Evil Grimace

Counting my chickens before they hatch, so here goes... I've got four hits so far: Rinder (8), Yarrow (9, D40 confirmed), Black Bart (10, D40 confirmed), now Nolan (11, D40 retained?) for a total of 38. Total is 35 if Nolan lost D40 status. Surely that is enough for Team of the Month? I'm certain many of these are jokers for others, and with two of the others could edge me out. @Death Impends did Nolan retain D40 status? (Edit - in 2024 she was on 138 teams, so I am certain she did for 2025).

Thankfully @Bibliogryphon and @The Old Crem those joker confirmations are in under the Linda Nolan wire. The 'worthless gremlin' @drol was only picked by a third of teams, but no jokers. The second update will change things up.

@The Old Crem and @Bibliogryphon - I need jokers from you both. Please reply to this message with your selection, keeping in mind that Le Pen is not a possible choice. For everyone else, team entry is ongoing, but as a sneak peak, virtually all teams have Le Pen so the first update will be uneventful. We have at least one Designated Survivor in Angie Dickinson so far.

Yes, @Joey Russ is correct. Le Pen's death triggered 'Der Kaiser' rule, so I cannot accept your late entries @Etushispushingupdaisies and @Hell.

@gcreptile and @Bendee87 - noted and accepted.

@Bendee87 As your entry was in before closure, I'll allow it (I likely would have asked while entering teams). Please post it in reply to this message or yours. And as you've said, Le Pen is not possible.

The list of team entries, in the order they have been recieved, either posted in this forum thread or by PM. All participants have had entries acknowledge by a 'Like' to their post or written message via PM. Nice total of 26, with 17 having entered within the first 24 hours! The List Summer in Transylvania arghton Fox B theoldlady trome The Daredevil LizLemon gcreptile Funeralopolis BuffaloPhil ladyfiona Sleepiestpeep Great Uncle Bulgaria Grimgrass diego Bendee87 DoorSlammer Clorox Bleachman chilean way livingbygrace Book The Old Crem Bibliogryphon Redrumours Wormfarmer Steve

CLOSED FOR ENTRIES! The death of Jean -Marie Le Pen just announced ~10 minutes ago on the forum has triggered 'Der Kaiser' rule which states: 'The contest shall close on January 10 23:59 or at the time of the reported death of a pick on the forum, whichever comes first' Tabulation of team entries was scheduled for after the 10th, I'll see what's possible.

In no way did I expect Rinder to be a Unique, although he was in 2024 (!!). Just the picture with no commentary isn't a good sign. His early November YouTube videos he has difficulty speaking. The last update there is 28 November and he does look puffy in the Christmas update photo.

Written here so that I can complain later about my poor decisions. Drops from 2024 Jeanette Lee (52) - despite terminal ovarian cancer, due to taking Lynparza suggest she has a hereditary/mutation variant that can be managed; late December pictures show she's looking good; one to keep watching... Yoko Ono (91) - only room for one 90-something with D40 points to justify their inclusion (it was Chomsky) Michael Bibi (33?) - had show dates in 2024 and more lined up for 2025, in remission Nigel Starmer-Smith (80) - despite D40 points, hit 80, so -1 pt; again limiting 80-something picks (retained Tilson-Thomas) and I'm leary of dementia picks Gavin Robertson (58) - has a postive outlook and looks great; yearly habit of end December interviews - and he looked great as of 28th Rebecca Schull (95) - my failed attempt at a Unique last year; no new acting credits since 2022, so an easy drop No room and my likely regrets Jose Mujica (89) - I wanted to find room, but as he's likely to hit 90 and drop in pts, I couldn't have another 90-something; my most likely error Frank Caprio (88) - hard not to include a pan can pick, but age and he seems to be doing well Julian Glover (89) - again likely to reach 90; his hit-and-miss attendence at events/comic cons makes me wonder, plus slowing down on acting credits (many in 2023), one I figured could make the main DL Judith Viorst (93) - writer, widow since 2022; I have a cryptic note from Sept '24 that seems important but can't make sense of it now! Well into 90s anyway.

My 2025 teams and subs with commentary. I had 8 hits in 2024 (Irwin, Keith, Burrow, Fields, Cowell, Doherty, Newhart, Carter) and decided a refresh was needed, so only retained 6 from 2024 and dropped 6. Evil Grimace 1 Theo Burrell (joker) - no surprises here; I missed the announcments in 2023 and get to add her for this year 2 Esther Ranzen - carried over from 2024 3 Linda Nolan - carried over from 2024 4 Steve McMichael - carried over from 2024, how he still alive? 5 Noam Chomsky - carried over from 2024, how he still alive? 6 Ian Smith (actor) - age and recent news made me almost not add, but the potential of D40 was too much of a draw 7 Sophie Kinsella - age and diagnosis since 2022 8 Georg Koch - I have the QO concerns that everyone else does, but pan can is a big lock 9 Asma al-Assad - I'll post more in her thread, but this pick is a combination of age and the complications she likely has or will have soon 10 Allan Finnegan - was given 12 months in Feb 2024, but no updates 11 Peter Yarrow - thanks to blog updates the outlook is dire 12 Judy Loe - a bit of a punt, but the frequent updates from Kate helped 13 Michael Tilson Thomas - carried over from 2024, how he still alive? 14 Black Bart (wrestler) - stopping chemo is all I needed to hear 15 Patrick Murray - less updates than I'd like, but it will be two years for the recurrance in spring 2025, plus D40 points 16 James Whale - carried over from 2024, how he still alive? So he can keep complaining? Almost dropped, but the late Dec ICU visit convinced me 17 Nigel McCrery - not sure what terminal illness it is, but I'll gamble 18 Graham Caveney - age (60, dob is 1964 based on first biography) and his prolonged illness 19 Johnnie Walker Tommy Walsh - Homes under the Hammer builder, lung cancer, a bit of a lacklustre sub 20 Mike Rinder - has exhausted 2 drugs, 2 drug cocktails, 2 immunotherapies and had full head radiation by mid-November, then a late November update and no updates since; only a matter of time SUB Tommy Walsh - called up with the death of Johnnie Walker SUB Frankie Valli - 90 - my perennial sub who just manages never to get called up SUB Pope Francis - 88 - couldn't bear to add another 80-something, but know he'll be D40 Nobel Notables Three hits (Higgs, Munro, Carter) in 2024. Constant concern about QO for laureates. 1 Lech Walesa (joker) - poor health, did not attend the Queen's funeral 2 Mairead Maguire 3 14th Dalai Lama 4 Adolfo Pérez Esquivel - 90, had a strike almost three years ago (Jan 2022) 5 Aung San Suu Kyi 6 Mohamed ElBaradei 7 Maria Ressa 8 Wole Soyinka - the death rumors do annoy me, but he's still a valid pick 9 J.M. Coetzee - probably the worst pick, he's known lead a physically active lifestyle 10 Mario Vargas Llosa 11 Bob Dylan 12 Peter Handke 13 Roger Penrose 14 John E Walker 15 Sir James Fraser Stoddart found out he died 5 hours after I'd submitted, pleased to see he did get a QO (!!) 16 James Watson - honestly thought he'd have debuted on the main DL this year 17 Tu Youyou 18 William C Campbell 19 Amartya Sen - a forum niche pick 20 Angus Deaton SUB Geoffrey Hinton - called up to replace Stoddart I was lucky as I was struggling to find three subs, but I've learned my lesson, with three laurates (Karplus, Carter, Stoddart) dying on three consecutive days.

@gcreptile - Richard Garriott (Ultima) is a nice reminder of him having himself in his games; age 63, but likes his space travel. @arghton - I have to add from 'Metroid' (Nintendo) the character designers of Samus Aran, Hiroji Kiyotake (64) and Yoshio Sakamoto (65); both are involved in many NES console games.

Buddy MacKay, Lt Governor (1991-1998) and briefly Governor of Florida (1998-1999) for three weeks, dead at 91. A Democrat, he lost to Jeb Bush in 1998, but served as Governor for 23 days due to the sudden death of Governor Lawton Chiles. Some confusion on the date of his death, but seems to have settled on 31 December 2024.

The space for Statistics.

Space for updates and commentary. 7th January - the death of Le Pen triggered 'Der Kaiser' rule!