msc

It's up to you, YW, but I'm the charitable sort, and SC did miss the Deathrace, so leniency, perhaps? PS - The phrasing sounds like he sent you it by PM? Or thinks it was sent by PM?

Aye, it was the main factor in me picking Van Zandvliet. Inoperable liver cancer's nasty, add in kidney cancer (though that was treated iirc), but in one of his interviews mid-summer, he casually mentioned that his brain cancer was glioblastoma. It's like a Street Fighter KO combo...

I know your doubting yourself again, but that looks like another strong team to be honest. I wouldn't be surprised if you made the top ten for the second time in a row. Too kind. I looked around the net for a good 10 minutes or so before handing my team in, thinking "Where are the picks the big three would find?" Turns out, the answer to that was: "Nearly all on my shortlist". Still, I stuck to a very simple rule this year. Listed my shortlist by age, axed those I didn't think would die/very too risky/not enough info, and then took the top 20 youngest. This meant folk like Peter Skellern and Dorris Francis, who I think are good picks for 2017, had to miss out. The only real doubt is Kobayashi's QO obit status, but meh, I'm happy with my 20.

Much like many DDPers having their areas of interest ie OoO's motorsports, Spade's journalists/music types, DDT's religious figures, Deathray's Corrie love, etc. It's my goal to have a wrestler on my main team one day. I went close with Smith Hart, but feel he might just make 2018. Snuka, no trust at all, and Vader's apparently been told he can live longer if he gets healthier, and DDP is going to try and help him out.

"A discussion forum also allows Internet users to discuss names to include, even if the "Committee" makes it a duty not to follow their suggestions."

Sorted - and there's a fair chance she'll be a scoring pick, eh? She'll piss off a whole lot of DDP teams if she's not! But yeah, hospice said the Express. They don't give spots out in those easily.

Someone did submit DJ Casper for TCD17, quite high on their list, which did raise an eyebrow at the time. Even if I'd googled their health, which I didn't, I'd have ignored that anyhow, due to Deadpool Host Ethics.

I think it was an Onion-esque article which went viral in these post-fact days.

Right, just to put a name on these hints, in the disbelief anyone cared... Person A - Fabienne St Louis. Treatment going well. Person B - I forget now...someone dropped very early on. Dubious obit - Sasha Lakovic LDNotS - Dan1elle K3emp 1. Rayya Elias (hah) 2. Nabeel Qureshi (Pretty sure Gcreptile meant Quincy Jones, who I dropped for the same reason) Paul Van Zandvliet Van Zandvliet with a degree of misdirection. Alphonse Mouzon. Complete misdirection - Gord Downie, if a Drop 40er, will be a 24 point joker. Colin Butts, writer of Is Harry on the Boat.

Team I sent YW on Boxing Day: Leah Bracknell – actress Charles Bradley – soul singer Colin Butts – author Errol Christie – boxer Sara Coward - Archers Gord Downie – singer (actually quite a decent one) Rayya Elias – author Jill Gascoine – actress Len Hawkes - musician Steve Hewlett – BBC man Sasha Lakovic – ice hockey Sir Colin Meads – rugby King Michael of Romania Craig MacGregor - Foghat Paul McGill - journalist Catherine Nevin – Black Widow Simon Ricketts – journalist Peter Sallis - actor Billy Simpson - footballer Peter Skellern – singer Jimmy Snuka - pro-wrestler Stefan Karl Stefansson – Robbie Rotten Paul Van Zandvliet – rugby Lady Mary Wilson – Pan Breed favourite (also Harold’s widow) John Wetton – musician

Team I sent Shaun on the 27th: Emma Morano (joker) Leah Bracknell Colin Butts Sara Coward Errol Christie Gord Downie Rayya Elias Greg Gilbert Anna Holmlund Stefan Karl (Steffanson) Sasha Lakovic Vicki Letele Tracy McGiffin Paul McGill Catherine Nevin Simon Ricketts Darren Sawchuk Peter Skellern Jimmy Snuka Paul Van Zandvliet Good luck, everyone!

Team I sent into Ali: Mario Soares Gregorio Conrado Alvarez Simon Ricketts – journalist Gord Downie Leah Bracknell Catherine Nevin Sara Coward Paul Van Zandvliet Peter Skellern Rayya Elias Paul Mcgill Paul Van Zandvliet was added in as a sub due to the early death, and my subs were Errol Christie and Steve Sumner.

In that case, congratulations Spade on your unique achievement. Properly Federer now. Or that darts player you like I can't mind the name of.

The other two teams then: Here's Who You Could Have Won (Pan Breed Reserves) Tony Booth (joker) Charles Bradley Jason Busby Geoff Fox Dorris Francis Smith Hart Steve Hewlett Matt Hirst Bishop Eddie Long Lisa Magill Colin Meads Craig Macgregor Paul McGill Rena Salmon Darren Sawchuk Valerie Spiridinov Peter Skellern Bart Starr John Wetton Pan Breed favourite Mary Wilson A mix of folk who wont obit, folk who were too 50/50 for the main team, folk who were too old, etc. Originally going to be a theme team called "Are You Sure You're Alright?" after the Bowie/Rickman/Wogan type deaths in 2016, but most of that shortlist died! Bart Starr is the only original team player from that one in the squad. Not the List of the Missed A THEME team, but one I expect TMIB to reject as a theme team for sheer cheek. The theme is: people who have been on the DDP, but haven't appeared in years. In the hope that some might both be saved from the List of the Missed, and that it might have an amusing number of unique picks. April Ashley (joker) Biddy Baxter Aaron Beck Richard Easton Sir Harold Evans Peter Firman Alberto Fujimori Brian Glanville James Ivory Lennart Johansson Sir Anerood Jugnauth Norman Kember Sir Ken Morrison Roger Sainsbury Dean Stockwell Mikis Theodorakis Alexander Thynn (born 1932) Brian Walden Harry Whittington John Woodvine

Told you Bert would be back with a better team. Good to see you around. The idea of everyone keeping the same names quiet for their teams amuses me greatly.

When do obits stop being taken for 2016 teams? end of today? So we know when to properly congratulate the winner...

He's on my team, posted above!

Michael Perham should have shown up in one of my research tags ("bishop, cancer") so that's a schoolboy error of sorts. Like last year, Spade has 3 people I didn't think were ill enough. In 2016, all three of them subsequently died.

Pan Breed 2017 Gord Downie (joker) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Alan Aspin Leah Bracknell Colin Butts Errol Christie Sara Coward Rayya Elias Greg Gilbert Anna Holmlund Sasha Lakovic Tracy McGiffin Catherine Nevin Simon Ricketts Dr Mark Sims Stefan Karl Stefansson Steve Sumner Ben Suisala Joost van der Westhuizen Paul Van Zandvliet Not expecting much this year, though. 5th in 2016 was a major fluke.

Initial thoughts: Kirk Douglas: A decent shot on age. Vera Lynn: Reportedly in frail health and unable to attend things now. A solid pick. Rev Billy Graham: Will probably survive the list, but have another few “Please pray for” moments. Lord Carrington: Think he’ll see 100 but I thought that about Healey. Peter Sallis: I thought he was a goner in 2016, I certainly do in 2017. One year I might be right... Prince Philip: Undroppable. Denis Norden: Seems in good enough nick for his age. Pierre Cardin: Ah, he’s back. Stan Lee: Seems in good enough nick for his age. Olivia de Havilland: Seems in good enough nick for her advanced age. Herman Wouk: Quite old. Tony Booth: Falling to pieces, if he makes 2018, give him a medal. Bob Dole: Survived the Republican nomination thing. Leah Bracknell: Stage IV cancer and reliant on shamans. Fucked. Jimmy Carter: Seems in good nick, but at the upper limits of Presidential longevity. Gord Downie: terminal glioblastoma. A cert. Leslie Phillips – Not only quiet since those strokes, but pics of him in the Mail were hideous last year. On the road out. Robert Mugabe – will see 2018, in my book. Javier Perez de Cuellar – zzzzzzzz Jake Lamotta – Not sure how he made his 96th year. King Michael – leukaemia in a 95 year old is probably trouble. Betty White – in fine health for her age, best I know. Nobby Stiles – Said to be “gravely ill”. Queen Elizabeth II – Should be undroppable from now on. Jill Gascoine – Husband said she was in the final stages of dementia. Difficult to judge these things in time. Bob Barker – Seems OK for his age? Doug Ellis – Quite old. George Bush Sr – Somewhat frailer than Carter, but still going strong. Would be a bad miss, though. Honor Blackman – Really awful health for a long time, so I am led to believe, but seemed highly perked up in her recent TV appearances. Getting better, or her previous was exaggerated – who knows? Ian St John – bladder cancer spreading after surgery. Fecked. Hugh Hefner – Old. David Prowse – Ill, but not quite as badly as was made out to believe. Apparently he still tweets. Jerry Lewis – Oh, he’s back. David Rockefeller – Very old. Sandy Gall – I think this is an attempt to out-jinx the Deathlist jinx, by keeping on someone who would usually be dropped and then die. Pope Benedict XVI – Said to be in very frail health. Bruce Forsyth – Probably a banker, imo. Fats Domino – Still no idea how he’s outlived most of his contemporaries. His healthier contemporaries. Hosni Mubarak – Dont trust him, but he’s getting old. Desmond Tutu – Too big to miss, imo, and accumulating old age health issues. Akihito – General view? If the Japanese government committee are suggesting he can abdicate, in Japan, then he’s fucked. Gay Byrne – Think he was being over dramatic tbh. Glen Campbell – A must for 2017, surely. Liz Dawn – First time on the Deathlist, despite many years of folk asking for her. The Ali gambit once more? John Noakes – Said to be very poorly with dementia when he disappeared in Summer 2015. He was found, and survived 2016, but it suggests 2017 might be a tough one for him. Valerie Harper – Well she is still terminal, just how slowly terminal? Joost van der Westhuizen – Frail at Christmas, lasted 6 years with ALS now. Mary Tyler Moore – Her again! Errol Christie – “Year to live” sometime pre-May 2016. A cert. Ian Brady – Says he is terminally ill. I say he’s a scumbag liar, but a hit here would be lovely. I'm thinking 15/50, conservatively, and a record breaking year.

I suspect it was more the strokes and advanced dementia that led to the gravely ill reports (British newspaper euphemism for "dying shortly"), but then, there's many shades of prostate cancer, and hypothetically speaking, Stage IV can kill you just as easily as more virulent cancers.

Steve Hewlett - Chemo is going well and he's been put forward for a trial immunotherapy run. Taken a punt he'll be OK for 2018. Dan1elle K3mp - Obit unlikely, and didn't want to feel like a right cunt. Latham Grant - Obit unlikely with the BBC local sections going, and even as terminal, likely to see 2018 with that type of cancer John Bain - Seems to be on mend. Valerie Spiridinov Lisa Magill - If she's outlasted her prognosis by three years, I think she might outlast it by four. Rena Salmon - Don't trust her Kay Hagan/Mark Nicholas - would have been punt picks Craig MacGregor - obit worries Colin Meads - too old. After last year, I put numbers 21-40 in their own DDP team, "Here's who you could have won", so knowing my luck, that'll finish above Pan Breed.

Peter Sallis Vera Lynn Gord Downie Joost van der Westhuizen Clare Hollingworth I Picked this lot, apparently.

He was "gravely ill" in November 2015 but has hung in there. I dropped him from my DDP team for 2017, thus all but guaranteeing a successful hit here.

From memory, he had his bladder and other parts removed, but the cancer still spread after that. He was on the list for a trial drug and confident he'd still beat the cancer, but, all precedent knowledge of that kind of situation tells me he's fucked.