Betty White, John Madden, Desmond Tutu.

[brush]

RIP. As most of us have noted, prominent people seem to go in threes.

Did I leave anyone out?

[Ocelot II]

1. Harry Reid.

[brush]

2. Oh, God! Yes.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. People go when they go, and there's no 'going in threes'

That's supernatural mumbo-jumbo.

And who is this 'us'?

[brush]

4. Whatever. It does seem that way though.

[PTWB]

10. People see patterns where none exist.

It’s just magical thinking.

[calguy]

5. Dan Reeves

[Ocelot II]

7. Sorry, who's Dan Reeves?

[calguy]

9. NFL player and coach

Not as famous as the others, but deserves recognition all the same.

[wryter2000]

6. I'd love to have them around my dinner table

With lots of good wine.

I took a couple of classes with Madden on football at UC extension in the brief time between his coaching and broadcasting careers. The man was so funny. Imagine him with Betty White. I don't know about Bishop Tutu's sense of humor, but his Christian message was both intelligent and loving. I wish I could have met him.

[brush]

8. What a good idea, having them around a dinner table.

I would love it too. I'm a long-time Raider fan and remember when John Madden was the coach and they were always one of the top teams. How did happen that you took a class on Madden? Was it on his coaching stint, did he teach it?

[wryter2000]

14. Yes, he taught it

There were two different classes. He somehow got hooked up with UC Berkeley extension. Classes were in the evening in a large lecture room on campus. He gave great insights on the game, and a couple of sessions include one of his former players. He was really, really funny. I was able to speak to him briefly after class.

That was after he'd finished coaching. He had a huge ring studded with diamonds that spelled out "100 in 10," meaning 100 games in 10 years. His wife had given him the ring.

This was before he got into broadcasting. When he did that, I guess he no longer had time to teach for UC. I still have one of the books he gave out full of loose-leaf pages.

I adored the old raiders. When they moved to LA, I got disgusted and became a Niner fan. I never liked them after they did that to the fans. I never followed them when they came back to Oaktown, and I'm glad they're in Las Vegas now. They can go rip off that city for a while.

[brush]

15. Thank you for the info on John Madden and the Raiders.

I wanted the Raiders to stay in Oakland as they were known for being a tough team and Oakland is a tough town. And the black jerseys fitted that image to me.

Since Oakland couldn't build a new stadium I didn't mind them going to LA as the fans down there embraced them, and it was still California.

What I didn't like was the move to Vegas as I thought them moving back to Vegas where they belonged was final and the city would work it out.

[niyad]

11. Sarah Weddington.

[Sympthsical]

12. Betty White had something to say about this

[brush]

13. Thank you. I love that.

[eShirl]

16. no they do not "go in threes"

why do people keep repeating that nonsense

[brush]

17. We all of course know that. It often seems that way though.

It's just a way to commiserate with others in mourning beloved people. It hurts no one.