Farewell, Death Pool 2007

After 365 days, 30 teams, 283 names, 40 points-deaths, countless non-points deaths, and one exciting new blog, it is safe to say that Death Pool 2007 was the best Death Pool ever. We would like to thank each and every one of the 2007 participants for their, well, participation in this year's pool. Their membership is what keeps this pool going on a daily basis, and without them this pool would be a mere puddle. At the same time, we'd like to wish a fond farewell to those who have decided not to participate in Death Pool 2008; they will certainly be missed, and we wish them luck in all your future pools.

We'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate Yiz-Score upon winning the 2007 Death Cup. Yiz-Score's, um, score, of 89.29 points, coming from only 6 deaths, was 13 points higher than the 2nd-place finisher, El Esta Adead. We applaud both competitors for a hard-fought battle that came down to the home stretch of December. We look forward to another tightly contested competition in 2008. Finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the DP Rookie of the Year, Kraut's Picks, who saw 9 of his 20 picks die, the most of any team. He finished 3rd with 75.85 points.

A quick year in review: All in all, 283 different names were submitted for this year's pool and 40 of them died this year, giving Death Pool 2007 a robust 14% casualty rate. Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back; you've earned it. Of these 40, 17 were solo shots, 11 were picked by two teams, 7 by 3-5 teams, and the other 5 were picked by 7 or more teams. 576.35 points were awarded, for an average of 14.4 points per death. The most popular pick, Fidel Castro, picked by 17 teams, lived to see 2008. The same couldn't be said for the next 3 most popular: Brooke Astor (13 teams), Charles Lane (12), and Lady Bird Johnson (10). (LBJ was tied with Albert Hofmann, who as far as we know is still alive, also picked by 10 teams.) The champion, Yiz-Score, won on the strength of two solo shots and three 15-pointers, giving him 85 points from 5 deaths. (The late Tammy Faye Bakker provided the other 4.29.) The 40 deaths covered a wide spectrum of people: politicians and athletes, musicians and authors, athletes and journalists, philanthropists and entertainers. We learned about them, read about their lives, and received points for their deaths.

As one year turns into another and the calendar changes, we remain...

The Commissioner's Council