Dead Pool 25th June 2017

Afternoon Poolers, another week passes but no more points awarded. You’d have thought that with these record breaking heatwaves we’ve been experiencing that someone of note would have kicked the bucket, but our bucket is empty yet again this week. We’re just about half way through the year and to be fair, most of us have scored, which is unusual in itself. But don’t worry if you have yet to score, a good Cert will get you at least halfway up the table.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Tim Hague, 34, Canadian mixed martial artist (UFC, WSOF, KOTC), brain haemorrhage from boxing match.
  • Brian Cant, 83, British actor (Dappledown Farm) and television presenter (Play School), complications of Parkinson’s disease.
  • Zoltan Sarosy, 110, Hungarian-born Canadian chess master.
  • Virginia Moyano, 113, Argentine supercentenarian, nation’s oldest person, cardiac arrest.
  • Prodigy, 42, American rapper (Mobb Deep), complications from sickle cell anemia.

In Other News

The Duke of Edinburgh has left hospital after being admitted as “a precautionary measure”. Prince Philip was treated at the private King Edward VII Hospital, in central London, for an infection arising from a pre-existing condition. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman had said on Wednesday that the 96-year-old was in good spirits. We understands his condition is “not a cause for serious concern”. He had been with the Queen at Trooping the Colour on Saturday and the opening day of Royal Ascot on Tuesday. However, after being admitted to hospital on Tuesday evening, he missed Wednesday’s State Opening of Parliament, where his place was taken by the Prince of Wales, and a second day at Ascot. BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said that, given the duke was treated for a pre-existing condition, it is safe to assume he has been suffering from the recurrence of the bladder infection he suffered twice in 2012. Prince Philip has spent much of his life in good health, but he was treated for a blocked coronary artery in 2011 and the bladder infection the following year.

For the first time in 23 years, Ant and Dec could go their separate ways in the wake of Ant McPartlin’s battle with alcohol and prescription drugs – at least temporarily. With Ant currently getting treatment for his addictions at a rehab facility, ITV are thought to be giving him a year off work to recover fully – meaning the other half of the famous presenting duo, Declan Donnelly, could end up going solo for huge projects like I’m A Celebrity in November. An insider said that no decision has yet been taken about Ant’s work schedule for the next few months and that no-one at the broadcaster wants to rush him before he’s well again. Ant released a shock statement last weekend admitting to substance abuse as a result of a botched knee operation two years ago. The injury had left him hooked on the prescription painkiller Tramadol and using alcohol to numb the pain.

In another addiction story, Tiger Woods’s manager has confirmed the golfer has checked into rehabilitation as he seeks to handle medication issues linked to his recent arrest for driving under the influence. Woods was taken into custody by police in Florida on 29 May, having been found asleep at the wheel of his car by the side of the road. Police officials confirmed a breathalyser test as taken by Woods – who was disorientated and unsure of where he was – for alcohol consumption was blank, with the 14-time major champion later insisting upon an “unexpected reaction” to prescription medication. On Monday, Woods issued an update which read as follows: “I’m currently receiving professional help to manage my medications and the ways that I deal with back pain and a sleep disorder. I want to thank everyone for the amazing outpouring of support and understanding, especially the fans and players on tour.”

And finally, a Brazilian pilot who crash-landed into an Amazon river, saving the life of his passenger, has died after falling from a rescue helicopter. The single-engine plane managed to land on the river after an electrical fault. It submerged within seconds. Both pilot and passenger managed to escape and waited hours to be rescued in a hard to reach area in the jungle. When rescuers threw a rope for them to climb up, the pilot lost his grip, fell into the river and was dragged away. The 64-year-old pilot, Elcides Rodrigues Pereira, has been hailed as a hero after footage emerged of the dramatic crash landing, last Wednesday, in the northern state of Roraima. Mr Pereira and Ednilson Cardoso, a 28-year-old nursing technician, were on a health mission to visit a remote indigenous tribe. Mr Cardoso told local media that he had tied the rope around the pilot, who was tired, but he fell into the Catrimani river. The failed rescue operation was organised by the owners of the aircraft, and not by the authorities. Fire-fighters only managed to find the body of the pilot on Saturday.

On This Day

  • 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
  • 1947The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
  • 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
  • 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

Deaths

  • 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
  • 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
  • 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
  • 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, & actor (b. 1958)
  • 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Iain Glen (56), Peter Weller (70), Nancy Allen (67), Selma Blair (45), Joss Whedon (53), Frances McDormand (60), Duffy (33), Meryl Streep (68), Bruce Campbell (59), Kris Kristofferson (81), Lindsay Wagner (68), Stephen Chow (55), Tim Russ (61), Cyndi Lauper (64), Chris Pratt (38), Juliette Lewis (44), Lana Wachowski (52), Lana Del Rey (32), Nicole Kidman (50), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (28), John Goodman (65), Robert Rodriguez (49), Martin Landau (89), Danny Aiello (84), Olympia Dukakis (86), Miles O’Keeffe (63), Zoe Saldana (39), Aidan Turner (34), Kathleen Turner (63), Gena Rowlands (87), Sadie Frost (52), Paula Abdul (55), Richard Madden (31), Isabella Rossellini (65) and Paul McCartney (75).

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