prowse jill gascoigne Pope B XVI phil the greek Bibliogryphon earl cameron IM Pei richard overton red Schoendienst ennio morricone Deathray ebless John Hume estelle harris nobby stiles violation: rule PST violation: rule CM FujimoriNoMorey anne baker lucia hiriart javier p deCuellar olivia deHavilland violation: rule UPS theoldlady john mccain katherine jackson aretha franklin bob dole lorna luft Unknown Man Sir Creep - new (+2) pat bowlen mike cappotelli Stefan K Stefansson ted dabney renee simonot violations: PST = Point slot taken, CM = consecutive months, UPS = used at that point slot previously, AD = already dead some violations may not be caught by me unless a hit occurs, then I will check thoroughly for them If you miss 2 consecutive months submitting a team, and have not yet scored, I am dropping you from the lineup. ericles souza, mr. whit and mad hatter2 are dropped this month

Only 6 people still alive on my list, I just did a lousy job of ranking them, and of picking people of significance that someone would care enough to write them up. I good lesson learned, will I learn it in 2018-19? I'll take the top 10 finish. Thanks for the fun.

I know I am on the other side of the planet, but out here we heard that Big Ben has gone silent for a while for some overdue renovations. If true, we may be waiting years for this pool to begin. Or will Big Ben be using balloons and confetti to do his welcoming tonight?

No, no. Sorry if I made it sound like I was reluctant. You are welcome to join up. Maybe you could even still win this thing.

My good Mr. Creep, Sir. My goal was to limit this pool to 20 players, which I got from the get-go in Jan. However, several entrants have ceased to put teams in for the last few months, and we have also had several other latecomers to the game, so the monthly total is still hovering around 20. What I decided was that the game could accommodate a few more than 20, but only the first 20 to enter a team for the month play that month (so #21 on have to sit it out). I think with the number of "active" entries there shouldn't be any controversy in letting you in. I only ask that you browse the history and get the rules down, then c'mon and play!

Just a reminder that starting this month, your first posted team is your team for the month, mistakes and all. If you play someone who is already dead, or that violates one of the 3 rules of the game, you will play the month with no chance for scoring at that slot. When I first saw Quim Reaper's Team, I thought he had been the first to slip up as he put John McCain in the 4 point spot after Exu had already posted him there. But lo and behold, the wily Quim made a legal pick as Exu played McCain last month, thus violating the consecutive months rule. So McCain is an active pick for Quim, while Exu will play short handed in May. Nice job, Quim. That's why he's in 3rd place and a contender. I don't usually like to forego my shot at the double point potential on the last day of the month, but this month I am going to submit my team early as I think getting Bush on the roster is going to be a good move. He's grieving AND feeble, not a good combination even for a tough old bastard such as he. I have updated April scores to include a 4 pt hit by Sean (Michael Anderson), which gives us a new leader by a single pt margin. I will post a May table once we get most of the teams in. My May team: rosalyn carter Kenny Rogers GHW Bush Jose Jose danny farquhar

Almost everybody drank a protein shake in april, Quim. Ha - I thought you had fallen into a pitfall so soon after the new 1 post per month rule, but you are a clever one. More on that when I post my team soon . . . . .

I was waiting to see if Bush might give me one last hit for last years' game, but still, 14 out of 20 is respectful (3 Non Obits, notwithstanding). Much better than my first year where I only hit 9, but finished much higher in the standings. Hmmm. The competition seems to have stepped it up. 500 leah bracknell 450 Stefán Karl Stefánsson 400 jose jose 350 George Bush, Sr. 300 john mccain 275 jill gascoigne 250 tessa jowell 225 prince philip 200 kirk douglas 180 nobby stiles 160 clive james 140 charlotte rae 120 bob dole 100 rosalyn carter 85 kenny rogers 70 james randi 55 Pope Benedict XVI 50 bill turnbull 45 barbara barrie 40 ruthie tompson 21 katsumi tezuka (godzilla) ALTS: john madden (coach) robert mugabe

GC Reptile (Christie, Van Zandvliet, Wraw, Young, Johnson, Meads, Irwin, Hvorostovsky, Goodwin, Francis) 39 pts Wormfarmer (Christie, Fawkes, Van Zandvliet, Ahmed, Heenan, Downie, Nevin, Graham, B Bush) 36 pts Zsa Zsa's Leg (Campbell, Foray, Zadeh, Downie, Heenan, Maren) 17 pts The Unknown Man (Kohl, Lewis, Downie, Berkowitz, Fabray, Graham) 15 pts Young Willz (Cant, Hefner, M. Young, Gilbert, Groning) 15 pts Shaun of the Dead (Fawkes, Downie, Booth, Michael of Romania, Graham) 11 pts Bibliogryphon (Hardy, Aldiss, Emberg, M.Wilson) 12 pts Fixed Business - (Talabani, Kamprad, Dodd, R.Wilson, Maren) 9 pts Joey Russ (Forsyth) 2 pts Score, score, score . . . . tick, tick, tock.

Note we have a new player entering for April - ebless. The way I worked it with the last new entry was I said that they could play, bringing the total pool of entries up to 21, but only the first 20 to get their teams in each month would play for that month. I would be reluctant to bring in another newcomer except that I suspect that we have at least one or 2 players who may have dropped out (E Souza and madhatter 2) as they sat out last month, and maybe even a third. So I think we can let ebless in and still stay within our 20. Any objections?

Well, I am very pleased with the support and effort being turned out with this new pool. But I must say, it is getting to be an utter mess. I will make it less complicated next year, by having less restrictions on monthly picks. My intent this year was to make sure that with any given hit, scoring would be spread out. That is, if Julia Roberts went into a coma on March 30 and died a few days later, I didn't want all 20 teams being able to score 5 points. I can see that maybe that is not such a concern, and that enough hits will be scored to spread things out over the course of the game. However, for this year, I do need to simplify the selection of monthly picks in some way. It is tough for me (and everyone else who is trying to create a roster) to avoid rule violations when so many entrants are putting up bad lists and then posting several changes. I think I have sorted it out for the above table, so check it for your team and let me know if I made any errors. But starting next month, each entrant will get ONE team entry per month. If you phuk it up and submit something with a rule violation in it - too bad. Your team is locked in for the month and you will not score any name entered which violates one of the rules. So take your time and make sure your entry is good. As I said in an earlier post, I am already leaving it up to each of you to avoid violations, I will not call you on it unless you get a hit - - then I will make sure you are in compliance before scoring your points. Thanks for sticking with it through the growing pains. Carry on!

APR TEAMS 5 pts 4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt gcreptile (14+3) bob dole sachsen littlefeather ray wilkins seiji ozawa prince phillip Sean (14+4) jerry maren michael anderson john cruickshank john paul stevens prem tinsulalonda The Quim Reaper (13) marieke vervoort Stefan K Stefansson prunella scales lord carrington I M Pei Captain Chorizo (7) nobuhiku obayashi stuart fraser lindy remingo Stefan K Stefansson herman wouk EXU (6) jimmy carter kirk douglas john mccain jill gascoigne lord carrington Prophet (6) lindy remingo manohar parrikar Stefan K Stefansson ted mack jose jose Wormfarmer (6) lorna luft rick ross leah bracknell clive james Stefan K Stefansson Fixed Business (5) matt cappotelli tessa jowell dean francis philomena lynott marieke vervoort Youwanticewiththat (5) michael york nobby stiles leslie phillips jose jose burt reynolds BOU1 (4) fernando ricksen lord carrington jimmy carter mary carlisle robert mugabe Yorkshire Banker (3) jose jose baroness mary wilson Loongkoonan bessie camm ruth johnson colvin Bentrovato little richard alice munro herman wouk ian kennedy martin raul castro Bibliogryphon clive james fernando ricksen Genesis P-orridge arnold yarrow Pope B XVI Deathray david attenborough leah bracknell john virgo donald trump clive james Ericles Souza FujimoriNoMorey machiko kyo jose jose alberto fujimori muriel pavlow seiji ozawa Joey Russ (+5) ray wilkins charlotte rae luis palau nobby stiles sachsen littlefeather mad hatter2 Mr. Whit theoldlady Stefan K Stefansson clive james jose jose leah bracknell nobby stiles Unknown Man ebless (new entry) leah bracknell monica vitti sheila mercier shane macgowan stirling moss