MrWonderful

Good stuff, thanks for those details. I don't think I'd worry about the cocaine thing too much, but the alcohol usage and the stent are things to consider for Bush, sure. I still think he's a good bet to see his 90's.

As a former president, Carter is a much bigger name than Kissinger is, at least here in the U.S. I share the worry that he won't see 100, but it's absolutely remarkable that this dude has lived as long as he has. The guy was a nonagenarian with brain cancer 7 years ago! George W. Bush does look very good for his age, and I thought his dad looked pretty good into old age until the effects of his form of Parkinson's really took hold. Of course both of Dubya's parents lived past 90 (92 for Barbara and 94 for HW), and given his appearance and genes, I'd say he is a good bet to see his 90's, possibly his late 90's. Clinton is already pretty frail at the age of 76; he has legitimate heart issues and I can't see him making it to 90. I'm not even sure if he'll make it for 5 more years, and I don't think he'll make it for 10 more. I'm not saying that I think he'll be DL-worthy in '23, but I think he will be a sneaky pick relatively soon, in my humble opinion. It will be interesting to see who makes it to an older age between Biden or Trump. Biden is a little over 3 and a half years older, so maybe he'll go first, but I'd give him the slight edge on living to an older age. They are both clearly in cognitive decline, if not in the same way. Biden does look like he's in better physical health, as Trump is overweight and has a horrible diet. Both had parents who made it to pretty advanced ages, so they both have that going for them. (Biden's dad died at 86 while his mother was 92; Trump's dad died at 93 while his mother was 88.) As for Obama, he seems like he's in pretty good health, but he did used to be a heavy smoker and even continued that as president for a while when he was under stress. He's quit smoking for long enough now (he apparently quit in 2010-ish) that his lungs have probably recovered, but his lung cancer risk will still be 3 times greater than that of a non-smoker. Neither of his parents made it past the age of 52, so he doesn't have that on his side, either. Still, he's had an active lifestyle and is in good shape for a man his age, so I think he'll see his 80's, at least. And with impeccable health care access, if he did come down with lung cancer, perhaps they'd catch it early.

Take it from an American, Harris would have no chance to win a general election here, thanks to our Electoral College system. Sure, she'd win the popular vote, but that's irrelevant. And I'm quite certain that the Democrats are well aware of this and that Biden represents their best chance to hold the presidency. Perhaps he would resign during a second term, allowing Harris to hold the office for a while, but that's the only way Harris is going to become president. Well, that, or Biden dying in office.

Tick tock.

I thought Charles' speech was outstanding. We so rarely get that kind of eloquence here in the U.S.

She will always be a legendary figure. RIP, Your Majesty.

Weiskopf was a hit for me. Low-hanging fruit really, in picking an almost 80-year-old with pancreatic cancer. He had a great line as a commentator on the Sunday broadcast of the 1986 Masters that Nicklaus went on to win. As Jack was about to hit his tee shot on the par-3 16th, Jim Nantz, then a very young broadcaster just getting his start at CBS, asked Weiskopf what Jack might be feeling in that moment, noting that he hadn't experienced a stretch like that in a while. And Weiskopf quipped "if I knew that, I would have won this tournament!" It was great.

Yikes.

What a radiant beauty and talent she was. She had this warmth and ease about her that even came through in her singing voice, and she faced her cancer battle with her trademark sunny optimism and grace. I knew this news was likely to come fairly soon (you can only stave off stage 4 cancer for so long), but it doesn't make it any less shitty. She also had to be an incredibly strong person to live as long as she did with what she had. This is a tough one. The world is less good today. May she rest in peace.

I mean, she had been in the throes of dementia for quite some time. While that condition can last for many, many years, no one can be surprised that she finally succumbed to it.

She's been on my list for at least a couple of years, and finally gives me another hit this year. Been a slow year for me. Didn't even get the correct Celtics legend on my list.

I had never heard of those two names, Deathrace. YoungWillz, yes, Avalon is one I missed for sure. He had his first string of big hits in 1959!

I'm probably missing some, but beyond Belafonte, I can think of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Mathis, Paul Anka, and definitely Pat Boone. Boone was the best-charting artist of the late 1950's in America that was not named Elvis. I had to look this up, but Frankie Valli just misses out here, as he became the lead singer of The Four Seasons in 1960.

West becomes the SIXTH former Philadelphia Phillies player to die of brain cancer over the past 20 years. Coincidence? Ex-Mets and Phillies pitcher dies at 57, joining 5 other ex-Phillies to die of brain cancer recently - pennlive.com

I couldn't place where I'd seen his face before, so I looked it up, and for me, I remembered seeing him in the Schwarzenegger flick Commando.