Q: Why did they execute Saddam Hussein so suddenly?

A: Nouri al-Maliki had Saddam in his office Celebrity Death Pool. He had to work fast, because Jalal Talabani had totally struck gold with James Brown.

RELATED: You have less than 11 hours to submit your 2007 Lee Atwater Invitational Death Pool selections at stiffs.com. The entry fee is $15, for a grand prize of $2,007. Which sounds to me like horrible pot odds, but whatever.

I'm off to Chicago for the night, to wring out '06 and ring in '07. See you suckas next year.