An Fear Beag

What's funny is that he is also the most popular pick in the Hares pool, which rewards a pick sticking around for a bit. So everyone agrees that he is a goner, but no-one has the first fucking clue when he is going to do it!

A little over 12 hours to go for submissions, so this is your final reminder to submit a team. A total of 57 teams in, with not much variety! I swear, if any one of Jimmy Carter, Jonnie Irwin, Roberta Flack, Rob Burrow Nigel Starmer-Smith or James Whale die in the next 12 hours, I am going to absolutely lose it. Think Michael Douglas in Falling Down, with possibly a little of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. It will not be pretty. Still no sign of a team from @BuffaloPhil @chel @chickencobra @ImNotHades @Joey Russ @Pedro67 @Salmon Mousse @Sean @time and possibly no team from WhenThe, or whatever they have changed their name to. And of course any new players who want to try their hand at this, you are very welcome. Just chuck in 25 names and a few subs, and you are good to go,

Got it thanks - all good

Yep - got it Alphabetical order No numbers All Capitals. Beautiful You are now officially my favourite competitor

Thanks for the entry Tracy, and thanks for the reminder that Don King is still alive. One of those names that I could have sworn died about 10 years ago.

I'm in - PM sent. I've finished second to @Bananain this pool for the past 2 year. I can't see it happening again with the weak team that I've submitted. However, if it does happen for a 3rd year in a row, I am going to change my user name to "Banana's Bitch", and will only change it back whenever I get knocked out of the cup later in the year.

If we reach 60 teams, then Jimmy Carter will grant immortality to all of the other picks in the pool! However, like the guy in The Green Mile, he will absorb all their suffering into himself, and will croak it before the year is out, making joint winners of the 50 teams that seem to have picked him!

With just under 3 days to go, we are not up to the grand total of 46 players. With a little luck, and a last minute flurry, we can hopefully hit the magical target of 60 teams. So far, I have not received teams form the following who played last year - a gentle reminder to you all to get your team in before midnight on Sunday. @Book @BuffaloPhil @chel @chickencobra @Etushispushingupdaisies @gcreptile @Grim Up North @ImNotHades @Joey Russ @MariNisia @Pedro67 @SalmonMousse @Sean @time @The Old Crem @Toast @Torva Messor @tracy @Wormfarmer @Young One r

Thanks for the entry Willy and best of luck. One of these years you will be right about Madonna!

Another Joker-less entry- Agnes Kelati takes the spot.

Thanks for the entry. All is good with the team. Best of luck.

Thanks for the entry Imelda, and welcome to the pool. Best of luck

And another one with no Joker. Barbara Streisand it is so.

5 and a bit days to go, and we have 31 entries in so far. Well ahead of the same time last year- many thanks to everyone who submitted early. These are the players I have - let me know if I have missed anyone: An Fear Beag Arghton Baby Blue Bibliogryphon CalebH Captain Hemlock CaptainChorizo DeathByArsenic DeathImpends DyingProbably Etib80 Famous6Eva Ghost of Christmas Past GooseberryCrumble GreatUncleBulgaria GuyFromFuture JoeMoneyPenny LadyFiona MSC RadGuy Shamalka Amarasekera Thatcher The Immortal TheKillingTime ThereWillBeDeaths7 Wannamaker WEP WhoamI YorkshireBanker Yvonne Zsa Zsa's Leg

Thanks for the entry LF, and thanks for submitting in an easy-to-use format. You even put the names in capital letters, which is more than the rest of the lazy bastards around here managed However, I would ask again that players not to put in explanations of their picks, when it is bleedingly obvious who you mean. They all have to be deleted out before I put them into the spreadsheet I use, so it just adds to the time taken to process the entries. You can assume that I am not going to mix up Dennis Skinner, Eve Marie Saint, or Johnnie Irwin with anyone else, so there is no need to tell me who they are. Even if they are obscure, you only need to clarify if it is a common name (e.g. DeathbyArsenic's pick of Luis Ayala above - a google search shows three possible candidates)

Thanks for the entry TWBD7 I believe that you may also be a new player in this pool. You are very welcome and best of luck. (and Pope Francis is fine, although I admire the pedanticism)

Thanks for the entry Shamalka. Always delighted to have new players on board. I am going to assume that "Jim Carey" is supposed to be Jim Carrey the actor, rather than Jim Carey the second-hand car salesman from Tipperary. Nice man Jim, but not famous enough even for this pool. As you have joined the ranks of players who haven't bothered their arses to nominate a Joker, Al Pacino (no h) becomes your Joker by default.

@Sod's Law: I second Gooseberry's recommendation to join the excellent Hares Deadpool Easy as anything- with the 10 names you have there, you are already 40% of the way towards a Hares team!

Thanks for the entry Gooseberry. Always fascinates me to see what picks a player feels the need to clarify. You wouldn't want to have the wrong Bill Vander Zalm or Jimmy Swaggart on your team

Thanks for the entry. All good with the team, except that you also have forgotten to nominate a Joker. FFS people- its not that hard Agnes Keleti is your Joker unless you indicate otherwise. As we get into Christmas, I am going to have less time to upload teams, so I will not be chasing people for Jokers. You have all been warned!

Thanks for the entry. Joseph DeAngelo is disallowed under the "Famous for being a criminal" rule. I am sure he is quite a high profile killer in the US, having no less than 3 nicknames. However my wife is the barometer when it comes to criminal fame, and she has never heard of him, so he is out. James Baker moves up to the main team. A note to all players. My wife hates all True Crime programmes and books, so the chances of her having heard of a criminal are pretty slim. There is a very high bar to clear for a criminal to be allowed.

Almost 2 weeks to go, and we have already had our first refusal, as Irish post mistress and D-Day delayer Maureen Flavin Sweeney has run her last race. Now which muppet decided to pick her ............ oops

A pick for me in the 2024 Hare's Pool, but won't make the starting line. First time I've ever known the Irish postal system to deliver early!

This is just a shameless bump to remind people to enter, and the earlier the better! No advantage in this game to holding on to the last minute. Your New Years Eve hospice-enterers or ICU-admissions are of no use to you here! 10 entries so far, and mostly entered in an easy to process format - thanks. Don't forget to nominate a Joker as 4/10 entries have forgotten to do so far. Best of luck

Here's a small but important update to brighten up someone's Friday morning. Only 2 hits to report since the last update, unless you know of any more obscure names who have decided not to celebrate Christmas this year. 5th December: Norman Lear 12th December: Fusa Tatsumi Lear exiting the stage has brought some respectability to @tracyand @WhoamIwho are now safely in mid table (and above me). More significantly, @LizLemonhas squeezed into contention, rising up into 6th place and within 2 hits of the leader. A joker will not do it, as our leader @gcreptilehas her Roberta Flack joker covered. Of even more significance is the demise of Tatsumi, a Joker hit for @diego who sprints up into third position within a hit of the leader. I bet he likes that!. Here is where we stand with a little over 2 weeks to go. Late drama anyone? 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] Dying Probably (2069 points) 10 hits [Betty Boothroyd, Harry Belafonte, Hazel McCallion*, Henry Kissinger, James L. Buckley, Nigel Lawson, Rosalynn Carter, Sandra Day-O’Connor, Shane MacGowan, Tony Bennett] 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] LizLemon (1738 points) 7 hits [Burt Bacharach, Frederic Forrest, Henry Kissinger, Norman Lear, Rosalynn Carter, Sandra Day-Connor, Tony Bennett]