So last year’s pool was kind of a disappointment. Although, I did finally score some points with the passing of the Great Leader Kim Jong-il. As always, aging world dictators are always a popular pick. This year has already claimed blues legend Etta James and skiier Sarah Burke. Most notably, Joe Paterno and Whitney Houston have kicked the proverbial bucket as of March.

For a recap, 2011 was a mildly impressive year, although not too many shockers in my opinion:

• Liz Taylor
• Jack Lalanne
• Nate Dogg
• Heavy D
• Al Davis
• Macho Man Randy Savage
• “Osama bin Laden”
• Betty Ford (attractive pick, but only 7 points)
• Steve Jobs
• Amy Winehouse / Ryan Dunn (nice wildcards)
• Clarence Clemons
• Smokin Joe Frazier
• Dan Wheldon (horrific crash)
• Jeff Conaway
• Patrice O’Neal

Some of these were rather nice wildcards with large points, others not so much.

So if you want to get in on the pool, here’s the deal. My favorite comedian Doug Stanhope set out the rules: 20 picks, 100 pts for a correct pick minus their age. I added a wildcard pick for 25 extra bonus points too (can’t be someone who is known to be sick). So for example, if Justin Bieber dies it would be (100 – 16 = 84 points). If you aren’t good at pools here’s a few helpful tips: its never in bad taste to pick a remaining Beetle/Golden Girl/ex-President/ex-world leader/celebrity with a drug problem. Also, its good to pick at least one young’n for a high-risk/high-reward pick. Feel free to post your own list or steal some from me but here are my ‘official’ picks for 2012:

1. Snooki
2. Betty White
3. Courtney Love
4. Whitney Houston (+52)
5. Keith Richards 
6. Roy Horn
7. Ringo Starr
8. Burt Reynolds 
9. Fabio Lanzoni 
10. Vanilla Ice
11. Joe Walsh 
12. Larry King
13. Dick Clark (+18)
14. Muhammad Ali
15. Harper Lee
16. Hugo Chavez
17. Fidel Castro 
18. Evo Morales (I think Chavez was on to something..)
19. Tony Danza
20. Ariel Sharon
21. *Wildcard* Lindsay Lohan 

2012 TOTAL POINTS: 80