Let the Games Begin.....

Well, I know that everyone has been waiting eagerly for the posting of all the picks for this year's Death Pool. We'll get to those in a moment. Before that, I just wanted to say that I was very impressed with the level of research and thought that went into the picks. This should prove to be an exciting year because of the increased number of picks and participants. I also need to acknowledge The Chad for winning the 2006 Death Pool. The shocking, unanticipated expiration of Gerald Ford left him with the only successful selection for the entire year. The Chad wins bragging rights for the next 365 days. This information will be invaluable during cocktail parties, job interviews, etc.

But enough about last year. That was merely a warm-up for the main event. 2007 brings us a new and improved scoring system, more picks, more participants, and even a new name. After much thinking and consultation, the new official name for the Death Pool will be.......the Soul Bowl. I heard a lot of different of possibilities, but Soul Bowl just seemed to fit. If I get the iniative I might even spin the Soul Bowl off to its own website. But then again, I could get lazy and you'll never hear of this again. Could go either way at this point. Or if someone has a real blockbuster name, let me know. I am flexible.

A couple of quick revisions to the rules. First, the picks need to be human. Some jackass suggested that they wanted to pick Barbaro. Ok, the jackass was me, but I ended up overruling myself. That would have been an awesome pick, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Also, one selection is actually over the age of 100. In this case, the pick will be worth 1 point times whatever slot they fall into. Otherwise you'd end up with negative points. Finally, you need to keep track of your own picks and make sure someone doesn't fall through the cracks. Obviously, if its a well-known person I'll get word here at Soul Bowl central. But for some of the lesser-known picks, you might have to do a little research on your own.

As it stands right now there will be 10 participants for this year. There might be 1 or 2 stragglers after this, but we'll see. So, without delaying this any further, here are all the picks for the 2007 Soul Bowl. Enjoy!

	TW	CWG	Kevin	MJ	The Chad	JH	KH	DD	Von	RS	DWB
10 points	Ian McKellan	Boris Yeltsin	Fidel Castro	Tammy Faye Bakker	Fidel Castro	Ayman Al-Zawahiri	Tammy Faye Bakker	Phyllis Diller	Keith Richards	Art Buchwald	Fidel Castro
9 points	Estelle Getty	David Crosby	Ariel Sharon	Estelle Getty	Dr. Jack Kevorkian	Muhammad Ali	Charlton Heston	Little Richard	Andy Rooney	Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman	Charlton Heston
8 points	Luciano Pavarotti	Fidel Castro	John Forsythe	Lady Bird Johnson	Estelle Getty	Dick Clark	Henry Kissinger	Jesse Ventura	Warren Buffett	King Abdullah	Terrell Owens
7 points	Queen Elizabeth II	Dick Clark	Tammy Faye Bakker	Kirk Douglas	John Wooden	Osama Bin Laden	Kirk Douglas	Flava Flav	Nicole Ritchie	John Wooden	Hugh Hefner
6 points	George H.W. Bush	Eminem	Billy Graham	Elizabeth Taylor	Nancey Reagan	Muqtada Al-sadr	Barbara Hale	Brigitte Nielsen	Richard Branson	Madeleine L'Engle	Warren Buffett
5 points	Don Rickles	Ozzy Osbourne	Kirk Douglas	Brooke Astor	Andy Rooney	Adam Gadahn	Mickey Rooney	Bob Barker	Little Richard	Ed Asner	Courtney Love
4 points	Larry King	Darryl Strawberry	John Wooden	King Sihanouk	Lady Bird Johnson	Fidel Castro	Wink Martindale	Stephen King	Cher	Benny Parsons	Billy Graham
3 points	Mikhail Gorbachev	Bobby Brown	Mike Wallace	Margaret Thatcher	Muhammad Ali	Ed McMahon	Gary Busey	Nick Nolte	Fidel Castro	Don Herbert	Dick Clark
2 points	Fabulous	Keith Richards	Jack Klugman	Annette Funicello	Dick Clark	Kirk Douglas	Julie Newmar	Danny DeVito	Barbara Bush	Annette Funicello	Muhammad Ali
1 point	Farrah Fawcett	Nikki Sixx	Nancy Reagan	Roy Scheider	Jerry Lewis	Prince Harry	Norman Lear	Margaret Thatcher	Gary Busey	Carl Reiner	Osama bin Laden
* TBD (Pick was made before his death) Jonboy's Straggler Picks Suri Cruise-Holmes Jayden James Spears-Federline Dakota Fanning Reed Sorenson Maurice Clarett Danika Patrick Macaulay Caulkin Mary-Kate Olson Harrison Ford Tom Osborne