The Bets

We have a new bet this year, and I thought it would be good to list everything in case we forget by next Christmas or were drunk when we agreed to this.

Bet 1 - cost $20 each: Highest number of points accumulated by the start of the next draft.
Bet 2 - cost $5 each: First death of the year, highlighted in green.
Bet 3 - cost $5 each: Last death of the year, highlighted in yellow.
Bet 4 - cost $5 each: Highest number of deaths during the year, no payout for ties.


I've already sealed my $35 in an envelope, I just don't know if it needs to go to Minnesota or Maineville (it's certainly not going to Mandy).

Hail to the Chief

Although the draft is over, the lists are still not complete on the site. And we have not hit 2007! Yet, we have the first death of the '07 season. Last year Dave picked President Ford to pass on - this year Greg takes an early lead. At 93 years old, Ford only gives him seven points, but he wins $5 for the first death of the year.

Trpohy??

I think we need a trophy for first place each year. Something we can proudly display at work (or home for some of us).

The pic is something I found that can serve as inspiration. I'm thinking maybe a stuffed buzzard in flight might be good.

Just a thought.

Does 5 point = $5

Joseph Barbara died earlier this week. Not enough for Dave to win but looks like enough to win the $5 side bet for last death.

(Although there is someone chosen on their deathbed that could hit before Saturday. I hope not though, its a great #1 pick)

Congrats on hitting the side bet Dave.

Good News for Izzy - Bad news for Dave- Neutral news for Jim- Still no news for Greg

Seems that one of Izzy's 'Unkowns' died back in October.- Paul Hunter the snooker player

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/6035879.stm

This gives Izzy the lead and probably the win. But Jim still has last death because he died in October.

While congratulations is given to Izzy, I personally feel this pick really stretched the meaning of "famous". I think we need to discuss some parameters for this (agreement among players or mentioned major news source) because snooker players and assistant minor league hockey coaches are borderline famous at best.

No offense intended Izzy, just think this needs to be brought up. Congrats on the win.

So close, yet.....

Augusto Pinochet died today giving Jim 9 points and bringing his total to 42 points.

Jim only needs 7 more people on his list to die before he will be in contention for the title.

Best of luck, Jim.

Red Is Dead Baby, Red is Dead

A sad day in Boston as Red Aurebach, coach and owner of the Celtics Died at the age of 89.

Some of his accomplishments:

• Coached Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1966 winning nine championships, including a stretch from 1959 to 1966 when the Celtics won eight straight NBA championships.
• In 20 years as a coach, he won 938 regular season games, a record that would stand until Lenny Wilkens broke it in the 1994-95 season.
• Led Boston to 99 playoff victories, fourth all-time behind Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Larry Brown.
• Finished with nine NBA championship rings, later tied by Phil Jackson
• NBA Coach of the Year in 1965.
• Coached 11 Hall of Famers.

Congats to Jim and his 11 points

'tis the Season?

Could it be? Is it really true? After 4 months of circling the buzzards were getting tired and hungry. Thanks to the unselfishness of Celtics coaching legend Red Auerbach, who died yesterday at the age of 89, the buzzards now go into the holiday season with full bellies, and Jim with an additional 11 points.

In the spirit of Christmas, The Great Pumpkin, and the brotherhood of mankind, let's hope and pray for no additional deaths from our list this year. Of course if such a tragic event should occur, let them all be on my list.

Death Pool Dilemma

A famous television star died recently and although he was not chosen by anyone in the Circling Buzzards, his death brings up an interesting point. The star I am referring to is named Moose but you know him best as 'Eddie', the Jack Russell terrier from the hit show Frasier.

Moose was 16 years old at the time of his death - that's 112 in dog years. And that is the potential dilemma. In the future is it okay to draft famous animals and if so how do we calculate the points?

Moose died last week and he could have been worth 84 or -12 points for someone.

Thanks for the lead, Aaron!

Aaron Spelling died today at the age of 83. Spelling was the richest man in Hollywood, and is credited with producing pretty much everything we watched on television in our younger years. While he will be remembered for shows such as Charlie's Angels, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Mod Squad, Starsky and Hutch, T.J. Hooker and Hart to Hart, I will remember him most as the man with the ugliest daughter in show business.

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi (don't call me Kareem) Killed in Air Raid

Is he really dead, or just hanging out with Jimmy Hoffa and Elvis? Either way the 61 points Dave gets for his reported death are the greatest number of points received from any one death in the entire history of our death pool (a whopping 1.5 years).

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and kidnappings, has been killed in an air strike, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday, adding that his identity was confirmed by fingerprints and a look at his face. It was a major victory in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and the broader war on terror.

Dave Reaches the Leaderboard

On Wednesday Earl Woods, father to golfing great Tiger Woods, died after a long battle with cancer. Earl was vital to the lifelong career of perhaps the greatest golfer ever.

Although we at Circling Buzzards had previously been unable to determine the birthdate of Woods, reports indicate he died at the age of 74. That gives Dave 26 points and vaults him from last to second place. Nice putt Dave!

Dana Reeve adds to big lead

Actress Dana Reeve died on Monday at the age 44. After spending years fighting for possible cures to paralysis with her husband Christopher, she was diagnosed with lung cancer last summer. She was not a regular smoker.

It is the third death for league leader Izzy who now has a whopping 102 points. And Ariel Sharon is still hanging on!

Ciao Grampa and Thanks for the Bonus Points

Grampa Al Lewis has died. While it is always good to see a one of your picks give it up, this one comes with an added bonus - The family of Al is reporting that he was 82 and not 95 as had been widely reported. Below is a short obituary excerpted from Larry McShane of the Associated Press:

Al Lewis, the cigar-chomping patriarch of "The Munsters" whose work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate never eclipsed his role as Grandpa from the television sitcom, died after years of failing health. He was 82. The actor was widely reported to have been born in 1910, but his son Ted Lewis said Saturday that his father was born in 1923.

Lewis, sporting a somewhat cheesy Dracula outfit, became a pop culture icon playing the irascible father-in-law to Fred Gwynne's ever-bumbling Herman Munster on the 1964-66 television show. He was also one of the stars of another classic TV comedy, playing Officer Leo Schnauzer on "Car 54, Where Are You?" He operated a successful Greenwich Village restaurant, Grandpa's, where he was a regular presence — chatting with customers, posing for pictures, signing autographs.

In 1998, a ponytailed Lewis ran as the Green Party candidate against incumbent Gov. George Pataki. Lewis campaigned against what he said were draconian drug laws and the death penalty, while going to court in a losing battle to have his name appear on the ballot as "Grandpa Al Lewis." He didn't defeat Pataki, but managed to collect more than 52,000 votes.

But in 2003, Lewis was hospitalized for an angioplasty. Complications during surgery led to an emergency bypass and the amputation of his right leg below the knee and all the toes on his left foot. Lewis spent the next month in a coma.

How old was Al Lewis really?

Al Lewis, Grandpa on "The Munsters" and also starring in "Car 54 Where Are You?" died Friday at the age of 82 giving Izzy another 18 points.

There is some substantial amount of debate as to the true year of birth for Al Lewis. Some sources say 1910, some say 1923. According to an interview with his family members, the 1910 date is a "story" and the real date is 1923, which is apparently backed up by official paperwork.

http://www.wa-wd.com/h_intro.asp#allewis

Q. Wasn't Al Lewis really born in 1910?
A. No, he was born on 23 April 1923. This has been documented on his birth certificate and college application. These documents were shown on an episode of "A&E Biography" in 2000. I know, he claims to have been in the circus in the 1920s and in the merchant marine in the 1930s, but he wasn't really. He lied about his age to get the part of Grandpa, and he's been lying about it ever since.

Jim is on the Board

Coretta Scott King died Monday evening at the age of 78. She had been ill the past few months after suffering a stroke in the autumn of 2005. King spent her life fighting for equality alongside her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination she continued the fight for equal rights while raising their four children.

Her death is the first of the year for Jim but the third for the Circling Buzzards. In 2005 the first death occurred on February 11 (Arthur Miller).

With 22 points Jim is in second place, six behind Izzy.

Birthday: Dana Reeve

Although she has acted on numerous television programs, Dana Reeve is best known as the widow of actor Christopher Reeve. The former Superman star was paralyzed in 1995 in a horse riding accident. Since that time he and his wife worked to raise funding for paralysis research. After Christopher died in October of 2004, Dana has continued their work. However, in August of last year Dana was diagnosed with lung cancer. At the age 45 she has never smoked.

If Dana Reeve died today she would be worth 55 points for Izzy.

Birthday: Mohammed Ali

Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali started boxing at the age of twelve. As an amateur he won Gold Glove Championships in 1959 and 1960 before winning a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics. Shortly after the Olympics he turned professional and in 1964 he won the heavyweight title by beating the highly favored Sonny Liston. Two days after the fight Ali announced his conversion to Islam. He would defend his title eight times before being called into military service in 1967. He refused the call-up and was stripped of his world title.

Ali returned to the ring in 1971 and lost a tough battle against current World Champ Joe Frazier. Three years later he fought George Foreman in one of the best publicized boxing matches ever - the ‘Rumble in the Jungle.’ Ali knocked out Foreman and regained the heavyweight title. In 1975 Ali defended his title versus Joe Frazier in the ‘Thrilla in Manila.’ After ten more defenses of his title, Ali lost to Leon Spinks but again won it back from him in 1978. His final title loss was to Larry Holmes and shortly afterward Ali retired for good.

Outside of the ring Ali always fought social injustices, including war and civil rights. But in 1982 he began fighting a different kind of opponent – Parkinson’s disease. More specifically, Ali suffers from Pugilistic Parkinsonism, brought on by repetitive trauma to the head. Although the disease has slowed him down, he still remains active in world politics.

If Ali died today he would be worth 36 points for Izzy.

The Soothsayer Strikes Back

Shelley Winters died today giving Greg 15 points.

I can just hear him reflecting from his Maineville estate, "darn...I miseed $15 by 8 days."

Don't worry, Greg. After the punishment we received last year, I think we would have been wise to have just bet on how badly you will school us again in this year's Death Pool. I wonder how that over/under would have looked...

Lou Rawls Dead at 72

Grammy Award winner Lou Rawls died early friday morning. Rawls had been hospitalized for more than a month for treatmnent of lung and brain cancer.

It is the first death in the Circling Buzzards 2006 death pool. Izzy used the top pick wisely with his choice of Rawls. Along with an early 28 point lead, Izzy wins the $5 side bet for having the first death.

Izzy could increase his lead significantly as the world watches the fate of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Sharon Not Looking Good, But Could Linger

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke Wednesday and was on a respirator after falling ill at his ranch. Doctors operated to drain excess blood from his brain. Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, said Sharon suffered "a significant stroke," adding that he was "under anesthetic and receiving breathing assistance." A few minutes later, Mor-Yosef emerged to say that initial tests showed Sharon had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding in his brain. Mor-Yosef said Sharon, 77 and overweight, had "massive bleeding and was being transferred to an operating theater."

"The fact that he's on a respirator means its extremely serious," said Dr. Philip Steig, chair of neurosurgery at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York. However, he said that depending on the severity of the stroke, doctors may be able to sustain Sharon on a respirator for weeks.

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