2010, A Retrospective--UPDATED!!

As we look forward to the new year, I can't help but feel a twinge of sadness remembering those we've lost.  Dennis Hopper, and Cory Haim!  Kama Chinen and Josephine Ray!  More than half of the teams had hits this year, and TnT wins for most hits with 6!  Jaws of Life goes without, yet again, but Bring Out Your Dead gains a hit redeeming the family name. 

The prize winner, however, appears to be Undercooked Pork, totaling 198 points and garnering the trophy, the winnings and many accolades from near and far.

The year had its share of controversy.  Chemical Ali died by execution and yet the Lifeguard still awarded points in a curious twist of the Saddam Hussein Rule.  The Lockerbie Bomber was released from prison with liver cancer on "humanitarian" grounds only to receive a hero's welcome in Lebanon and survive the year.  And Japan released a statement that, through poor census taking techniques, bad monitoring of social benefits and widespread greed, many of the oldest Japanese have actually been dead for a while.  While this sent ripples of murmuring through the Western practitioners of Eastern medicine and their claims of longer life (actually no, it didn't.  It was quietly ignored.....) Kama Chinen was still well documented and confirmed as having lived for 114 years and now is deceased. 

And now we prepare ourselves for the coming year and the surprises that lay in waiting.  Will Charlie Sheen cheat the Grim Reaper one more year?  Who will be this year's Princess Diana, shocking everyone with the tragedy that is our grief?  What teams will we see accept this challenge for the coming year?

Look over the Rules, put your list together and join us for the 2011 Hangover Recovery and Dead Pool Draft on January 1.

UPDATE -- January 2, 2011

As exhibited in the Comments (below), I am not always right.  In fact, I make it a habit to commit at least 3 mistakes every day.  This keeps me humble.  So I would like to amend the above statements. 

1. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi is dying of prostate cancer.  I wrote "liver."  I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.
2. The Lockerbie Bomber was released to Libya.  I wrote "Lebanon."  I'm not a cartographer, either. 
3. Our US media and government reported the release on "humanitarian grounds" rather than the more appropriate "compassionate" grounds.
4. As reported in The Guardian, a British newspaper, cables released through WikiLeaks suggest, "Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, made explicit and "thuggish" threats to halt all trade deals with Britain and harass embassy staff if Megrahi remained in jail, the cables show. At the same time "a parade of treats" was offered by Libya to the Scottish devolved administration if it agreed to let him go, though the cable says they were turned down."

I thank all of my readers in helping to this a better blog. 

"Breathing First, Winning Next;" Now Neither

The Boss, Big Stein, Manager George.  Whether you loved him, hated him or loved to hate him, one thing remains indisputable, George Michael Steinbrenner III was the most powerful man in baseball.  He went through dollar bills, players and managers faster than Montezuma's Revenge rips through toilet paper.  (Don't ask, but heed this caution: watch where you eat in Juarez.)

As he famously said in an interview on his philosophy and methodology of spending money on the Yankees, "Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next."  His arrogance and myopia made him the butt of many jokes, and the caricature of George Costanza's boss on Seinfeld.  Manager Billy Martin tells many tales of the atrocities committed against humanity.  Yet through it all, he also was recognized as caring deeply for friends and family, for New York and baseball.  If he fired you, he would also make sure you were with means and ability to move on.

TnT gains 20 points.

George Michael Steinbrenner III
July 4, 1930 -- July 10, 2010

John Wooden

John Wooden is a hero to everyone, and I mean everyone.  Sales people, politicians, teachers, clergy.  If you're a leader, if you're on a team of any kind, if you aspire to guide people through the trials and tribulations of life, or if you like basketball, you either have been or will be touched by something John Wooden has said.

Rising to college basketball dominance, John lead the UCLA Bruins to an unprecedented 10 NCAA Championships during his coaching career in the 1960's and 70's.  In fact, during the 40 year run of coaching, he had only one losing season--his first. 

After his formal retirement, he wrote Pyramid of Success and started a motivational series of the same title.  His words have become ubiquitous epithets that thoughtful people live by and simpletons spout around sales conference tables.  He has had many imitators, but like any true icon, his work stands head and shoulders above the rest--but he wants you to join him in greatness.

John passed of natural causes at the ripe old age of 99.  TnT gets 1 point.

John Wooden
October 14, 1910 -- June 4, 2010

People Like Frank

I remember the first time I saw Blue Velvet.  Dennis Hopper played Frank Booth.  I was a junior in high school and the character of Frank freaked the living crap out of me for weeks thereafter.  But that was the brilliance of Dennis Hopper.  He completely immersed himself in every role he took on.  Remember him as the dope-smoking photojournalist in Apocalypse Now?  Or as Billy on Easy Rider?  He also appeared in two of my favorite westerns, True Grit and Hang 'Em High.

He directed, wrote movies, was a photographer, an artist and an art collector.  His modern art collection is one of the largest and most extensive in the country.  An offbeat man of dichotomies, he was registered as a Republican and he voted for Barack Obama in the last election.  He brought life to the antiestablishment but was also the spokes person for Merrill Lynch.

He fell into great depressions and fell further into drug addictions.  He successfully fought his addictions and demons and came back to film some of his most memorable films, including Blue Velvet.  And Waterworld.

"I should have been dead ten times over.  I thought about that a lot.  I believe in miracles.  It's an absolute miracle that I'm still around."

Undercooked Pork gets 26 points.

Dennis Hopper
May 17, 1936 - May 29, 2010

Returning to The Cabin In The Sky

A singer, dancer and actress, Lena Horne joined the chorus line of The Cotton Club in 1933 and was discovered by MGM producers while working in a nightclub in 1941.  Performing in numerous film musicals until she became disenchanted with Hollywood in the early 1950's.  Her departure became far more complete when she was blacklisted during the Red Scare of Joseph McCarthy's attempt to clean up the subversives in the arts.  But she was always the activist.  While performing in USO shows during World War II, she refused to perform before a segregated audience or any in which German POWs were seated in front of Black Servicemen. 

She appeared on almost everyone's variety TV shows throughout the 60's and 70's, and many of the biggest names of Hollywood and Broadway counted themselves among her close friends.  From 1961 to 1995 she won 8 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989.  And I will never forget her when she appeared on both Sesame Street and The Muppets. 

Le Petite Mort earns 8 points for their pick.

Lena Horne
June 13, 1917 - May 9, 2010

He's Really Most Sincerely Dead

Given his small stature (4' 7" at the height of his career, but only 3' 11" during his acting years) Meinhardt Raabe stood out.  Best known as the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz, he was one of nine Munchkins with a speaking role: "As coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her.  And she's not only merely dead.  She's really most sincerely dead." 

What many don't know, Meiny also served as a pilot and instructor for the Civil Air Patrol during World War II; he was a spokesman for Oscar Meyer hot dogs--known as "Little Oscar, The World's Smallest Chef," he got to ride in the first WeinerMobile!  He was an accomplished horticulturist, had an MBA in accounting and also taught for many years. 

The Wizard of Oz continued to be a huge part of his life, and while his only theatrical production, Mr. Raabe got the most out of it, appearing in numerous historical reviews of Oz and Munchkin-hood. 

TnT gets their first hit and 6 points.

Meinhardt Raabe
September 2, 1915 - May 10, 2010

The End of a Dynasty

The regal and always dignified John Forsythe has died. 

Known best as the oil baron Blake Carrington on the television show Dynasty, he also had the uncredited distinction of Charlie Townsend's voice in Charlie's Angels.  Later, he signed a $5 million contract for his voice for the 2000 and 2003 movies Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.  This would prove to be his last commercial work. 

Born John Lincoln Freund, John Forsythe, began his career as a bit actor for Warner Brothers in 1943.  He took a brief hiatus from acting during World War II when he recovered injured soldiers who suffered speech problems. 

Most anyone he met became his friend and a friend for life. The stars of Dynasty and Charlie's Angels (1980's and 2000's) all remember him fondly.  His passions included golfing, flying, baseball, and horses (racing and riding); he first met Kate Jackson at the tracks. 

John may have passed on in person, but his spirit and voice will live on in our hearts.  Oh God! picks up 8 points.

John Forsythe
January 18, 1929 - April 1, 2010

Significant Sig, Debator and Pro Footbal Hall of Famer Dies

In high school, he competed on the debate team (his debate partner was legendary astrophysicist Kip Thorne). In college (Utah State) he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity and was elevated to the the Order of Constantine (the fraternity's highest honor) and was also recognized as a Significant Sig.

An absolute brute on the football field, he was part of the Fearsome Foursome for the 1960's Los Angeles Rams and inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He also appeared in 51 episodes of Little House on the Prarie--not the Manliest of television shows, but his hulking presence conveyed a strong gentleness on the small screen.

Merlin Olsen, besides having a great name, encapsulated many elements of what I consider A True Man's Man.

Sadly, he was diagnosed in 2009, and died after a short bout against mesothelioma.



High Noon Driveby earns 31 points.

Merlin Olsen

September 15, 1940 - March 11, 2010

A Lost Boy Now Lost Forever

Corey Haim, of The Lost Boys, and the Fast Getaway series fame, couldn't escape the Grim Reaper. Following a downward spiral into cocaine, crack and more, he bounced in and out of rehab and his career followed a similar path. A regular on the B-movie circuit during the 80's and 90's, he fell off the map until 2008 when he jump-started his career with Lost Boys: The Tribe. He's had more work in the past 2 years than he had from 1998 to 2007.

We still await the autopsy and investigation, but we know for certain that Undercooked Pork takes the lead with 62 points.

Corey Haim

December 23, 1971 - March 10, 2010

Not Having Suffered a Broken Hip, Mary Josephine Ray Ray Passes On; Clara Meadmore Still Available

It seems that every year the Oldest Person in the World dies. Which is a curious thought. If the oldest person dies every year, then the age of the oldest person would never vary much above the 114 that it is this year. But there have been older. And younger. Hmm. Interesting.

That being said, Mary Josephine Ray has died. And she was old. The oldest in the United States. There is an older woman but she lives in Japan and we're not talking about her tonight. Mary Josephine Ray, or "MayRay" as the girls around the home called her (OK, I made that up--but wouldn't you call her that?), lived life to the hilt. She was planning her next birthday party, a mere 71 days away.

She'll miss the celebration here on Earth, but now she'll have an angelic choir singing "Happy Birthday."

On another note, Clara Meadmore, the world's oldest virgin still does not have a boyfriend.

Death Rattle of the Mariachi get's 14 points.

Mary Josephine Ray

May 17, 1895 - March 8, 2010

Chemical Ali Meets His Maker. To Award Points or Not? The Verdict Is In

To detail the process of deciding whether or not to award points is to describe the history, politics and continued trials of Chemical Ali, himself.

Cousin and senior aide to another very bad man, Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan al-Majid received his infamous moniker for ordering the use of a deadly cocktail of Mustard, Tabun, Sarin and VX gasses against 182,000 Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988. One particular attack against the village of Halabja in which 5,000 died--three quarters of dead are women and children--lead to his final conviction on January 17, 2010 and his execution by hanging on January 25, 2010.

Chemical Ali has received 3 previous death sentences for other war crimes, but his execution was delayed in part by the politics of the Halabja trial. It seems that the families of the victims wanted to make their voices heard, while the conflicting ideology of the Sunis, Kurds and Shiites left more argument than action.

Therefore, in my interpretation of the Saddam Hussein Rule, because Ali Hassan al-Majid was tried and found guilty for the Halabja mass killing, and because all parties agreed and carried out his execution within the year, 32 points are awarded to Cremation Station for Chemical Ali. And may God have mercy on his soul.

Ali Hassan al-Majid

November 30, 1941 - January 25, 2010

Oh God! Strikes First and Harder Than the Mariachis

Holy catfish! You don't pay attention, and things happen.

Oh God! actually has the first points of the year with the passing of the lovely and oh so womanly, Jean Simmons. (No, not that Gene Simmons. This Jean Simmons.)

Best known for her role of Varinia in Spartacus, she was also cast as Ophelia in Sir Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet. She had a long career on screen and in live theater, her final performance in Shadows in the Sun, in 2008.

She received numerous recognitions and awards, including Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the British Film Institute and in 1958 accepted the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role--unfortunately on behalf of Alec Guinness, not for herself.

Oh God! receives 20 points. And we will miss you Jean.

Jean Simmons

January 31, 1929 - January 22, 2010

1st Hits

Well, it's happened.

J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of Catcher in the Rye has passed on at age 91, giving Death Rattle of the Mariachi first points for the year.

Sought after as the Holy Grail of interviews, he lived as an almost absolute hermit for the last 3 decades and although he continued to write, he stated flatly in a 1980 interview, "I write for myself, and I want to be left absolutely alone to do it."

Without an ironic tone to be heard, "Mr. Salinger, we hardly knew ye."

Jerome David Salinger

January 1, 1919 - January 27, 2010

Correction: Jean Simmons passed on January 22, 2010. Maraichis have the second hit.

Teams and The Celebrities Chosen

Here it is! Please review for spelling. And then keep an eye on your list and make sure you contact me if someone on your list passes!

Oh God!
Happy & Yogi
Berra, Yogi
Berry, Chuck
bin Laden, Osama
De Havilland, Olivia
Forsythe, John  RIP 9
Funicello, Annette
Gordy, Barry
Horn, Roy
Manson, Charles
Powell, Jane
Rooney, Mickey
Simmons, Jean RIP 20
Specter, Phil
Stuart, Gloria  RIP 1
Vick, Michael

Dawn of the Dead
Dawn
Alomar, Roberto
Bale, Christian
Bono, Chaz
Brown, Bobby
Hasan, Nidal Malik
Hatch, Richard (Survivor)
Hilton, Perez
Jackson, Joe (Michael's dad)
Love, Courtney
Murray, Dr Conrad
Perry, William "The Refrigerator"
Sharpton, Al
Sutherland, Donald
Thomas, Orlando
Tyler, Steven

Death Rattle of the Mariachi
Heather
Anderson, Michael J
Cage, Nicholas
Clark, Dick
Domino, Fats
Douglas, Kirk
Franklin, Aretha
King, BB
Lewis, Jerry Lee
Meadmoore, Clara
Pastrana, Travis
Ray, Mary Josephine RIP 14
Salinger, JD RIP 9
Sendak, Maurice
Wilson, Brian
Wolff, Tom

Bring Out Your Dead
Garrett
al Maliki, Nouri
Al Megrahi, Abdelbaset ali Mohamed
Ali, Muhammed
Calderon, Felipe
Chinen, Kama  RIP 14
Ford, Betty
Lemon, Meadowlark
Mandella, Nelson
Paisley, Ian
Regan, Nancy
Richards, Keith
Roberts, Pat
Rooney, Andy
Walters, Barbara
Wendt, George

Grim Reefer
Kerry
Billingsly, Barbara
Bush, George H. W.
Carter, Jimmy
Cooper, Jackie
Ebert, Rodger
Goodall, Jane
Griffith, Andy
Hawking, Stephen
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem
Keach, Stacy
Madoff, Bernie
Nielson, Bridgitte
Nimoy, Leonard
Plummer, Christopher
van Dyke, Dick

TnT
Tim & Tracy
Biggs, Ronnie
Finn, John William  RIP 1
Harvey, Doug
Harwell, Ernie  RIP 8
Hope, Dolores
Jones, Johnny Lam
Raabe, Meinhart  RIP  6
Santo, Ron  RIP 30
Sharon, Ariel
Steinbrenner, George  RIP 20
Strahl, Chuck
The Amazing Randi
Tierney, Maura
Wetteland, John
Wooden, John  RIP 1

La Petite Mort
Scott & Jen
Aleksanyan, Vasily
Allen, Paul
Byrd, Robert  RIP 8
Channing, Carol
Diller, Phyllis
Douglas, Roy
Graham, Billy
Hasselhoff, David
Horne, Lenna  RIP  8
Lang, Artie
Lewis, Jerry
McCready, Mindy
Morgan, Harry
Phoenix, Joaquin
Winehouse, Amy

Undercooked Pork
Paul

Bonsall, Brian

Castro, Fidel

Dick, Andy
Douran, Gary
Edwards, Blake  RIP 12
Fignon, Laurrent  RIP 50
Furlong, Edward
Haim, Corey RIP 62
Hopper, Dennis RIP 26
Il, Kim Jong
MacCorindale, Simon  RIP 42
Rourke, Mickey
Sizemore, Tom
Tork, Peter
Wallach, Eli

Jaws of Life
Alice
Aaron, Hank
Blagojevich, Rod
Bowie, David
Bradberry, Ray
Busey, Gary
Chapman, Duane "Dog The Bounty Hunter"
Doherty, Pete
Faulk, Peter
King, Stephen
Morris, Neve
Nolte, Nick
O'Neal, Ryan
Rickles, Don
Stern, Howard
Thatcher, Margaret

Death of the Divorcee
Noelle
Abdul, Paula
Aiken, Clay
Brown, Chris
Diamond, Dustin
Fox, Michael J
Gosselin, John
Grammar, Kelsey
Hefner, Hugh
Jones, Jerry
Lohan, Lindsey
McCartney, Bill
Obama, Barack
Suleman, Nadya (Octo Mom)
Phillips, Mackenzie
Van Halen, Eddie

Cremation Station
Drew
Anker, Conrad
Ballesteros, Seve
Bush, Barbara
Carey, Mariah
Chemical Ali RIP 32
Garner, James
Meyer, Urban
O'Toole, Peter
Pallin, Sarah
Reid, Tara
Salmoni, Dave
Sheen, Charlie
Shula, Don
Taylor, Elizabeth
Wilson, Owen

High Noon Drive By
Todd
Bowlen, Pat
Cooper, Sierra  RIP 78
Davis, Al
Edwards, Elizabeth  RIP 39
Finch, Larry
Gabor, Zha Zha
Ginsberg, Ruth Bader
Gumble, Bryant
Henson, Lou
Joosten, Kathryn
Lenihan, Brian
Olsen, Merlin RIP 31
Pope Benedict
Queen Elizabeth
Rose, Dave

As the Urn Turns
Mary Ann
Barker, Bob
Bowden, Bobby
Dyrdek, Rob
Hogan, Hulk
Jenner, Bruce
Johnston, Levi
King, Larry
Kissenger, Henry
Limbaugh, Rush
Lohan, Michael
Richardson, Kevin
Rivers, Joan
Ross, Diana
Shelby, Carroll
West, Kanye

DOA
Paul B
Allen, Woody
Andrews, Julie
Arkin, Alan
Armani, Giorgio
Bailey, F. Lee
Baker, Howard
Belafonte, Harry
Bennet, Tony
Borgnine, Ernest
Brooks, Mel
Carter, Roslynn
Collins, Phil
MacLaine, Shirley
Martindale, Wink
Switt, Loretta

** A note about the pictures. All pictures were located using Google images and are linked from the website that published them. If I've infringed on anyone's copyright, please notify me and I will take the image down. We sincerely love (almost) everyone listed and pictured.

A look back and a look forward

2010 has started with another wonderful party and lots of laughter, but before I issue the announcement of teams, lets take a look back at '09.

Heather's team "Six Months From a Broken Hip" ended up winning again, amid controversy which prompted a Rule Change: The Sequential Rule of Old People. (Her other team, "Death Rattle of the Mariachi" failed to generate a hit.)


Cremation Station got off to the early lead with the passing of Ricardo Montalban. I was deeply saddened by this hit--I must confess a bit of a man-crush for such a remarkable individual. Buy me a beer and I will explain myself.

2009 also witnessed a remarkable series of hits in late June when Ed McMahon passed and all of us felt the loss. But then Farrah Fawcett died, and while none of us were shocked, the nation had no chance to mourn because Michael Jackson died only hours later! "Who had Michael?" became the rallying cry of Dead Pool followers everywhere, but no one remembers that High Noon Drive By had Ed or that Happy Trails had Farrah. And by the way, Dawn of the Dead had "The King of Pop."

A few teams celebrated hitless seasons, but none so successfully as Garrett & Alice. Not just one, but both of their teams (Dead Leprechans and Bring Out Your Dead) avoided any sniff of the Grim Reaper prompting the 2010 team name change of Dead Leprechans to Jaws of Life. Perhaps their lists will no longer be the safest place to live.

So as the New Year begins, I draw from the staple song of remebrance and toasts "We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne." Here's to looking back and looking forward.

Tomorrow I will post the complete list of teams and drafts.