RULES: The competition will start 1 SEPTEMBER 2023 (all lists must be in by 11:59pm (GMT) Aug 31) and scoring will end Aug 31, 2024. Submit a list of 26 people.  The first name OR last name of the first person must begin with an A.  Second person with a B.  You get the idea.  No joker.  Please use this format   A - Alvin Chipmunk   B - Harry Belafonte C - Carol Channing etc . . . . .   Obit sources include those used by the great Windy City Deadpool, which uses the sources of the Derby Dead Pool, plus The NY Times, LA Times, CBS News, Fox News and MSN.  Also acceptable: CNN, ABC, NBC, the Associate Press (AP), Rolling Stone and Time.
Due to the large number of names possible, and because the more tenacious of you can find the folk on the very fringes of celebrity, please police your own obits and notify via post on this thread.  Of course if it's the likes of the Queen or the Pope, just give me time to post it, no need to bring it to my attention.     SCORING: A hit using the first name (all letters except as below)  - 1 point A hit using the last name (all letters except as below)  - 2 points A hit with the first name . . .  (A, E, I, O, U, Y)  - 2 points A hit with the last name . . . (A, E, I, O, U, Y)  - 3 points A hit with the first OR last name . . .  (Q, X, Z)  -  4 points A hit with an alliterative name scores the points for both first and last names as specified above  (so an alliterative at the A spot would be worth 5 points, the B spot would be worth 3 points, the Q spot would be worth 8 points)   NAMES:  General titles such as Queen/Pope/Prince, etc. are NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE for scoring at that letter.  Single names submitted (Cher, Madonna, Pele) will be treated as first names.  I prefer to see real names used (e.g. Richard Penniman instead of Little Richard).  No animals, due to the ease of earning the WS bonus.   BONUSES: Whippersnapper Bonus (WS): dies at age 75 or younger = 2 points (if there is substantial ambiguity or birth year is unknown, no bonus will be awarded) Solos = 3 points
Duos = 1 point  Vowel Movement Bonus (VMB): hit all five vowels (A, E, I, O, U) = 5 points /hit any four vowels + the letter Y = 3 points    NOTE:  Due to confusion with this bonus, a few players added names with all 5 vowels in them, in the hopes of scoring the bonus with that one hit, and then also scoring it again with a second hit, etc.  If I had meant that, I would have said something like, "hit a name with all 5 vowels in it and score an extra 5 points".  But the damage is done, so I will award a 5 point bonus to a team which scores such a hit ONE TIME per team.  This has already been done by two teams, so they will get their 5 points now and be done, regardless of how many additional such hits they may get this year.  Sorry to those who understood the bonus correctly, I sincerely hope the game does not come down to this being a deciding factor for first place.   Late Bloomer Bonus (LBB):  If a single player is left without a hit, that player will automatically earn 20 points!  This is a backdoor way for someone to potentially go from the cellar right into the thick of things.  20 points is not likely to win the game, but it is certainly a nice place to work for the come from behind win while also having a full list of 26 names left to score.     Scoring Example: if someone gets a solo hit with 71 year old Zadora Zephyr, the score would be 8 + 2 (WS) + 3 (solo) = 13    TIES:  Will be broken by the date the final score is reached.  That is, if three folks end up with 48 points, the person that got to 48 on the earliest date will be the winner.  This was a pivotal rule last year!   SUBS:  Please check your list at the start of the game to make sure all names are still alive.  I will allow a sub for that letter, but it can't be someone who is new to the DP radar since the game started.  That means no one who is diagnosed with cancer/has an accident after your original submission.   Enjoy!