Death happens. Why not make it interesting?
The online competition to guess which famous people won't make it to the end of the current year. If they're elderly, ill, or just live a high-risk lifestyle, stick 'em in your team, and for each one whose death you correctly predict, you'll score points. DDP was dreamt up in Derby, England (hence the name...) by Big Iain back in 1996. Other hosts: Siegfried Baboon and Rude Kid (2003-7), Octopus of Odstock (2008-9), The Man in Black (2010-17), Spade Cooley (2018-19), msc (2020-21), Grim Up North (2020-22), and Reptile (2020-23). Now the Committee of DI (2022), time (2024), and Banana (2023) oversee the biggest deadpool going...
FIELD FACES THE UNTHINKABLE Timejump back to December 2021, when all deadpoolers were kept on tenterhooks by two hospice lads whose 2022 prospects were looking touch and go. One was Gary Burgess, who obliged deadpoolers’ dream scenario by making 2022 by the skin of his teeth. The other was Frank Field. Who made 2022. And […]
LORD, HE HAS DIED AN AMBLIN’ MAN Allman Brothers Band co-founder Dickey Betts has died aged 80. He was a touring circus guitarist before crossing paths with Duane and Gregg and co-founding the influential Southern rockers in 1969. Already key to the band – Duane once lavished “I’m the famous guitar player, but Dickey is […]
OUTFOXED MCCLOUD Terry Carter boasted a pioneering career, both being one of the earliest black regulars on a US sitcom (Pvt. Sugarman on The Phil Silvers Show) and one of the first black news anchors. He was best known for dependable deputy roles whether it be in space (Colonel Tigh in Battlestar Galactica) or on […]
BULL GETS THE HORN Sculptor Laurence Broderick has died aged 88. He was noted for The Bull, a bronze bull at the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham. Its popularity inspired the SFX company Artem to build giant mechanical bull Ozzy, who served as mascot for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. In 2015, an Independent column […]
FIKO FINGER OF FATE Discus thrower Olga Fikotová was Czechoslovakia’s only gold winner at the 1956 Olympics, having honed her discus technique by throwing in sync to “The Blue Danube”. At the event, she bumped elbows with American hammer thrower Hal Connolly and the pair fell in love. The dalliance was headline-grabbing and seemingly futile […]
TRIX ARE FOR WORMS Tory peer Trixie Gardner has died aged 96. The Australian-born Gardner studied dentistry and moved to London due to the lack of tooth opportunities Down Under. She was designated Baroness Gardner in 1981, and commanded an across-the-aisle respect for her affability and her steely advocacy for women’s rights. She was picked […]
GRAHAM CRACKED Amidst Florida becoming to the 2020s what Argentina was to the late 1940s, it can be easy to forget that the Sunshine State’s Democratic Party once had a pulse. One of its biggest success stories was one Bob Graham, a Harvard-educated attorney who deftly appeared working-class by holding over 400 “workdays” where he […]
NO LONGER A SURVIVOR There typically isn’t much to say about Survivor contestants, but Sonja Christopher can claim a place in the juggernaut franchise’s history as the first contestant to be voted out on the American edition. The sapphic ukulelist was popular with her teammates, but tripped about the Immunity Challenge so often she made […]
TWO STRIKES Two baseball fallers on the Reaper’s mound this update: Whitey Herzog may have become better known for artsy German cinema, but he was a force in America’s pastime for years. He was a forgettable player but a prestigious manager, steering the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series championship. He […]
INSTANT RAMAN Cricketer Raman Subba Row has died aged 92. The oldest surviving England Test cricketer, he was also an adept administrator and referee. He was picked by two sporting theme teams. Raman Subba Row29 January 1932 – 17 April 2024, aged 922 TEAMS (💀💀💀💀💀 5 POINTS)
