An Fear Beag

Since this seems to be the place where we point out mistakes: My theme-team pick James Thomson should be the renowned cell-biologist, not the child-molester millionaire architect. I'm guessing the latter was already on the data-base as he was described as terminally ill when he was convicted back in 2006. Presumably he is long dead, as he was described as only having a year to live. This however is my guy: James Thomson (cell biologist) - Wikipedia Also Keith Meldrum was born in 1937, not 1905 as stated.

Ah - that all makes sense now- thanks for the explanation. I have tried to watch that film several times over the years, and gave up bored half way through. Never got that far. What doesn't make sense is why the Admins allowed the user name Salmon Mousse when there was already a SalmonMousse. Would have made more sense to delete the obsolete The Salmon Mousse name and allow that to be used again, as requested. At least it would have been a little different.

There is no TheSalmonMousse. There is, however, The Salmon Mousse (with spaces). Now if someone wants to grab the user name TheSalmonMousse to go along with @Salmon Mousse @SalmonMousseand @The Salmon Mousse, that will really mess about with peoples heads! What's the fuck is the attraction of salmon mousse?

Do you want an update? Of course you do. Who doesn't enjoy laughing at players getting scoreless hits, or getting 3 hits in January for bugger all points. All the while smugly convincing yourself that you are just storing up potential hits, all of whom will score big points in the last quarter of the year. Well you will be disappointed on the first one. No January 1st hits this year to sneer at. The best we can manage is my January 2nd hit of Frank Kitson. So just for the record, I was the first leader of this pool, holding a 1 point lead after day 2 of the race! After a thankfully quiet end to 2023, there was carnage in the first week of 2024, with 2 of the most popular picks dying, along with well-supported Derek Draper. This is who I have so far- let me know if I have missed anyone. January 2nd: Frank Kitson January 4th: Glynis Johns January 4th: Mike Sadler January 5th: Derek Draper January 5th: Mario Zagallo January 7th: Franz Beckenbauer January 10th: Roy Battersby January 13th: Joyce Randolph January 14th: Brian Barczyk And so to the first official scoreboard of the year. 35 players out of 65 have had at least 1 hit. 4 Jokers have already been hit, with @Etushispushingupdaisiesand @theoldladycashing in early on Derek Draper, @etib80playing theirs a day earlier with Glynis Johns, and @Torva Messorjokering Joyce Randolph. The Randolph joker gives Torva Messor the lead early on. Not ideal, but as @Dying Probablyshowed last year, playing the Joker early is not necessarily the kiss of death. After strong finishes for the past few years, @wannamakeris out of the blocks early this time around, with 3 down by the end of the first fortnight to lie in second place. @RadGuymakes up the first, and most pointless podium of the year. Here is the scoreboard of everyone with a hit. If you really feel the need to see yourself with 0 points beside your name, the full scoreboard is on page 1. Torva Messor (27 points) 2 hits [Glynis Johns, Joyce Randolph*] Wannamaker (22 points) 3 hits [Brian Barczyk, Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns] RadGuy (19 points) 2 hits [Brian Barczyk, Franz Beckenbauer] Book (16 points) 2 hits [Joyce Randolph, Mario Zagallo] WhoamI (15 points) 2 hits [Glynis Johns, Joyce Randolph] Etushispushingupdaisies (14 points) 2 hits [Derek Draper*, Franz Beckenbauer] GooseberryCrumble (12 points) 1 hit [Joyce Randolph] Etib80 (12 points) 2 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns*] Imelda (10 points) 2 hits [Derek Draper, Franz Beckenbauer] Salmon Mousse (9 points) 1 hit [Roy Battersby] Thatcher (9 points) 1 hit [Roy Battersby] ZZZ - Boring Predictable Team (9 points) 2 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns] The Old Lady (8 points) 1 hit [Derek Draper*] Nantonian (8 points) 2 hits [Derek Draper, Mario Zagallo] Hell (7 points) 2 hits [Derek Draper, Glynis Johns] DeathBecomesThem (6 points) 1 hit [Franz Beckenbauer] Gcreptile (6 points) 1 hit [Franz Beckenbauer] JoeMoneypenny (6 points) 1 hit [Franz Beckenbauer] Sean (6 points) 1 hit [Franz Beckenbauer] YoungOne (6 points) 1 hit [Franz Beckenbauer] Drol (4 points) 1 hit [Mario Zagallo] Funeralopolis (4 points) 1 hits [Derek Draper] GrimUpNorth (4 points) 1 hit [Derek Draper] John Key (4 points) 1 hit [Derek Draper] An Fear Beag (4 points) 2 hits [Frank Kitson, Mike Sadler] Captain Chorizo (3 points) 1 hits [Glynis Johns] Death By Arsenic (3 points) 1 hit [Glynis Johns] Diego (3 points) 1 hits [Glynis Johns] LizLemon (3 points) 1 hit [Glynis Johns] MariNisia (3 points) 1 hits [Glynis Johns] Msc (3 points) 1 hit [Glynis Johns] Pedro69 (3 points) 1 hits [Mike Sadler] The Old Crem (3 points) 1 hits [Glynis Johns] Toast (3 points) 1 hits [Glynis Johns] TQR (3 points) 1 hit [Glynis Johns] Tracey (3 points) 1 hit [Glynis Johns]

Well if you do ever decide to put in a team, please please please change your user name. Two Salmon Mousse's would be every pool host's nightmare.

HARE’S DEATH POOL 2023 – 10th Edition And so the pool which was begun by Deathray on 9th December 2013 is now beginning its 10th run. It has survived the multiple bans of its long-time host followed by his permanent exclusion, a few guest hosts, a couple of attempted leadership coups and, most improbably, me running it for the past 2 years. Many lesser pools have come and gone in the meantime, but like the true cockroach it is, this pool just keeps on surviving. 11 teams entered the inaugural competition, which began on January 1st 2014, and the number of participants has steadily increased over the years, reaching a record 46 teams this year (plus the compilation team of favourite picks). Looking back at the 2014 list of participants, I see the names Captain Chorizo, MSC, The Unknown Man, Toast, WhoamI, Death Impends and Book (Deathray did not take part in his own pool the first year!), all of whom featured in the 9th pool this year, and hopefully will also appear in the 10th. When I have a bit more time, I’ll check the records to see if they have been ever-present over the past 9 runnings – if so, well done and thanks to you all. Hopefully we can make it another record entry next year, to celebrate the 10th edition. It’s the easiest of all pools to enter - just throw together 25 likely (or indeed unlikely) names and send them in. It doesn’t matter if they are old or young, globally famous or completely obscure, home-gown or from the far-flung reaches of the globe. If you have a few names that you would like to enter in a death pool, but are worried about a QO, this is the place for them. They just have to die, and they have to take their bloody time about doing it. The rules are published below. They are almost exactly the same as last year, with two exceptions. Firstly, as threatened last year, this is going to be the first pool to try a ban on “Famous for being a Criminal” picks, purely because I couldn’t be arsed googling the cunts’ names every few months to check if they have carked it or not. I will be honest- I am not sure how it is going to work. Some criminals become so widely famous that they will have to be allowed, while other more local scumbag types will be banned. The basic rule will be that people only famous for criminal acts are banned, unless they become globally famous (or at very least massively nationally famous) for their crimes. The distinction may well seem arbitrary and inconsistent, but I will try to keep it as fair as possible. From this year’s selections, Robert Durst would be allowed, as his case became globally famous including a film and documentary. On the other hand, Mustafa Kayirici would be banned, as he would have died in relative (but well-deserved) obscurity, had someone from the Daily Mail not gotten a hard-on over him. Of next year's likely picks, Ted Kaczynski is good, Sandra Weir is out. You get the general picture. Secondly, in a classical piece of gate-shutting after bolting-horse, I have introduced a tie-break system in the unlikely event of a tie at the end of the year. SEND YOUR TEAM TO ME BY PM, OR POST IT UP ON THIS THREAD. NO OTHER METHODS OF ENTRY ARE ACCEPTED. To make life a little easier on me, you are kindly asked to enter your team in the following format. · List picks in alphabetical order of first name. · Do not put numbers in front of the name. But please count them to make sure that there are actually 25 of them – it’s not that difficult. · Put description in brackets after name (if they are obscure and/or likely to be confused with another celebrity) · Mark one pick as a Joker (or wildcard- I’m not getting into that discussion again!) I will accept entries that are not in this format. However, you may definitely will be subject to a torrent of abuse of Deathray-ian proportions. Best of luck to you all.

You are all very welcome to the awards ceremony of the 2023 Hare’s Dead pool. About a week later than all other pools, put a few days earlier than usual for this one! A record year for entries (since surpassed by 2024) saw 57 players with a total of 717 picks in play. It was a year high in picks, but low in hits, especially for the more popular selections. After the compilation team of popular picks managed to beat all-comers in 2022 with 15 hits and 3665 points, 2023 saw a mere 7 hits totalling 1421 points. Popular favourites Roberta Flack (28 picks) Jimmy Carter (27), Johnnie Irwin (23), Andy Taylor (22) and Frank Field (17) all made it comfortably through the year, with suggestions that at least one of them might not be nearly as ill as first thought. (Yeah Jimmy, you faker- we’re looking at you!). One vital record, however, was broken this year. In 2018 Death Impends snatched victory with the demise of Don Lusk on December 30th. A record that would surely survive the test of time. Well, it did until 31st December 2023 when US Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson was finally voted out by the Reaper. The 364 points plus 250 Betty Bonus was enough to snatch victory from the trophy-laden hands of gcreptile, and present it to our new champion, the winner of the Hares Deadpool 2023 …. DYING PROBABLY WINNER Dying Probably (2683 points) 11 hits [Betty Boothroyd, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Harry Belafonte, Hazel McCallion*, Henry Kissinger, James L. Buckley, Nigel Lawson, Rosalynn Carter, Sandra Day-O’Connor, Shane MacGowan, Tony Bennett] Despite boasting the lowest winning total since DeathImpends in 2018, and the lowest number of winning hits since Toast in 2015, the 2683 points was comfortably enough to hand victory to Dying Probably. The year started badly – their Hazel McCallion Joker was cashed in on 29th January, giving them the lead in the first leaderboard of the year on February 6th. Everyone knows that is the death knell in this pool, right? More early hits with Boothroyd, Lawson and Belafonte saw them in 2nd on May 7th, not the place you generally want to be. By the beginning of November, they were out of the top 20 and by all conventional wisdom, out of the game. Rosalind Carter’s demise on 19th November sneaked them up into the respectability of the top 20, but still seemingly out of it. However all changed in 3 days – the deaths of Henry Kissinger (November 29th), Shane McGowan (November 30th )and Sandra Day O’Connor (December 1st), suddenly rocketed DP up into second place. Too little, too late? Not a bit of it – they were just biding their time to pounce. The late, late death of Eddie Bernice Johnson was all they were waiting for to take the title in the most dramatic of fashions. Now THAT’S how you play this pool! I therefore award the Deathray memorial cup for 2023 to @Dying Probably. RUNNER-UP Gcreptile (2204 points) 12 hits [Burt Bacharach, Chris Snow, Daniel N Paul, Frederic Forrest, George Alagiah, Grant Turner, Haris Ibrahim, Henry Kissinger, Johnny Ruffo, Menahem Pressler, Roland Griffiths, William Consovoy] What can I say – the most unlucky of runners-up. However, I am sure their vast collection of silverware will give them some comfort for the loss of this one. @gcreptilealmost played this perfectly – took the lead in November with the death of Johnny Ruffo. Lost it briefly, only to regain it with Kissinger’s welcome passing. Held that lead almost to the finish line However, they just couldn’t kill off the opposition, with the lack of a December hit, and an un-scoring Joker ultimately proving fatal. THIRD PLACE The Unknown Man (2047 points) 9 hits [Bob Barker, Bobby Charlton, George Alagiah*, Gianluca Vialli, Giorgio Napolitano, Jacques Delors, Milan Kundera, Rolf Harris, Ted Kaczynski] The only other player to score over 2000 points, a feat managed by 12 players last year. Always there or thereabouts in the second half of the pool. @The Unknown Man took the lead in October with Bobby Charlton’s death. However, that was lost soon after, and despite Jacques Delors giving them a late boost, just couldn’t find that last hit to get them over the line. Ultimately, it is hard to win this pool with only 9 hits. THE “COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY” GROUP Boasting scores that would have been mocked last year, these players all managed to make the top-10 this year. Wannamaker led the pool in October, Thatcher led twice: in July and as late as November. Arghton led in February, Death Impends in July, and Buffalo Phil in May. They all had their opportunity, but just couldn’t take their chances! Diego (1955 points) 9 hits [Felix Sienra, Fusa Tatsumi*, Gianluca Vialli, Giorgio Napolitano, King Constantine, Milan Kundera, Rolf Harris, Shane MacGowan, Wei Wei] Wannamaker (1935 points) 12 hits [Bob Barker, Frank McGarvey, George Alagiah, Giorgio Napolitano, Henry Kissinger, King Constantine, Martti Ahtisaari, Milan Kundera, Pervez Musharraf, Rolf Harris, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Ted Kaczynski] Thatcher (1897 points) 10 hits [Federico Bahamontes, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Gina Lollobrigida, Josh Ackland, Milan Kundera, Rolf Harris*, Rosalynn Carter, Ted Kaczynski, Tony Bennett] Arghton (1788 points) 11 hits [Carmen Sevilla, Daisako Ikeda, Emlain Kabua, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Ivan Silayev*, Maunu Kurkvaara (BB), Otis Taylor, Rafiq Nishonov, Tim Lobinger, Winnie Ewing) Death Impends (1783 points) 10 hits [Bert I Gordon, Billy Graham, Bob Barker, Ed Ames, Francoise Gilot, Jacques Delors, Jimmy Weldon, Lucille Randon, Mervin Shiner, Milan Kundera] LizLemon (1738 points) 7 hits [Burt Bacharach, Frederic Forrest, Henry Kissinger, Norman Lear, Rosalynn Carter, Sandra Day-Connor, Tony Bennett] Buffalo Phil (1674 points) 10 hits [Ady Barkan, Ben Ferencs, Bill Butler, Bob Barker, Gianluca Vialli, Guido Gorgatti, Hazel McCallion, Johnny Ruffo*, Lucille Randon, Tim Keller] THE “RESPECTABLE” GROUP : YoungOne (1620 points) 8 hits [Bobby Charlton, George Alagiah, Henry Kissinger, Jacques Delors, King Constantine, Nigel Lawson, Rolf Harris, Tony Bennett] WEP (1559 points) 8 hits [Augie Nieto, George Alagiah*, Jango Edwards, Mutulu Shakur, Rolf Harris, Ryan Minor, Teresa Taylor, Tim Lobinger] Yorkshire Banker (1536 points) 8 hits [Dick Clarke, Dick Groat, Francoise Gilot, George Alagiah, Giorgio Napolitano, Hsing Yun, Tras Honan, Winnie Ewing] BabyBlue (1512 points) 8 hits [Greta Anderson, Guido Gorgatti, Helene Carrere D’Encausse, Horse-Dieter Hottges, Jacques Delors, Leonard Pietraszak, Martti Ahtisaari, Phyllis Latour] Msc (1436 points) 5 hits [Bob Barker, David Berglas, Henry Kissinger, Jacques Delors, Tony Bennett] MariNisia (1431 points) 7 hits [Bob Barker, Carole Cook, Don January, Harry Belafonte, Jacques Delors, Sandra Day’O’Connor, Stanley Von Nieda] The Spinosaurus (1426 points) 7 hits [Alan Arkin, Bob Barker, King Constantine, Horst-Dieter Hottges*, John Devitt, Michael Parkinson, Tony Bennett] Wormfarmer (1422 points) 8 hits [AL Jaffee*, Ben Ferencs, Bill Butler, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Henry Kissinger, Shane MacGowan, Ted Kaczynski] ZZZ - Boring Predictable Team (1421 points) 7 hits [Bob Barker, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Henry Kissinger, Johnny Ruffo, Rolf Harris, Tony Bennett] The RadGuy (1405 points) 8 hits [Ady Barkan, Faye Fantarrow, Frank McGarvey, George Alagiah, Jango Edwards, Johnny Ruffo, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Tim Lobinger] Etushispushingupdaisies (1388 points) 7 hits [Bob Barker, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Henry Kissinger, Johnny Ruffo, Rolf Harris, Teresa Taylor] TQR (1373 points) 7 hits [Bobby Charlton, George Alagiah, Harry Belafonte, Michael Parkinson, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Nigel Lawson, Tony Bennett] Nantonian (1359 points) 7 hits [Diane Feinstein, George Alagiah, Henry Kissinger, Nigel Lawson, Rolf Harris, Ted Kaczynski, Winnie Ewing] Tracey (1332 points) 7 hits [Al Jaffee, Al Quie, George Alagiah, Gordon Moore, Miiko Taka, Norman Lear, Ted Lerner] The “MEH” Group Salmon Mousse (1271 points) 10 hits [Chris Snow, Chris Stone, Frank McGarvey, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Denny Crum, Michael Lehrer, Natalie Fornasier, Teresa Taylor, Tim Keller] WhoamI (1268 points) 6 hits [Eric Tweedale, Henry Kissinger, Ken Archer, Norman Lear, Stella Stevens, Ted Kaczynski] Im Not Hades (1232 points) 6 hits [David Crosby, Frank Borman, Harry Belafonte, Mary Quant, Miroslav Blasevic, Ryan O’Neill] The Old Crem (1167 points) 8 hits [Frank McGarvey, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Johnny Ruffo, Mary Quant, Rolf Harris, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Terry Venables] Toast (1150 points) 10 hits [Bobby Charlton, Fay Weldon, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Just Fontaine, King Constantine, Milan Kundera, Rolf Harris, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Winnie Ewing] Drol (1109 points) 7 hits [George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Giorgio Napolitano*, Oomen Chandy, Pervez Musharraf, Rolf Harris, Shimon Baadani] An Fear Beag (1093 points) 9 hits [George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Lucille Randon, Mairin Hughes, Mary Quant, Nick Hitchon, Nigel Lawson, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Tim Keller] DeathBecomesThem (1089 points) 6 hits [Chaim Topol, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Pat Robertson, Rosalynn Carter, Sandra Day-O’Connor] Captain Chorizo (1085 points) 7 hits [Abe Jacobs, Billy Two-Rivers, Johnny Ruffo, Pervez Musharraf, Siiri Ratnanen, Teresa Taylor, Winnie Ewing] Etib80 (1058 points) 4 hits [Bob Barker*, Federico Bahamontes, Gianluca Vialli, Jacques Delors] THE “MUST TRY HARDER” Group The Old Lady (988 points) 8 hits [Betty Boothroyd, Bob Barker, Francoise Gilot, Gianluca Vialli, Mary Quant, Rolf Harris, Ted Kaczynski, Tina Turner] Lady Fiona (964 points) 5 hits [George Alagiah, Kenneth McAlpine, Rolf Harris, Shane MacGowan, Tony Bennett] Pedro69 (962 points) 3 hits [Bobby Charlton, Johnny Ruffo, Mike Nussbaum] Chel (960 points) 6 hits [Jaak Lipso, Nikolai Dupak, Nikolai Dobranravov, Yulia Borisova, Vera Vasilveya, Vyacheslav Zaitsev] CharlesDeGaulle (944 points) 6 hits [Bob Barker, Chaim Topol, Giorgio Napolitano, Rolf Harris, Stella Stevens, Tony Bennett] Famous4Eva (943 points) 3 hits [Angel Wagenstein*, Chris Snow, Johnny Ruffo] JoeMoneypenny (848 points) 5 hits [Hsing Yun, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Shane MacGowan, Wan Haifeng, Wei Wei] CalebH (823 points) 5 hits [Carmen Sevilla, Doreen Mantle, Marga Minco, Mihai Sora*, Sonia Cervanes] Book (790 points) 6 hits [Burt Bacharach, Frances Sternhagen, Gina Lollobrigida, Harry Belafonte, Inga Swenson, Maria Sebaldt] Torva Messor (755 points) 7 hits [Bernard Kalb, Bert I. Gordon*, Carole Cook, Francoise Gilot, Max Morath, Menahem Pressler, Noreen Nash] GrimUpNorth (737 points) 6 hits [Frank McGarvey, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Johnny Ruffo, Rolf Harris, Ryiuchi Sakamoto] Joey Russ (717 points) 6 hits [Bob Barker, David Crosby, Lucille Randon, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Ted Kaczynski, Tony Bennett] Great Uncle Bulgaria (692 points) 5 hits [Bob Barker, Gina Lollobrigida, Henry Kissinger, Lucille Randon, Nigel Lawson] John Key (674 points) 3 hits [George Alagiah, Rolf Harris, Ryan O’Neill] Guy From Future (662 points) 7 hits [George Alagiah, Gordon Pinsent, Hazel McCallion, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Juan Velarde Fuertes, Milan Kundera, Patricia Hamilton] Hell (650 points) 6 hits [Chaim Topol, George Alagiah, Gianluca Vialli, Rolf Harris, Ryiuchi Sakamoto, Ted Kaczynski] THE "YOU’RE ‘AVING A LARF" Group WhenThe (460 points) 3 hits [Albert Ndele, Jim Broyhill, Rosalynn Carter] GooseberryCrumble (438 points) 3 hits [Dick Fosbury, Raquel Welch, Rosalynn Carter] Sean (389 points) 4 hits [Gina Lollobrigida, Gordon McQueen, Harry Belafonte, Nora Forster] Death By Arsenic (322 points) 1 hit [Josh Ackland] ChckenCobra (271 points) 1 hit [Diane Feinstein] Bibliogryphon (228 points) 1 hit [Michael Parkinson] TheKillingTime (170 points) 1 hit [Claude Sarraute] THE "WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?” GROUP Time (81 points) 1 hit [Peter Shelley] Who would have thought it? A team full of apparently healthy 80-year-olds did badly. I tell you – you will win nothing with kids! A few more awards to be presented: THE " NO PRIZES FOR LEADING AT HALF-WAY?" AWARD (formerly held by Arsenal Football Club) THE SPINOSAURUS Led at the end of August after three rapid August hits. Wondered aloud whether they had peaked too early. Was correct. Did not score again after that, ultimately finishing in 17th. AWARD FOR MOST POINTS PER HIT (MIN 5 HITS): MSC takes this award, scoring only 5 hits, but scoring 1436 points to average 287.2 points per hit. Not bad, consider that the Joker did come into play. First hit in July, then 1 in August, 2 in November, and 1 in December. That’s sort-of how you play the game- just a few more needed, Honourable mentions to: LizLemon 1738 points 7 hits 248.3 points per hit Dying Probably: 2683 points 11 hits: 243.9 points per hit Pedro67: Average 320.66 but only 3 hits Famous4Eva: Average 314.33 but only 3 hits. AWARD FOR FEWEST POINTS PER HIT: TIME: 81points 1 hit: 81 points per hit. Yeah – it wasn’t even a good one! Dishonourable mentions go to: Guyfromfuture: 662 points 7 hits: 94.6 points per hit Sean: 389 points 4 hits: 97.25 points per hit. And finally, as couple of quirky notes to end with. 2023 saw one of the odder QOs in dead-pooling history with the YouTube video of Emlain Kabua’s funeral service being accepted as a QO. If you haven’t watched it, I recommend it – its hilarious. Think worst wedding video where all the guests are painfully aware that the camera is on them, but at a solemn funeral. Players should note that the fact it was filmed and released by the Marshall Islands Telecommunications Authority is what convinced me to allow it. So, if one of your really fringe picks does cark it, don’t bother turning up at the funeral service with your iphone, hoping to sneakily bag a QO. 2003 also saw the now annual event of a pick not even managing to scrape the most basic of QO’s needed to score in this pool. Fast-talker Steve Woodmore finally shut up, and it seems that everyone was so relieved that they promptly forgot all about him. Ultimately it mattered little to Gcpetile, and this host breathed a large sigh of relief! Thanks everyone for playing in 2023 and best of luck for 2024.

Before we get to the important business of totting up the scores and declaring a winner, here is a round-up of the last hits and misses of 2023. I have sifted through the list and googled all the names, so it is unlikely that anyone has been missed. If they have, it is past the January 7th deadline for notification of hits, so its tough like I'm afraid. Two more picks have been discovered to have died before the game started. Bretislav Stas - picked by The Killing Time. Died December 2021. Sub Eugenia Cooney Margaret Stuart Barry - picked by Yorkshire Banker. Apparently died September 2022. Sub Sandy Gall. And now for the hits: 8th December: Ryan O'Neill 22nd December: Ryan Minor 23rd December: Mike Nussbaum 27th December: Jacques Delors 31st December: Eddie Bernice Johnson 31st December: Maunu Kurkvaara So two picks qualified for the 250 point Betty Bonus. One of them may be become important later .........

C'mon - what do you take me for? I'd be much more subtle than that!

I think you may have overcounted LizLemons's points. 366 + 363 + 362 = 1091 (Sorry Liz - I'm in this to win )

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!

Nope. That was definitely me

AAAGGGHHHHH - I'm a fucking idiot. THAT'S the other pre-race faller I couldn't remember. I had a short list written down of picks who died early, but I lost the list. I knew there were 4 names on it, but couldn't think who the last one was. Back to work!

I'm in

Don't worry too much about it - you are not alone: 15 players has Glynis Johns. It could be worse: You could be the unfortunate player who Jokered Glynis Johns You could be the unfortunate person who Jokered Derek Draper You could be the person who picked Draper AND Johns. You could be the one who Jokered Draper and picked Glynis Johns. Or you could be the dumb fuck who went to the trouble of looking up who the oldest Knight of the Order of the Garter was, as he would be an interesting oldie pick, only for Frank Kitson to peg it on January 2nd . And who also added SAS veteran Mike Sadler who croaked it 2 days later

Thanks for the heads up on Tom Smothers. I knew I was missing a pre-race faller, but I couldn't think who it was. Willie Mays is in. I did give some thought to Sammy Basso before allowing him. In the end I decided that he qualifies under rule 5.3 (the Vicky Phelan rule) which allows people "who have become activists or otherwise achieved a reasonable level of fame for reasons related to, but not confined to, their illness." There is a reasonably high bar for that - Cancer mums with a tik-tok channel (or whatever they are called) are out. But Sammy seems to be a world-wide spokesperson for HGPS, which is good enough for me.

Thanks for the clarification - sounds fair. Given the seemingly good health of both of my outs, the chances of me being first over the top are exceedingly small. But its nice to on the list at least.

Why does MSC have the advantage over Rover on those 2 names? They both have 6 hits with no uniques. Does the first person to an out get to keep it until someone surpasses their total hits/uniques? (I have played this game enough times- I really should know the rules by now

No idea about 2024 deaths, but Babyblue's pick Qapik Attagutsiak died on December 14th Remembering 103-year-old Nunavut elder Qapik Attagutsiak | CBC News

I am genuinely not sure if you are being sarcastic or not.

Can someone help me out here. I disallowed Bruce Murray in the Hare's Pool, on the basis that he is just a cameraman i.e. no real claim to fame. However, now I see that he is a popular DDP pick (and presumably allowed) So what have I missed? I can't have stricter criteria in the Hares than in the DDP!

Thanks for the entry, and it would appear welcome back to the site after a 5 year absence. You have not picked a Joker, so Alexander Mitta becomes the Joker by default.

Thanks for the entry, and good luck. I suspect that this will be a really good team in about 5 years time , but you never know, maybe this could be the year!

My pick Telma Regina Bley appears to have died yesterday: Former city councilor and former health minister of Canoinhas, Telma Bley, dies at the age of 56 (newsbeezer.com) As did LizLemon's pick Carl (sic) Yarborough Cale Yarborough, Hall of Fame NASCAR Driver, Dies at 84 - The New York Times (nytimes.com) December 31st deaths still get points right?

It looks like we may have had some late, late drama in this game, as Eddie Bernice Johnson got tired of hanging around for Jimmy Carter, and checked out yesterday, 31st December. Are @gcreptile's hopes of victory Dying? Probably!