================================================

Steve Brooks

Steve Brooks' puns flow like a river, but he still creeks along between punning and singing and will brook no interference with his thought streams. You can bank on that! Don't give him aspirin for his fevered brain; it has led him to writing a song a week for Jim Hightower's radio show and recording six CDs. The syndicated TV show, I've Got a Secret featured him as six-time World Pun Champ, and he's been champion at the bits ever since. And speaking of "bit," I "bit" you didn't know Steve has also been in two movies, including 2004's Barbecue: A Texas Love Story. If your love is puns or music, check out Steve's Website at www.stevebrooks.netŠand we're net just leading you on. Brooks? Him, Dano! (We've always wanted to say that.)

================================================

BILL BRANCH

It's not going out on a limb to say that Bill Branch has deep roots in the his-tree of the Pun-Off. Neither sap nor sapling, Bill has attended and participated in more Pun-Offs than any person still drawing breadth. Bill recently nailed down a position as a bored member of the emcee panel which is really oak with us. (Hey! If it ain't burr oak, don't fixate). Although his bark is worse than his bite, he is knot such a bad guy. Acorny one, perhaps, but not a bad guy. Bill actually invented the Internet, in spite of what Al Gore might say.

================================================

ALEX (The Terminator) RAMIREZ

Alex earned his nickname as a heavyweight contender with a Mash sheen like delivery in the Pun-Off. He first entered P.O.S. together with his son in 1990. Or was it 1991? Yearly Confusionism led to four first place victories and a greatly inflated sense of self worth. Alex's top puns have been rank in our HL/LP competition for 4 of the past 6 years. Concerning the prospect of sharing emcee duties with his old nemisis, Brian Oakley, Alex quips, "Brian once joined me in a cup of coffee. If there is room for both of us in a coffee cup, there is certainly room for both of us on stage. In fact we might play well off of one another. I wouldn't mind being well off." When asked to advise aspiring contestants, Alex tells them to remember, "Where there's a will, there's relatives."

================================================

BRIAN OAKLEY

The punslinger formerly known as Brian Snider was shell-shocked to
learn that the Armadillo World Headquarters had closed a year prior to
his arrival in Austin. He's since done his best to atone for his
tardiness, surviving an attack by an endangered sea turtle, running a
B&B in New Orleans (for a solid three hours), narrowly avoiding arrest
for shoplifting laundry detergent in Beijing, and being kicked out of
Barton Springs for drinking beer with a senior citizen. He's bad to
the bone, baby...he doesn't even LIKE beer.

Having won his last three High Lies and Low Puns competitions, (want
some Bactine on that, Alex?) he is taking a couple years off from the
competitions to assist in the production of the Pun-Off.

Brian sez, "Support your local businesses, dammit!"

================================================

HEY! WHAT ABOUT JOEL McCOLL?

If you failed to attend last year's event, you missed the precipitously dramatic and seemingly spontaneous retirement of our cornerstoned Pun-Off Ecmee, Joel McColl. After serving out his mandatory 20 year sentence, Joel has left O.Henry's pen untended this year. I guess you could say our anchor's aweigh!Although he ceremoniously auctioned off his trademark festive blue lucky emcee trousers, we are certain that Joel still longs and pants for puns and wordplay. It'll be only a matter of time before he comes up shorts and returns to our census in some forum or other. Surely we shouldn't count him out, just yet. Let's jest be careful not to call him "Shirley."

REGISTER ON-LINE FOR THE 2006 COMPETITION