Derby Dead Pool 2021

[maryportfuncity 10,646]

20 hours ago, Captain Hemlock said:

What a difference a year makes. August was my best month in DDP last year. This year, my main team has been at wooden spoon since early March. 

 

 

Aye, 2021 is turning to shit for me too 

 

The current situation of Greg Gilbert - previous pick, ignored this year - being metaphorical salt in the wound

[Kenny 283]

I had Yoo Sang-Chui but can't see any reference to his demise on this thread. Did I miss it?

[YoungWillz 21,044]

Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim QO: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/one-iraqs-most-influential-shiite-163142535.html

 

He's called something ridiculous on the List of Celebs, ending in al-Hakeem, but it's the same guy, @gcreptile.

[gcreptile 10,970]

19 hours ago, YoungWillz said:

Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim QO: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/one-iraqs-most-influential-shiite-163142535.html

 

He's called something ridiculous on the List of Celebs, ending in al-Hakeem, but it's the same guy, @gcreptile.

Heh, and I see three birthdates, 1935 in the DDP database, 1936 in the English Wikipedia, 1934 in the German wikipedia. Well, the age bracket stays the same, and I will never look at it again...

[Death Impends 7,974]

3 hours ago, gcreptile said:

Heh, and I see three birthdates, 1935 in the DDP database, 1936 in the English Wikipedia, 1934 in the German wikipedia. Well, the age bracket stays the same, and I will never look at it again...

 

He was among the DDP images I did this year. Most names I do, I like to spend around 5-10 minutes looking for a picture that tells a story almost, shows a bit of the pick's personality. For the umpteen Ayatollah picks I just plucked from their Wiki pages and called it a day...

[Eesti 151]

Harding will be my hit #8

[maryportfuncity 10,646]

On 05/09/2021 at 14:52, Eesti said:

Harding will be my hit #8

 

 

Aye #8 to go on my team too - but Arends lack of obit has somewhat taken the shine of that passable performance

[time 8,599]

Well this surprised me! (Link)

 

[msc 18,442]

9 hours ago, time said:

Well this surprised me! (Link)

 

 

We're not just ghouls. We're helpful ghouls.

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,342]

Just had a look at the website and who's died so far list. Goodness me the unique hits are really piling up and pushing the total ever higher.  Introducing the unique hit bonus seems to be a very wise and successful  move.

[YoungWillz 21,044]

Anthony Acland for the List of the Missed @msc https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/09/09/sir-antony-acland-foreign-office-permanent-under-secretary-ambassador/

 

and

 

http://www.derbydeadpool.co.uk/deadpool2019/celebs_A.html#aclaa0

[Death Impends 7,974]

Here is an indepth analysis of the contenders emailed to us by forum lurker and DDP contestant Evil Grimace. He had originally written it before the death of Sarah Harding, then revised it after her death, hence the briefer summaries of teams that entered the top 5 off her death, as well as the inclusion of OldLady and Spade despite them no longer being in the top 5 (and tbh, if any team merits an analysis while outside the top 10, it's Spade...):

 

 

 

Name	2022/Pass/ Poochie	TJ Survives	Head No	HDS	SalMou
Rank	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
Points	93	94	98	107	118
Hits	8/9/9	8	9	10	12

 

Name	Dave Q SP	The Old Lady
Rank	12th	8th
Points	90	92
Hits	9	9

 

Quick explanation for describing picks - “Unique” as per DDP rules; “Lone” only chosen within these five punters.

Analysis is straightforward with a discernible scoring based on age.  Using competitor analysis to look at what advantages you hold (Unique, Lone) and the shared picks/hits simplifies things.  The fact that the game is static (uninformed as to picks at the start)  and non-sequential (players cannot act in response to previous action) makes for clear routes to win.

The factors are only a few:

Unique pick/hit

“Lone” pick/hit

Drop 40 and Unique bonuses

Joker

 
Despite only having 5 punters, they have chosen the following:

53 celebrities as per DDP rules (could have been a maximum of 100)

26/40 of the Drop 40 candidates

5 Uniques among the 53 celebrities

As of writing (05/09 with Harding) stands at 21/53 hits for original 5

 
In light of the Harding hit, 4 new punters have reached the top five. This would essentially make it a Top 9 analysis that I shied away from doing due to complexity. Both those who were in the top 5 before and after Harding's death are included in some form - note that several teams jumped ahead of DQSP post-Harding but did not reach the top five. For the new top 5 entrants, I’ll do a very abbreviated analysis focusing mainly on potential picks. One of the most challenging aspects was getting correct data, especially date of birth.  No less than 6 of the 53 have ranges or at best a year specified.  This impacts on the points to assign.  Then there is the method of scoring and reaching a decade (multiple of 10) birthday.

For scoring those with birthdays ending in ‘1’, e.g. 1971, see them age from 49 to 50 and therefore move down in points.  This is relevant to many picks and will be ‘pointed’ out when needed. There were 9 of these in the picks (Doherty, Graves, Harding, Henderson, Limbaugh, Prince Philip, Sang-Chul, Smith, Whale). Of these - Graves, Harding, Henderson, Prince Philip, Sang-Chul - died before dropping in points to the benefit of the punters who had them. Limbaugh (b. 12/01/51, d. 17/02/21) did drop in points as he had just over 70 at the time of his death and was a joker for 3 teams.  At the time of writing (completed 05 Sept, revised for Harding) - Doherty and Whale have already dropped in points.  Smith (31/10/71) is next to drop in points when he’s 50.

Jokers were surprisingly simple, being either Limbaugh or Parker, with the exception Davies for En Passant.  As Limbaugh has been a hit for four, Davies for one,  the remaining four have a huge advantage if Parker hits.  

Easiest to work from top (1st) to bottom (5th) due to number of hits and picks.  Please note that hits will not be commented on unless it has particular relevance to scoring, current or future.

Note 1

Two remaining DDP picks are irrelevant to the top 9.   This is due to the fact that all punters have picked them and none of the nine have them as their joker.  They are Tom Smith and James Whale.  Smith will drop in points on 31/10 when he turns 50, and Whale dropped in points on 13/05 when he turned 70, but again it does not matter. They will be listed for the punter but referred back to this note.  I cannot believe that all nine have these picks nullified as they all chose them.  As they say, ‘Great minds think alike but fools seldom differ’.

DDP picks will be listed in alphabetical order, with (status, points) given.
 

1. Salmon Mousse (118, 12 hits, joker’s wild)

Harding’s death has given a comfortable hit, but now with 6 competitors within 15 points, it is clear that unique, lone or minimally shared picks are the best way to keep the lead. 

Potential best option - Unique hit(s) of Angelos or lone pick of Martino.  

Peter Angelos (unique, 9) - an obvious hit to advance the lead
Shannen Doherty (Drop 40, 12) - first of the picks with a XXX1 birthday, only shared with HDS, 2022? and Poochie; still a comfortable hit
Bob Dole (Drop 40, 8) - still shared only  with now 6th place The Old Lady; would add a comfortable lead
David Gulpilil (Drop 40, 11) - would serve to advance the new 1st, 2nd and 3rd but is on the teams of TJS, 2022? and Poochie.
Pat Martino (lone, 7) - another hit to extend the lead
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13, joker) - the head on which so many joker points rest!  Also jokered by DQSP, 2022? and Poochie.  Would widen the  lead with +26 points now with more contenders.
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1

Final Analysis - Still the player to beat.  While Muller gave the lead (also shared with 3rd place HDS), key points from Brian Henderson before he turned 90, helped. Harding has solidified the lead. Has neutralized all others with Smith and Whale, but also a lot of runners with the shared picks of Doherty, Dole, Gulpilil, Harding and especially the jokered Parker.    
 

2. HDS (107, 10 hits, joker cashed in)

 
Still only 12 points off the lead, with one unique and three lone picks to capture it.

Potential best option - combination of two hits of Greaves/Meredith/Ono/Turnbull, with Nolan acceptable although it does aid Heading Nowhere, TJS, 2022? and Poochie.

Shannen Doherty (Drop 40, 12) - first of the picks with a XXX1 birthday, however shared with 1st place Salmon Mousse and new punters 2022? and Poochie; not helpful
Jimmy Greaves (Drop 40, 9) - part of required combo
David Gulpilil (Drop 40, 11) - would serve to advance 1st, 2nd and 3rd equally from 4th and 5th, but leaves the scrabble for the lead unchanged
James Meredith (unique, 10) - just shy on points, part of required combo
Linda Nolan (Drop 40, 11) - shared pick with Heading Nowhere and now 2022?, TJS, Poochie; would tie for first with Salmon Mousse, if no other hits for Salmon Mousse.
Yoko Ono (Drop 40, 9) - part of required combo
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13) -  Jokered by Salmon Mousse and DQSP, and now 2022?, Poochie.  
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
Bill Turnbull (Drop 40, 11) - would tie for first if no other hits for Salmon Mousse; also picks for 2022?, Poochie; part of required combo
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1
 

3. Heading Nowhere (98, 9 hits, 11 remaining, joker cashed in)

 
Now 21 points off the lead, has 5 lone options to capture it.  Needs high scoring hits.

Potential best option - Bilton (13), followed by the tie of Alagiah/Nolan (both 11) or an additional or separate combo of Phelan (10)/Roberts(8)/Robertson(9).

George Alagiah (Drop 40, 11) - the second best lone option in terms of points
Jana Bennett (-, 8) - a pick shared with DQSP, would just eke into the lead; had to research a tentative birth date for points, yet shared with 21 other punters in DDP!
Tim Bilton (Drop 40, 13) - wtf with the tentative birth dates?? Potentially the best lone dining option for tasty points and boost into first. Now shared with TJS.
David Gulpilil (Drop 40, 11) - would serve to advance 1st, 2nd and 3rd equally ahead from 4th and 5th, but leaves the scrabble for the lead unchanged
Linda Nolan (Drop 40, 11) - another second best shared pick with HDS, 2022?, TJS, Poochie
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13) -  Jokered by Salmon Mousse and DQSP, and now 2022?, Poochie.
Vicky Phelan (lone, 10) - again with a tentative birth date pick; again captures first
Jake “The Snake” Roberts (lone, 8) - a solid pick now shared with En Passant,
Gavin Robertson (lone, 9) - not a lone pick now, bowled away as a TJS pick too
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1
 

4. Thomas Jefferson Survives (94, 8 hits, joker cashed in)

 
With the lowest number of hits, this is the player who has the most potential to make moves.  Picks like Bilton, Carter or Robertson are not widely shared, and several are lone (Rupe, Sykes) or unique (Tsuji).  See Note 1 re: Smith & Whale. Didn’t win 2019 for nothing.
 

=5. 2022? - no thank you!  I’ll leave before (93, 8 hits, joker’s wild but neutered); En Passant (93, 9 hits, joker cashed in); Poochie Died On The Way Back To His Home Planet (93, 9 hits, joker’s wild but neutered)

 
This intrepid trio is tied for 5th place.  Two suffer from the hobbled joker pick of Parker and all can refer to Note 1 re: Smith & Whale.  All have a 25 point deficit to overcome.

2022? suffers from the full house of Drop 40 picks that are all shared, with the exception of Betty White.  Best options are Doherty, Newton-John, Nolan and Turnbull.

En Passant has 4 lone picks and 1 unique, although they give few paths to victory due to age (Tanaka, Zemin) with a few helpful Drop 40 (Doherty, Phillips) in the mix.

Poochie has a lone pick (Foster), one unique (Mitchell) and is the only one with Drop 40 pick Gilbert who’s announced hospice care.  Drop 40s Newton-John, Nolan and Turnbull round out the helpful potential scorers.
 

=8. The Old Lady (92, 9 hits, 11 remaining, joker cashed in)

 
Now 27 points off the lead, with 7 lone options to capture it. However some are low scoring.

Potential best option - Three hits from either the Drop 40 hit bunch (Carter, Newton-John, Phillips) or Tobin/Vialli 

Jimmy Carter (Drop 40, 8) - not peanuts on points when you are trying to crack first
Bob Dole (Drop 40, 8) - shared with 1st place Salmon Mousse
Glynis Johns (lone, 5) - can only increase rank, still requires 3+ hits
Olivia Newton-John (Drop 40, 10) - best option on points
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13) -  Jokered by Salmon Mousse and DQSP, and now 2022?, Poochie.
Leslie Phillips (Drop 40, 8) - carries on and sorts out a respectable rank increase; only newcomer share is with En Passant
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
Ruthie Thompson (lone, 3) - can only increase rank, still requires 3+ hits
Peter Tobin (lone, 7) - bottom of the barrel on required points and humanity
Gianluca Vialli (lone, 9) - another route to a comfortable increase in rank.
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1

Final Analysis - In a tough place.  With so many lone picks and so little duplication in the top 5,  it seems like there should be a pathway.  However, with low scoring potential hits (Johns, Thompson) do increase rank.  Will need at least 3 hits with scores of 9 or better to tie or overtake first.  
 

12. Dave Q’s SP (90, 9 hits, joker’s wild but neutered)

 
The crowned prince is now 29 points off the lead, with 5 lone options and 1 unique to capture it. 

Potential best option - Find that Ezra Nawi QO! If not, then three of Anderson/Burgess/Caputo/Reichert/Steiner.to capture the lead again. 

Criscilla Anderson (lone, 10) - one of the best option combo
Jana Bennett (-, 8) - a pick shared with Heading Nowhere, would advance to 3rd
Gary Burgess (lone, 10) - one of the best option combo, now shared with 2022?
Michael Caputo (lone, 9) - one of the best option combo 
John Harvey (lone, 6) - only way this pick helps is with Reichert or with Nawi QO + any other lone
Ezra Nawi (undead, 8) - died in January, but QO yet to be found.  Note this would also help 6th place Smart Beta. 
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13, joker) - the head on which so many joker points rest!  Also jokered by Salmon Mousse and now 2022?, Poochie. 
Julia Reichert (unique, 11) - best points option, only one that makes a Harvey hit competitive
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
Susie Steiner (lone, 9) - one of the best option combo
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1

Final Analysis - Nawi QO is still the easiest start on the Drive for Five.  Three hits out of the remaining top scoring 4 lone picks and 1 unique pick get to the region of first place.  Could be very specific paths to victory (Harvey + Reichert). The joker of Parker gets a massive rank increase, but now shared with slightly higher scores.  If past performance is any indication, DQSP has won with 15 hits (2013), 11 hits (2014), 10 hits (2015) and 17 hits (2016) to suggest that more hits are within the realm of possibility.

[Salmon Mousse 473]

On 09/09/2021 at 20:19, Death Impends said:

Here is an indepth analysis of the contenders emailed to us by forum lurker and DDP contestant Evil Grimace. He had originally written it before the death of Sarah Harding, then revised it after her death, hence the briefer summaries of teams that entered the top 5 off her death, as well as the inclusion of OldLady and Spade despite them no longer being in the top 5 (and tbh, if any team merits an analysis while outside the top 10, it's Spade...):

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Name	2022/Pass/ Poochie	TJ Survives	Head No	HDS	SalMou
Rank	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
Points	93	94	98	107	118
Hits	8/9/9	8	9	10	12

 

Name	Dave Q SP	The Old Lady
Rank	12th	8th
Points	90	92
Hits	9	9

 

Quick explanation for describing picks - “Unique” as per DDP rules; “Lone” only chosen within these five punters.

Analysis is straightforward with a discernible scoring based on age.  Using competitor analysis to look at what advantages you hold (Unique, Lone) and the shared picks/hits simplifies things.  The fact that the game is static (uninformed as to picks at the start)  and non-sequential (players cannot act in response to previous action) makes for clear routes to win.

The factors are only a few:

Unique pick/hit

“Lone” pick/hit

Drop 40 and Unique bonuses

Joker

 
Despite only having 5 punters, they have chosen the following:

53 celebrities as per DDP rules (could have been a maximum of 100)

26/40 of the Drop 40 candidates

5 Uniques among the 53 celebrities

As of writing (05/09 with Harding) stands at 21/53 hits for original 5

 
In light of the Harding hit, 4 new punters have reached the top five. This would essentially make it a Top 9 analysis that I shied away from doing due to complexity. Both those who were in the top 5 before and after Harding's death are included in some form - note that several teams jumped ahead of DQSP post-Harding but did not reach the top five. For the new top 5 entrants, I’ll do a very abbreviated analysis focusing mainly on potential picks. One of the most challenging aspects was getting correct data, especially date of birth.  No less than 6 of the 53 have ranges or at best a year specified.  This impacts on the points to assign.  Then there is the method of scoring and reaching a decade (multiple of 10) birthday.

For scoring those with birthdays ending in ‘1’, e.g. 1971, see them age from 49 to 50 and therefore move down in points.  This is relevant to many picks and will be ‘pointed’ out when needed. There were 9 of these in the picks (Doherty, Graves, Harding, Henderson, Limbaugh, Prince Philip, Sang-Chul, Smith, Whale). Of these - Graves, Harding, Henderson, Prince Philip, Sang-Chul - died before dropping in points to the benefit of the punters who had them. Limbaugh (b. 12/01/51, d. 17/02/21) did drop in points as he had just over 70 at the time of his death and was a joker for 3 teams.  At the time of writing (completed 05 Sept, revised for Harding) - Doherty and Whale have already dropped in points.  Smith (31/10/71) is next to drop in points when he’s 50.

Jokers were surprisingly simple, being either Limbaugh or Parker, with the exception Davies for En Passant.  As Limbaugh has been a hit for four, Davies for one,  the remaining four have a huge advantage if Parker hits.  

Easiest to work from top (1st) to bottom (5th) due to number of hits and picks.  Please note that hits will not be commented on unless it has particular relevance to scoring, current or future.

Note 1

Two remaining DDP picks are irrelevant to the top 9.   This is due to the fact that all punters have picked them and none of the nine have them as their joker.  They are Tom Smith and James Whale.  Smith will drop in points on 31/10 when he turns 50, and Whale dropped in points on 13/05 when he turned 70, but again it does not matter. They will be listed for the punter but referred back to this note.  I cannot believe that all nine have these picks nullified as they all chose them.  As they say, ‘Great minds think alike but fools seldom differ’.

DDP picks will be listed in alphabetical order, with (status, points) given.
 

1. Salmon Mousse (118, 12 hits, joker’s wild)

Harding’s death has given a comfortable hit, but now with 6 competitors within 15 points, it is clear that unique, lone or minimally shared picks are the best way to keep the lead. 

Potential best option - Unique hit(s) of Angelos or lone pick of Martino.  

Peter Angelos (unique, 9) - an obvious hit to advance the lead
Shannen Doherty (Drop 40, 12) - first of the picks with a XXX1 birthday, only shared with HDS, 2022? and Poochie; still a comfortable hit
Bob Dole (Drop 40, 8) - still shared only  with now 6th place The Old Lady; would add a comfortable lead
David Gulpilil (Drop 40, 11) - would serve to advance the new 1st, 2nd and 3rd but is on the teams of TJS, 2022? and Poochie.
Pat Martino (lone, 7) - another hit to extend the lead
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13, joker) - the head on which so many joker points rest!  Also jokered by DQSP, 2022? and Poochie.  Would widen the  lead with +26 points now with more contenders.
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1

Final Analysis - Still the player to beat.  While Muller gave the lead (also shared with 3rd place HDS), key points from Brian Henderson before he turned 90, helped. Harding has solidified the lead. Has neutralized all others with Smith and Whale, but also a lot of runners with the shared picks of Doherty, Dole, Gulpilil, Harding and especially the jokered Parker.    
 

2. HDS (107, 10 hits, joker cashed in)

 
Still only 12 points off the lead, with one unique and three lone picks to capture it.

Potential best option - combination of two hits of Greaves/Meredith/Ono/Turnbull, with Nolan acceptable although it does aid Heading Nowhere, TJS, 2022? and Poochie.

Shannen Doherty (Drop 40, 12) - first of the picks with a XXX1 birthday, however shared with 1st place Salmon Mousse and new punters 2022? and Poochie; not helpful
Jimmy Greaves (Drop 40, 9) - part of required combo
David Gulpilil (Drop 40, 11) - would serve to advance 1st, 2nd and 3rd equally from 4th and 5th, but leaves the scrabble for the lead unchanged
James Meredith (unique, 10) - just shy on points, part of required combo
Linda Nolan (Drop 40, 11) - shared pick with Heading Nowhere and now 2022?, TJS, Poochie; would tie for first with Salmon Mousse, if no other hits for Salmon Mousse.
Yoko Ono (Drop 40, 9) - part of required combo
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13) -  Jokered by Salmon Mousse and DQSP, and now 2022?, Poochie.  
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
Bill Turnbull (Drop 40, 11) - would tie for first if no other hits for Salmon Mousse; also picks for 2022?, Poochie; part of required combo
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1
 

3. Heading Nowhere (98, 9 hits, 11 remaining, joker cashed in)

 
Now 21 points off the lead, has 5 lone options to capture it.  Needs high scoring hits.

Potential best option - Bilton (13), followed by the tie of Alagiah/Nolan (both 11) or an additional or separate combo of Phelan (10)/Roberts(8)/Robertson(9).

George Alagiah (Drop 40, 11) - the second best lone option in terms of points
Jana Bennett (-, 8) - a pick shared with DQSP, would just eke into the lead; had to research a tentative birth date for points, yet shared with 21 other punters in DDP!
Tim Bilton (Drop 40, 13) - wtf with the tentative birth dates?? Potentially the best lone dining option for tasty points and boost into first. Now shared with TJS.
David Gulpilil (Drop 40, 11) - would serve to advance 1st, 2nd and 3rd equally ahead from 4th and 5th, but leaves the scrabble for the lead unchanged
Linda Nolan (Drop 40, 11) - another second best shared pick with HDS, 2022?, TJS, Poochie
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13) -  Jokered by Salmon Mousse and DQSP, and now 2022?, Poochie.
Vicky Phelan (lone, 10) - again with a tentative birth date pick; again captures first
Jake “The Snake” Roberts (lone, 8) - a solid pick now shared with En Passant,
Gavin Robertson (lone, 9) - not a lone pick now, bowled away as a TJS pick too
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1
 

4. Thomas Jefferson Survives (94, 8 hits, joker cashed in)

 
With the lowest number of hits, this is the player who has the most potential to make moves.  Picks like Bilton, Carter or Robertson are not widely shared, and several are lone (Rupe, Sykes) or unique (Tsuji).  See Note 1 re: Smith & Whale. Didn’t win 2019 for nothing.
 

=5. 2022? - no thank you!  I’ll leave before (93, 8 hits, joker’s wild but neutered); En Passant (93, 9 hits, joker cashed in); Poochie Died On The Way Back To His Home Planet (93, 9 hits, joker’s wild but neutered)

 
This intrepid trio is tied for 5th place.  Two suffer from the hobbled joker pick of Parker and all can refer to Note 1 re: Smith & Whale.  All have a 25 point deficit to overcome.

2022? suffers from the full house of Drop 40 picks that are all shared, with the exception of Betty White.  Best options are Doherty, Newton-John, Nolan and Turnbull.

En Passant has 4 lone picks and 1 unique, although they give few paths to victory due to age (Tanaka, Zemin) with a few helpful Drop 40 (Doherty, Phillips) in the mix.

Poochie has a lone pick (Foster), one unique (Mitchell) and is the only one with Drop 40 pick Gilbert who’s announced hospice care.  Drop 40s Newton-John, Nolan and Turnbull round out the helpful potential scorers.
 

=8. The Old Lady (92, 9 hits, 11 remaining, joker cashed in)

 
Now 27 points off the lead, with 7 lone options to capture it. However some are low scoring.

Potential best option - Three hits from either the Drop 40 hit bunch (Carter, Newton-John, Phillips) or Tobin/Vialli 

Jimmy Carter (Drop 40, 8) - not peanuts on points when you are trying to crack first
Bob Dole (Drop 40, 8) - shared with 1st place Salmon Mousse
Glynis Johns (lone, 5) - can only increase rank, still requires 3+ hits
Olivia Newton-John (Drop 40, 10) - best option on points
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13) -  Jokered by Salmon Mousse and DQSP, and now 2022?, Poochie.
Leslie Phillips (Drop 40, 8) - carries on and sorts out a respectable rank increase; only newcomer share is with En Passant
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
Ruthie Thompson (lone, 3) - can only increase rank, still requires 3+ hits
Peter Tobin (lone, 7) - bottom of the barrel on required points and humanity
Gianluca Vialli (lone, 9) - another route to a comfortable increase in rank.
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1

Final Analysis - In a tough place.  With so many lone picks and so little duplication in the top 5,  it seems like there should be a pathway.  However, with low scoring potential hits (Johns, Thompson) do increase rank.  Will need at least 3 hits with scores of 9 or better to tie or overtake first.  
 

12. Dave Q’s SP (90, 9 hits, joker’s wild but neutered)

 
The crowned prince is now 29 points off the lead, with 5 lone options and 1 unique to capture it. 

Potential best option - Find that Ezra Nawi QO! If not, then three of Anderson/Burgess/Caputo/Reichert/Steiner.to capture the lead again. 

Criscilla Anderson (lone, 10) - one of the best option combo
Jana Bennett (-, 8) - a pick shared with Heading Nowhere, would advance to 3rd
Gary Burgess (lone, 10) - one of the best option combo, now shared with 2022?
Michael Caputo (lone, 9) - one of the best option combo 
John Harvey (lone, 6) - only way this pick helps is with Reichert or with Nawi QO + any other lone
Ezra Nawi (undead, 8) - died in January, but QO yet to be found.  Note this would also help 6th place Smart Beta. 
Tom Parker (Drop 40, 13, joker) - the head on which so many joker points rest!  Also jokered by Salmon Mousse and now 2022?, Poochie. 
Julia Reichert (unique, 11) - best points option, only one that makes a Harvey hit competitive
Tom Smith (Drop 40, 13) - see Note 1
Susie Steiner (lone, 9) - one of the best option combo
James Whale (Drop 40, 10) - see Note 1

Final Analysis - Nawi QO is still the easiest start on the Drive for Five.  Three hits out of the remaining top scoring 4 lone picks and 1 unique pick get to the region of first place.  Could be very specific paths to victory (Harvey + Reichert). The joker of Parker gets a massive rank increase, but now shared with slightly higher scores.  If past performance is any indication, DQSP has won with 15 hits (2013), 11 hits (2014), 10 hits (2015) and 17 hits (2016) to suggest that more hits are within the realm of possibility.

 

this is indeed an in-depth analysis

[Spade_Cooley 9,525]

So it looks like Burgess/Steiner/Anderson is my only real hope of a title then.

[YoungWillz 21,044]

I never previously found a QO, but there's one now anyway for Carolyn Shoemaker: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/carolyn-shoemaker-obituary-8dqh3kctj

 

I'm sure Death Impends will be pleased.

[gcreptile 10,970]

Bouteflika's death lifted En Passant onto the podium. And Jimmy Greaves closes the gap between HDS and Salmon Mousse down to measly two points. Now, that's a race...

[msc 18,442]

Everything bar the Lists of the Lost and Missed updated but sod it, they can wait for another day. 

[YoungWillz 21,044]

Jay Sandrich QO: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/entertainment/jay-sandrich-emmy-winning-director-170003682.html

[YoungWillz 21,044]

1 hour ago, msc said:

Everything bar the Lists of the Lost and Missed updated but sod it, they can wait for another day. 

As an aside, is Robert Fyfe the first time there's been an obit on the front page before the punter was added to the Who's Dead list? 

[msc 18,442]

6 minutes ago, YoungWillz said:

As an aside, is Robert Fyfe the first time there's been an obit on the front page before the punter was added to the Who's Dead list? 

 

Yes, I had a spare 5 mins, and it saves it being needed to be done later on given he has all the QOs.

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,342]

2 hours ago, msc said:

Everything bar the Lists of the Lost and Missed updated but sod it, they can wait for another day. 

I'm determined to keep you busy until the end of the year before you bow out! I'm praying to the enema and hoping they show providence and good favour towards my delicious crumble teams!!

 

Plop Plop splash!

[msc 18,442]

4 minutes ago, Gooseberry Crumble said:

I'm determined to keep you busy until the end of the year before you bow it! I'm praying to the enema and hoping they show providence and good favour towards my delicious crumble teams!!

 

Plop Plop splash!

 

There is a Crumble reference somewhere in todays updates - my little joke...

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,342]

Just now, msc said:

 

There is a Crumble reference somewhere in todays updates - my little joke...

Thanks ! I will now take a look!

[YoungWillz 21,044]

Probably already know, but Len Ashurst QO: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/16239205/len-ashurst-dead-sunderland-tributes-lennie-lion/

[WEP 891]

On 04/03/2021 at 08:50, WEP said:

Veteran Nigerian actor Sadiq Daba dead:

 

https://m.guardian.ng/life/veteran-nollywood-actor-sadiq-daba-is-dead/

 

Had been in health troubles for some time now, leukemia and prostate cancer for example, but recovered from nearly everything.

 

http://www.derbydeadpool.co.uk/deadpool2021/celebs_D.html#daba99s018

 

A close one: BBC but not co.uk

 

https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-56276324