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The Off Topic 2008 Celebrity Dead Pool
The Off Topic 2008 Celebrity Dead Pool – Game Thread
“A sign of celebrity is that his name is often worth more than his services.” - Daniel J. Boorstin (1914 - )
And they’re off! After weeks of jockeying the players have selected their teams and have lined up for the starting gun, IV’s and drug syringes at the ready. All sorts of celebs made our 2008 Dead Pool. We have old and decrepit actors and politicians, young and foolish celebs living the high life and even a few retired criminals. Many players chose “assassination bait” politicians and a few went with celebrities they just don’t like. I would like to thank most of our celebs for having the decency to wait until the game started before considering their next (and final) move.
Thank you to all who submitted teams. I knew I couldn’t be the only poster at Poly that has a twisted sense of humour. Your entries have proven me right. We have 15 players and 184 celebrities, which is enough to run a successful Dead Pool. Your celeb “descriptions” included with your submissions were amusing to read and I must give a special mention to embalmer42 in this regard for not only telling us whom his picks were but also for mentioning in what manner many of them were going to meet their end. With that sort of insight you should be well positioned to win the Pool embalmer42.
Perfection has, by far, the youngest and best-looking team. The likelihood of them perishing in the next 12 months is not so certain…
I would like to thank Ming and SlowwHand for their help with this project. Although I have been quarterbacking the Dead Pool these two have offered valuable insight and advice behind the scenes. Their assistance is greatly appreciated as we get down to the actual game itself.
I shall repost a condensed version of the game rules (rules applicable to the actual running of the Pool). I’ve also posted a list of players, celebs in our Pool, and team rosters (only the 20 Game List celebs are listed). Finally, you will find an attached spreadsheet of all the Pool data.
Game Rules (abr.)
2. A Judges Panel (Wezil, SlowwHand and Ming) will arbitrate and rule on all disputes and verify eligibility of all list names. Any decision is carried by 2 or more votes. Decisions of this Panel are FINAL.
4. This list is to be sent by Private Message to Wezil for eligibility verification by the Panel Judges. DO NOT post your list in the thread. I will post the lists of all players at the start of the game in January. This prevents others from “poaching” your good picks. No further entries will be accepted after 31st December 2007.
6. The Panel Judges will not determine if the submitted celebrity is currently alive. If you choose someone that is already dead you will be stuck with that celebrity on your list unless you notice and report the error prior to January 1st, 2008. If you still have available celebrities from your Reserve List one will be moved up to replace the already deceased choice prior to the start of the Pool.
10. Points will be awarded for each celebrity that you accurately predicted would die in 2008. Points will be awarded according to the formula in Rule 15.
11. Celebrity deaths are to be reported by the players in the Dead Pool thread (one report will suffice for all). I don’t have the time or inclination to keep track of everybody’s list. If someone on your list dies it is your duty to claim your points. NOTE: A link to an obit of some kind is required (see Rule 23b). This link must be in English.
12. All deaths are to be reported by 7th January 2009 (to allow for any delay in media reporting). This will be the official closing day for awarding points.
13. I'll update the thread every time someone scores points, and post an up-to-date scoreboard.
14. At the end of the year the poster with the most points will be declared the winner. Duh.
15. When an eligible celebrity on your list dies points will be awarded according to the following formula:
Points = (171 - Rank) + (100 – age) + Bonus
16. Rank points - The higher a player Ranks their pick the more points that pick will be worth. Be careful to order your list from most likely to least likely to perish sometime in 2008 if you want to make the most of their loss.
17. In addition, bonus points will be awarded when a death meets the following criteria (points to be shared equally in the event of multiple winners):
a) Unique Pick Award: +25 points if you were the only player to pick that celebrity.
b) Unlucky 13 Award: +10 points for a celebrity who dies on the 13th of any month.
c) Unnatural Causes Award: +20 points for murder, suicide or accident.
d) Party Pooper Award: +25 points for any celebrity rude enough to die on their birthday or Christmas Day.
e) First Blood Award: +25 points for the first celebrity to die in 2008.
f) You Can’t Cheat Death Award: +25 points for the last celebrity to die in 2008.
g) The Daily Double: +50 points awarded to any player who has two celebrities on their roster die on the same day.
h) The Hat Trick: +75 points awarded to any player who has three celebrities on their roster die over the course of one week (any 7-day span).
i) The Grand Slam: +100 points awarded to any player who has four celebrities on their roster die in the same month (any 30-day span).
j) The Empty Casket Award: +50 points awarded at the end of the year to the player who had the longest "dry spell" between deaths.
k) The Killing Spree Award: +50 points awarded at the end of the year to the player who has the most celebrities on their list die in a row. (That is, they score multiple points without anyone else scoring between them).
l) Leap Into The Grave Award: +29 points awarded to any player who has a picked celeb die on February 29, 2008.
18. The official date/time of any celebrity death is measured in the time zone that the celebrity is in when they die.
19. In the event of a dead heat on points at the closing of the 2008 Dead Pool, the winner will be selected according to the following criteria, applied in this order:
a) The player with most correctly chosen deceased celebrities.
b) The player with the youngest average age of correct predictions.
20. If a celebrity who has passed on has more than one reported age the following websites will be consulted and the age that the majority says the celebrity was would be the age used.
a) deadoraliveinfo.com
b) Reuters.com
c) AP.com
d) bbc.co.uk
e) NPR.org
f) CNN.com
i) If there is no clear majority, then the deadoraliveinfo.com site will be the official age recorder.
ii) If deadoraliveinfo.com doesn't list an obituary for this celebrity, then the rest of the websites, in the order listed above, will be queried.
21. You may not go out and “help yourself” win. Basically, you cannot kill someone onyour list to give yourself more points. any list. The penalty for violating this rule, in addition to any criminal charges brought upon you by the appropriate authorities, is a lifetime ban from the Off Topic Dead Pool.
23. DEFINITIONS:
a) "Celebrity" means someone who, upon their death, gets a written obituary in a major, mainstream media news website. A good rule of thumb is “Celebrity = Name Recognition.” The Judges Panel should be able to look at the name and say “Oh, I know who that is,” without any prompting from the player. The Judges Panel should at least be able to find many references to the individual with a cursory online search.
b) "Obituary" simply means an article that mentions the fact that the person has died. It doesn't have to be the conventional biographical write-up.
c) "Alive" means drawing breath, not decomposing, that kind of thing.
d) “Dead” means dead. No irreversible coma, no vegetables. To qualify as dead, there must be an actual corpse. The death of a career (e.g. Michael Jackson) doesn't count.
24. Ming is the Staff Contact on this project. Any attempt to squirm around the letter or intent of these rules will be met harshly and swiftly by Ming the Merciless.
25. PRIZE: The player with the most points at the end of the year will gain title to the Grim Reaper Award 2008, an honorary title suitable as sig material with all its attendant glory.
“A sign of celebrity is that his name is often worth more than his services.” - Daniel J. Boorstin (1914 - )
And they’re off! After weeks of jockeying the players have selected their teams and have lined up for the starting gun, IV’s and drug syringes at the ready. All sorts of celebs made our 2008 Dead Pool. We have old and decrepit actors and politicians, young and foolish celebs living the high life and even a few retired criminals. Many players chose “assassination bait” politicians and a few went with celebrities they just don’t like. I would like to thank most of our celebs for having the decency to wait until the game started before considering their next (and final) move.
Thank you to all who submitted teams. I knew I couldn’t be the only poster at Poly that has a twisted sense of humour. Your entries have proven me right. We have 15 players and 184 celebrities, which is enough to run a successful Dead Pool. Your celeb “descriptions” included with your submissions were amusing to read and I must give a special mention to embalmer42 in this regard for not only telling us whom his picks were but also for mentioning in what manner many of them were going to meet their end. With that sort of insight you should be well positioned to win the Pool embalmer42.
Perfection has, by far, the youngest and best-looking team. The likelihood of them perishing in the next 12 months is not so certain…I would like to thank Ming and SlowwHand for their help with this project. Although I have been quarterbacking the Dead Pool these two have offered valuable insight and advice behind the scenes. Their assistance is greatly appreciated as we get down to the actual game itself.
I shall repost a condensed version of the game rules (rules applicable to the actual running of the Pool). I’ve also posted a list of players, celebs in our Pool, and team rosters (only the 20 Game List celebs are listed). Finally, you will find an attached spreadsheet of all the Pool data.
Game Rules (abr.)
2. A Judges Panel (Wezil, SlowwHand and Ming) will arbitrate and rule on all disputes and verify eligibility of all list names. Any decision is carried by 2 or more votes. Decisions of this Panel are FINAL.
4. This list is to be sent by Private Message to Wezil for eligibility verification by the Panel Judges. DO NOT post your list in the thread. I will post the lists of all players at the start of the game in January. This prevents others from “poaching” your good picks. No further entries will be accepted after 31st December 2007.
6. The Panel Judges will not determine if the submitted celebrity is currently alive. If you choose someone that is already dead you will be stuck with that celebrity on your list unless you notice and report the error prior to January 1st, 2008. If you still have available celebrities from your Reserve List one will be moved up to replace the already deceased choice prior to the start of the Pool.
10. Points will be awarded for each celebrity that you accurately predicted would die in 2008. Points will be awarded according to the formula in Rule 15.
11. Celebrity deaths are to be reported by the players in the Dead Pool thread (one report will suffice for all). I don’t have the time or inclination to keep track of everybody’s list. If someone on your list dies it is your duty to claim your points. NOTE: A link to an obit of some kind is required (see Rule 23b). This link must be in English.
12. All deaths are to be reported by 7th January 2009 (to allow for any delay in media reporting). This will be the official closing day for awarding points.
13. I'll update the thread every time someone scores points, and post an up-to-date scoreboard.
14. At the end of the year the poster with the most points will be declared the winner. Duh.
15. When an eligible celebrity on your list dies points will be awarded according to the following formula:
Points = (171 - Rank) + (100 – age) + Bonus
16. Rank points - The higher a player Ranks their pick the more points that pick will be worth. Be careful to order your list from most likely to least likely to perish sometime in 2008 if you want to make the most of their loss.
17. In addition, bonus points will be awarded when a death meets the following criteria (points to be shared equally in the event of multiple winners):
a) Unique Pick Award: +25 points if you were the only player to pick that celebrity.
b) Unlucky 13 Award: +10 points for a celebrity who dies on the 13th of any month.
c) Unnatural Causes Award: +20 points for murder, suicide or accident.
d) Party Pooper Award: +25 points for any celebrity rude enough to die on their birthday or Christmas Day.
e) First Blood Award: +25 points for the first celebrity to die in 2008.
f) You Can’t Cheat Death Award: +25 points for the last celebrity to die in 2008.
g) The Daily Double: +50 points awarded to any player who has two celebrities on their roster die on the same day.
h) The Hat Trick: +75 points awarded to any player who has three celebrities on their roster die over the course of one week (any 7-day span).
i) The Grand Slam: +100 points awarded to any player who has four celebrities on their roster die in the same month (any 30-day span).
j) The Empty Casket Award: +50 points awarded at the end of the year to the player who had the longest "dry spell" between deaths.
k) The Killing Spree Award: +50 points awarded at the end of the year to the player who has the most celebrities on their list die in a row. (That is, they score multiple points without anyone else scoring between them).
l) Leap Into The Grave Award: +29 points awarded to any player who has a picked celeb die on February 29, 2008.
18. The official date/time of any celebrity death is measured in the time zone that the celebrity is in when they die.
19. In the event of a dead heat on points at the closing of the 2008 Dead Pool, the winner will be selected according to the following criteria, applied in this order:
a) The player with most correctly chosen deceased celebrities.
b) The player with the youngest average age of correct predictions.
20. If a celebrity who has passed on has more than one reported age the following websites will be consulted and the age that the majority says the celebrity was would be the age used.
a) deadoraliveinfo.com
b) Reuters.com
c) AP.com
d) bbc.co.uk
e) NPR.org
f) CNN.com
i) If there is no clear majority, then the deadoraliveinfo.com site will be the official age recorder.
ii) If deadoraliveinfo.com doesn't list an obituary for this celebrity, then the rest of the websites, in the order listed above, will be queried.
21. You may not go out and “help yourself” win. Basically, you cannot kill someone on
23. DEFINITIONS:
a) "Celebrity" means someone who, upon their death, gets a written obituary in a major, mainstream media news website. A good rule of thumb is “Celebrity = Name Recognition.” The Judges Panel should be able to look at the name and say “Oh, I know who that is,” without any prompting from the player. The Judges Panel should at least be able to find many references to the individual with a cursory online search.
b) "Obituary" simply means an article that mentions the fact that the person has died. It doesn't have to be the conventional biographical write-up.
c) "Alive" means drawing breath, not decomposing, that kind of thing.
d) “Dead” means dead. No irreversible coma, no vegetables. To qualify as dead, there must be an actual corpse. The death of a career (e.g. Michael Jackson) doesn't count.
24. Ming is the Staff Contact on this project. Any attempt to squirm around the letter or intent of these rules will be met harshly and swiftly by Ming the Merciless.
25. PRIZE: The player with the most points at the end of the year will gain title to the Grim Reaper Award 2008, an honorary title suitable as sig material with all its attendant glory.
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