Wormfarmer

Scores on page 2 have again been updated for Patrick Cryne and Mark E. Smith. I have to say - - you guys are good!!

Yes, I was aware of that, and the rules I set were that anybody that the Derby scores will be accepted here. Mostly I did that to remove QO debates from the game. I am just making light of the inclusiveness of just about anybody with a hint of notoriety (like the "7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon")! I am not familiar with most of the sources that the Derby uses for QO's, but I would guess some of them must be similar to our US rags such as the Enquirer and Globe, which search far and wide for the ill person related to the famous person. In turn, I am sure that some of the names that qualify as "celebrities" in the states must seem like a reach for the Europeans in the game. All's fair in life and death. Keep 'em coming!

Thanks to theoldlady for keeping a sharp eye out on the obscure death notices. Grid on page 2 has been updated, including scores for Elias, who made the Top 40 in the Derby. Also of dubious credibility is Bobby Zarin, who as a "husband of a 'Housewives of New York' cast member", yielded nothing with a search of the Assoc. Press, but again was made eligible by the DDP. I guess you can always count on the DDP to score even the peasants. So points have been awarded there. Next month I am going to try a second cousin of a retired weatherman in Tulsa, OK, just to test the Derby's powers. You guys are good! Also, I have assumed for EXU's sake that "Armfield" is Jimmy Armfield, who wikipedia lists as just passed today, so credit given there. Pony up if you intended another Armfield! As I say, for all I know there is a whole family of footballers named Armfield! Carry On!

These healthy young bucks are sure to party like it's 2019: Angela Lansbury Val Kilmer Terry Jones Donald Trump Paul Gascoigne Pope EB XVI Queen E II Olivia de Havilland Betty White Doris Day Dick Van Dyke Stan Lee Jimmy Greaves Olivia Newton-John Little Richard Aretha Franklin Valerie Harper Stephen Hawking Henry Kissinger Bob Barker Jimmy Carter Denis Norden Bob Dole Vera Lynn Billy Graham sub: Alberto Fujimori

OK, let's go. 1. Than Shwe 2. Alberto Fujimori 3. Barbara Barrie 4. Yoko Ono 5. Larry King 6. David Prowse 7. Loretta Lynn 8. Bernie Madoff 9. Tim Conway 10. A J Foyt 11. Clive James 12. Jim Otto 13. Nichelle Nichols 14. Little Richard 15. Bart Starr 16. Emperor Akihito 17. John McCain 18. Sepp Blatter 19. Burt Reynolds 20. Prunella Scales 21. Valerie Harper 22. Judy Blume 23. Jacques Chirac 24. Mikhail Gorbachev 25. Brian Blessed 26. Pat Robertson 27. Joanne Woodward 28. Dick Beyer 29. Pat Priest 30. John Madden

Two teams hit with Jessica Falkholt. Just updated the scoring table, near the bottom of page 2. I wanted to highlight the death in red, but underlining was the best I could figure out how to do. Next month when Feb teams are all in I will list the teams in scoring order (alphabetically for ties). A search of the AP for Rayya Elias obit yielded nothing. Derby isn't up yet and it looks like she was missed in the AO pool. So for now, "The partner of author Elizabeth Gilbert dies" is the best I can find for Rayya. When your picks obit headline doesn't even refer to them by name, that is a hint that you are digging way too deep for your "celebrities". You need to go out and get some sun.

What, huh, wha . . . all this noisy partying just got me up out of a deep sleep. I am still trying to even find a record of this Raya with two "Y"s person being alive in the first place. No score on the AO, the DDP is still not up yet for 2018, and I don't see anything yet on the AP. Even wikipedia has never heard of him. Am I being bamboozled? These do have to be people with some level of notoriety to get the QO's. We'll have to wait and see . . . . Ahh . . . per People magazine, she's the girlfriend of an author. Quite the resume. How deep can we dig for these folks?? Time will tell.

I should have done that. Intuitively, I was thinking that if the deathlist can only get 17 hits from 50 names over the course of a whole year (in a record setting year), it would be very tough to get one or more hits from a list of 11 in one/twelfth of the time. And doing it month after month seemed very unlikely. But regrettably I underestimate the skills of the users of this forum!

Good enough and thanks for listening! Looking forward to my first shove out into the octogon . . . .

Pardon some questions/comments, which may be due to my inexperience with this pool. First, it appears some teams are already submitted via PM. Has DR jumped the starting gun or do I not know where to find the results of the draw? Second, it seems to me that the only way to win this pool is to repeatedly score with a very small list in a very short time period, OR win a lot of coin tosses/have a cool name that kids might dig. Certainly, the latter would not be much to brag about and the former seems like quite a tall order (perhaps I am exposing my rookie abilities here). The "Lou Rawls/Etta James" fruit are not seen very often, and even when they are, I would expect that often both sides will place them on their teams, also resulting in dreaded ties. So, a couple of ideas: When teams are tied with hits (whether the hit is the same or different on each team), the team who placed a hit highest on their list wins the tie. If still tied, go to the second hit, if there is one. When two teams end the month scoreless, ties are broken by their score from the previous match, and on back to previous months as needed until the tie is broken. When ties still exist in either case, go to the kid with the names, at least I have a decent chance with that. Just trying to stay away from the dreaded coin flips. With those my chances drop to about 40/60. For what it's worth . . . .

Agreed. But following in a list of Cleese, Gilliam, Idle and Jones, I figured Palin was understood to be Michael. Pele I am with you. Ronaldo, I draw a complete blank. How about Zamfir? Mantovani? Ali? Anyway, if these are single name footballers on EXU's list, we are good to go.

Ah, sorry. That was my shorthand, which goes to prove the point I just made above that this is a diverse group, and even the ubiquitous Pythons might not be recognized by everyone. I will put the first names in and also for the footballers if I can get some help with those.

I don't expect to get very far, but I'll try it if you need more teams to bounce out in the early rounds. Then again, there's always the luck factor.

That does it! We have 20 complete and active lists for the inaugural version of the Five4three2one DP. I have made a complete matrix for Jan and will post it below. I am amazed at the percentage of new names that come in even after I have been doing this for a few years. Truly a global competition. That said, please use full names in the future on your teams, as I am not familiar with European footballers, and many others that are coming in (tho' the Python cast are certainly universal). I am not aware of any hits yet, so it is all square as we embark on a new year of carnage. I am going to take a stab at the winning score and say it will fall somewhere in the 33 - 35 range, and that will be impressive. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the ride. JAN Teams 5 pts 4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt theoldlady Leah Bracknell Kim Jong Un Walter Keonig Yoko Ono David Prowse BOU1 Renee Simonot John McCain Don Lusk Nabi Tajima Billy Graham Captain Chorizo (5) Dilip Kumar Yamaguchi San Patrick Cryne Paul Alcock Little Richard Sean (5) Rayya Elias Alberto Fujimori Matt Capotelli Marieke Vervoot Fernando Ricksen The Quim Reaper (8) Patrick Cryne Leah Bracknell Rayya Elias Sal Sobral John McCain Prophet (2) John McCain Fernando Ricksen Leah Bracknell Rayya Elias Dean Francis Joey Russ John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin Fixed Business Valerie Harper Nobby Stiles Greg Gilbert Leah Bracknell George HW Bush EXU (6) Muller Mark E Smith Sansom Jimmy Armfield Jimmy Greaves Mr. Whit Doris Day Queen Elizabeth II Chubby Checker Bob Dylan Bridget Bardot Unknown Man Olivia Newton-John Javier Perez de Cuellar Tessa Jowell Isabel Peron Yasuhiro Nakasone FujimoriNoMorey Alberto Fujimori Marieke Vervoot Bessie Camm Steve Bannon Nabi Tajima gcreptile (6) Marieke Vervoot Jessica Falkholt Johnny Hubbard Bobby Zarin Lou Henson Wormfarmer Charlotte Rae Lauren Wasser John McCain Stefan K Stefansson Roberta McCain Bentrovato Shane McGowan Jilly Cooper Paul McCartney David Prowse Emperor Akihito Yorkshire Banker (3) Reinhardt Hardegan Bobby Brown (fballer) Jessica Falkholt Barys Kit Bella Thorne Deathray Norman Lloyd Stefan K Stefansson Val Kilmer Clive James Shane McGowan Ericles Souza Isabel Peron Valery Giscard d'Estaing Susana Vieira Imelda Marcos Teofisto Guingoma Jr. Bibliogryphon Richard Overton Red Schoendienst Ennio Monicone Raymond Briggs Earl Cameron Youwanticewiththat Clive James Chris Rea Frank Gehry Aretha Franklin Burt Reynolds Double your points if you get a hit on the last day of the month. All lists void beginning Feb 1, so submit new teams at that time to avoid missed opportunities. Remember you cannot use a name again in consecutive months. Game On!

That's 19 lists, with only one outstanding violation to be fixed (Deathray). Anyone want to make it 20 before I close it and post the master?

Bracknell has already been taken in the 5 spot for Jan. See first posted list by theoldlady. Your other 4 picks are held in reserve until you can replace your top spot with an untaken name in that spot. I think you are entry #17, so the pool is almost full from the start. You can just edit your list, or post a name to replace Leah. We are almost underway! (in my part of the world). I will post a Jan list of teams soon.

1 agnes keleti 2 alberto fujimori 3 baby peggy 4 barbara barrie 5 barbara bush 6 beth chapman (dog the bounty hunter) 7 beverly cleary 8 catherine nevin 9 charlotte rae 10 clive james 11 Col. Richard Cole (last Doolittle Raider) 12 david douglas duncan 13 david prowse (darth vader) 14 don lusk 15 dwight clark (NFL's the catch) 16 George H W Bush 17 herman wouk 18 I M Pei 19 james randi (amazing) 20 jerry maren 21 jessica falkholt 22 john madden 23 john mccain 24 john szeles (amazing johnathan) 25 kirk douglas 26 larry king 27 leah bracknell 28 leon allen white (big van vader) 29 little richard 30 maria menounos 31 mel stottlemyer, Sr. 32 nabi tajima 33 norman lloyd 34 olivia newton john 35 paul gascoigne 36 pedro guerrero 37 prince philip 38 rip torn 39 robert mugabe 40 roberta mccain 41 rod carew 42 ruthie tompson 43 shannen doherty 44 stan mikita 45 Stefán Karl Stefánsson 46 Stephen Hawking 47 tim conway 48 vera lynn 49 william perry (the Fridge) 50 yoko ono Wormfarmer's first SL.

I am trying to enter some new pools this year, so after having skimmed several pages (including page one and some recent posts) of posts and not finding the detailed rules, I am going to submit a list of 10 names and 2 subs and hope I am doing something right. Could it be time to start a new thread for 2018 with this pool, and kick it off with a summary of the rules? Anyway, here goes nothing: Leah Bracknell John McCain Charlotte Rae Stefan Karl Stefansson Nobby Stiles George HW Bush Tim Conway Alberto Fujimori Leon Allen White Dwight Clark subs: Barbara Barrie, James Randi

You had me going for a minute. We lost Tom Petty this year, we don't need to lose JCM so soon as well. Glad to not see any new crisis regarding his health here.

It looks like more replacements are needed. Erica Garner couldn't make it to the starting gate. Damn! Please send in one sub Yorkshire Banker for your #2 spot. I will put Charlotte Rae in my Top Spot.

Good to Go! I will post a Master list once I get 20 entries and close it, or in early Jan if it doesn't fill up.

Noted! And by the 5 spot you are referring to the bottom (1 point) spot, just a point of clarification.

Wormfarmer's Jan list: Charlotte Rae Lauren Wasser John McCain StefánKarlStefánsson Roberta McCain

Thirteen entries already! I hope it lives up to the enthusiasm. I do have to request that Bou1 and Cap Chorizo submit a replacement pick for Carmen Franco, who died today of cancer. Sorry she couldn't wait long enough for you two to get her into scoring position. Please leave your other 4 names as is and just fill in your empty spot. Shifting names around has ramifications for some of the other lists already submitted. Thanks, WF