Joaquin Balaguer is still dead

Humble apologies to Tom, who had former Dominican Republic president Joaquin Balaguer in his list, and I overlooked his passing.

That was Tom's 4th fatality, putting him in the top spot with just 24 days left. As an aside, 3 of Tom's 4 have been solo, so you know who's looking forward to the revised scoring system.

The revised leaderboard:
1st: Tom 4 dead, 28 points
2nd: Me 3 dead, 85 points
3rd: Ryan 3 dead, 73 points
4th: Me again 3 dead, 41 points
5th: 7 tied 2 dead

To head off any arguments, unless I see a body on the evening news, Osama is still alive. Results are final at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 30. If his remains are found after Nov. 30, you are SOL, and I don't mean Satellite of Love. If Osama is selected for next year's pool, there has to be definitive proof that he died during that year's pool. If on Dec. 2 its found that his skull has been used in a Kandahar dinner theater production of Hamlet, alas poor Yoric, you also are SOL.

I still see dead people

There’s just under a month to go in the first Dead Pool under my aegis, and it’s anybody’s ballgame. Well anyone except Joan-Marie, Joy, and Jennifer. There are 30 very lucky people who ended up on those lists. For anyone thinking about a late run at the title by means of an “accident” befalling someone on your list, keep in mind the current kitty is $18.

But its never too early to think about next year. For the second annual George Harrison Invitational, the rules are essentially the same. I’ll use small words for those who didn’t seem to understand this year’s contest. Pick 10 famous people you think are going to die between Dec. 1, 2002 and Nov. 30, 2003, send me the list, then spend the next year scanning the obits. That’s it. Deadline for entries is Dec. 1, 2002.

One wrinkle, and one question for the group. First, the scoring system is being changed to reward original thinking. For the sake of this contest, every human being on the planet is worth 20 points, to be divided by the number of people who pick that person. If 5 people pick Bob Hope and he finally joins Bing on the Road to Hell, that’s 4 points each. If you’re the only one to remember that Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is still alive, and then one day he isn't, you get all 20.

The question - This year's entry fee was $1. Is there any interest in changing the entry fee for the 2002-03 session? Send me what you'd like the entry fee to be with your answers, and I'll see what the consensus is.

In the spirit of George Harrison, who screwed up 5 entries by dying on the eve of this year's contest, this exercise is meant to be inclusional, so please feel free to forward it to anyone who has a more depraved sense of humor than I realized.

Good luck to all, and bad luck to all on your lists.