Waiting to Exhale

There are a good number of addicts within our lists this year, but only the one person had Whitney Houston.  Congrats to Claire for bagging a near maximum 10 pointer for the 48 year old, as well as notching 5 bonus points for having her as a unique selection.

In typical US style they will probably now spend weeks fighting over the cause of death so we'll leave the "unnatural causes" award pending, although I'm assuming a body ravaged with years of drugs and alcohol abuse was gonna give up the ghost eventually without much extra help.  I don't think a bodyguard would have helped anyway.

This raises a point I argued about with one of our members at the start of the year though - does a long-term junkie dying of their final hit count as "unnatural causes" for an overdose?  I didn't award the points to Amy Winehouse last year as felt that someone like that it was more about the long term damage taking it's toll rather than a one off - like an alcoholic dying of liver failure.  The straw that broke the camels back if you will.

Obviously if someone like David Beckham or David Cameron suddenly keeled over having eaten a bottle of sleeping pills then that would be a slam dunk.

Let me know what you think.

Etta James Foursome

So a few people have managed to get off the mark nice and early this year, with research into the critically ill paying off handsomely.

Singer Etta James had managed to collect a pretty nasty trifecta of illnesses over the past few years; Alzheimer's, MRSA, and Leukemia - so it didn't really come as a massive surprise when she gave up the ghost on Jan 20th.  Quite surprising only four people had her in the end really when she was top of the deathlist.

I'm not quite sure how she managed to release a final album in November 2011, but it sounds like a poor move really by her promoters.  These artists always sell much better when the sympathy vote is out in full force, so when they spotted her withering away they should have hung on for another couple of months.

Best keep that Thatcher rap album under wraps for a bit longer still.

Can I have an RIP please Bob?

So the first high profile death of 2012 has been and gone with none of the 14 participants this year having him amongst their chosen ten.

The legendary Blockbusters host Bob Holness that many of us grew up with finally passed away in a nursing home last week after suffering multiple strokes in recent years.  So much for our extensive research!

Annoyingly I've actually got a bit into Challenge again recently so have seen a few old shows - but instead put Jim Bowen on my own list!

As I mentioned last week we have had a total of 14 entries, with the full lists now available via the link on the top left of this page.  I've not checked the account yet but guessing a few of you have yet to cough up the £10 so will be chasing you this week.  Assuming I manage to collect it all we'll have £100 up for grabs for the winner and the remaining £40 for 2nd.

Good Response

Hi guys,

After a flurry of activity on NYE I think we managed 14 entries this year so should be plenty of (un)healthy competition.

Am currently in Las Vegas so won't be able to get all the details up on site until next weekend, but I don't think we'll have any issues with the people chosen.

Will send an email next Sunday/Monday and from then on will just update the blog every now and again so best way to get the news is to subscribe to it with your google account.

Good luck!

Death Pool 2012

Alrighty then, it's that time of year again when we get into the holiday spirit and start thinking about who we think will cark it during the next 12 months.

If you check the links on the left you will find the updated rules for 2012.  They haven't changed much cos I'm lazy and there were no complaints last time around.

You can also see the 2011 results sheet that might give you a few pointers on your selections for next year.  Remember though that originality gets you 5 bonus points, and with a larger field expected this time around they could make all the difference so it may pay to do your research.

As I pointed out last year, this means I could gain an advantage if you start firing your lists across to me straight away, and so I will email my list to myself by the end of the weekend should anyone be suspicious enough to want proof of my personal ethics.  Therefore you have some time to ponder before sending through selections during next week.

Remember to get them in by midnight on the 31st though!

Good luck.

Thatcher Survives

So Death Pool 2011 has come to an end and the outstanding favourite to get points on the board Margaret Thatcher has fought through and lives to prop up another bunch of lists next year.  She even managed to get out to a birthday party recently - ridiculous!

It turns out it was a pretty quiet year, with only 4 from 64 unique picks being crossed off our list.  Alex managed to bag two of them and so if our official winner, although special mention should go to Dan for getting a high scoring selection in Amy Winehouse.

I had thought that we were playing winner takes all for the prize pot but having reread the rules I had stated we'd sort out something for 2nd place if 8 or more entries.  Therefore Alex will be the recipient of £70 - with Dan doubling his money with £20 returns for the runner up spot.

Please drop me an email to let me know how you would like to receive your winnings.  I will be rerunning the competition for 2012 with pretty much the same format so feel free to leave a tenner in the pot for another tilt at the title!

Everyone get your thinking caps on for your 2012 selections and I'll let you know the process soon.  Give me a shout if there is anyone else you think would be interested in taking part.

Jim'll Fix It

Well, he has for a couple of you anyway. Both James and Stevie were languishing on nil points before the tracksuit happy, cigar touting, DJ fund raiser extraordinaire finally popped his clogs on Saturday.

No cigar choking theatrics or accidental hanging by gold chains though, so no bonus points I'm afraid - just the basic 6 for his age.

Therefore we are entering the final month of the competition (we close out end of November remember) with Alex still grimly holding onto the lead that he has held all year. There are still plenty of likely suspects wrestling with the Grim Reaper though so don't give up hope just yet.

Keep an eye on those obits for a late surge...