Celebrity Death Thread

[wcfwtf]

From my understanding is that the insurance companies looked at both procedures as the same thing.
They would prefer you to do the Colonoscopy. But if you chose the colon guard and then had to do a colonoscopy it was a repeat procedure and would not cover it.
Again this was a few years ago and maybe the Insurance companies took too much backlash and reversed their policies. and it probably wasn’t all insurances.

[jaadam4]

Holy crap Mike Leach died. That sucks, he was hilarious and one of a kind

[edindetroit]

Went way too young.

[jaadam4]

His interviews and press conferences were awesome. Out of the blue you’d get something great to quote

[edindetroit]

[Futureshock]

RIP Franco...

Steelers legend Franco Harris dies at 72

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 21, 2022, 7:03 AM EST
Getty Images

Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame running back who scored perhaps the greatest touchdown in NFL history, has died at the age of 72.

Harris died just two days before the 50th anniversary of the “Immaculate Reception,” his game-winning touchdown that propelled the 1970s Steelers to the first of their postseason victories, which is widely regarded as one of the signature plays in the history of the National Football League.

Harris’s family confirmed his death to KDKA. No cause of death has been reported.

After playing his college football at Penn State, Harris was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 1972 NFL draft. He was named the league’s rookie of the year for that regular season, but it was in the playoffs that Harris became a legend.

The Steelers had made the playoffs that year for the first time in a quarter-century, but it appeared that their postseason was about to be cut short, as they trailed the Raiders 7-6 late in the fourth quarter of their opening round playoff game. But in the game’s closing seconds, Terry Bradshaw heaved a pass downfield toward John “Frenchy” Fuqua, the ball bounced off either Fuqua or Raiders safety Jack Tatum, and Harris somehow scooped the ball up just as it was going to hit the ground and raced in for a game-winning touchdown.

To this day, members of that Raiders team will insist both that Fuqua touched the ball, which would have made it illegal for Harris to catch it, and that Harris failed to grab the football before it hit the ground. But the officials ruled that it was Tatum who touched it and that Harris made the catch, and the touchdown stood.

If his accomplishments as a rookie had been all he did, Harris would be a legend forever: So great was that play that it’s often the first thing visitors to Pittsburgh learn about, as a statue of Harris making the catch is on display in the Pittsburgh airport. But Harris would go on to win four Super Bowl rings with the Steelers, to win a Super Bowl MVP award, to receive the NFL Man of the Year Award, to go to nine Pro Bowls, and to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The NFL was already planning to honor the memory of the Immaculate Reception with Saturday night’s Raiders-Steelers game, but now that game takes on a special significance, as the entire football world — even Raiders fans — will pay their respects to Harris.

Harris will be remembered as one of the all-time great Steelers, as one of the driving forces behind the great 1970s Steelers dynasty, and as a man who was respected and beloved by Steeler Nation and throughout the football world.

[Sanders Fan]

That is crazy. I just told my wife they were going to celebrate his catch and it was all over the NFL channel
and I saw it in commercials. I’m like shocked.

[-Deborah-]

RIP Franco

[wcfwtf]

When I was in my early football fandom I loved the Steelers. They were always on T V and the Lions were only on if it was a road game.
Plus the Lions were always disappointing and the Steelers were starting their hey Dey with all the future Hall of Famers.
The Raiders and Cowboys were the enemies

[Futureshock]

Former Bronco Ronnie Hillman dies at 31

Posted by Josh Alper on December 22, 2022, 6:37 AM EST

Getty Images

Former Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman has died at the age of 31.

Hillman’s family announced his death late on Wednesday night. The family said in a statement earlier this week that Hillman was diagnosed with renal medullary carcinoma in August and that he was in hospice care in Atlanta. The statement said, via TMZ, that it is “rare but highly aggressive neoplasm form of cancer that primarily affects young African Americans with sickle cell trait.”

Hillman was a 2012 third-round pick by the Broncos and he spent four years with the team before wrapping up his career with one year split between the Vikings and Chargers. Hillman was part of Denver’s Super Bowl 50 championship team during his time with the Broncos and he led the team with 863 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns during the 2015 regular season.

He had 494 carries for 1,976 yards and 12 touchdowns and 74 catches for 524 yards and a touchdown in 56 career regular season games. He also had 56 carries for 145 yards and four catches for 27 yards in the postseason.

Our condolences go out to Hillman’s family, friends, and loved ones on their loss.

[Futureshock]

Former Jaguars offensive guard Uche Nwaneri dies at 38

Posted by Charean Williams on January 2, 2023, 5:06 PM EST
Getty Images

Former Jaguars offensive guard Uchechukwu Nwaneri died Friday in the Indiana home of his wife, Ron Wilkins of the Lafayette Journal & Courier reports.

Nwaneri was in town from Georgia, and his wife found him unresponsive at 1 a.m. Friday. Preliminary results indicate a possible heart attack, pending toxicology results, according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner.

The Jaguars made Nwaneri a fifth-round choice in 2007. He spent his entire career in Jacksonville, retiring after the 2013 season.

Nwaneri played 104 games with 92 starts.

In his final six seasons, Nwaneri missed only one game.

[Marko69]

58 years old. 🤦♂️

Got the all clear from pancreatic cancer in 2020. But……..

Cancer is one absolute total bastard.

RIP Gianluca, you were an awesome soccer player.


Gianluca Vialli: Former Chelsea, Juventus and Italy striker dies aged 58

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64039302

[Futureshock]

RIP Charles White:
Former NFL running back, 1979 Heisman Trophy winner Charles White dies at 64

Posted by Charean Williams on January 11, 2023, 10:36 PM EST
Getty Images

Former NFL running back Charles White, who won the 1979 Heisman Trophy, died of cancer Wednesday in Newport Beach, California, USC announced. White was 64.

White, who led the Trojans to the 1978 national championship, remains the school’s career rushing yards leader with 6,245. He scored 49 touchdowns.

He lettered four seasons at USC and twice was a unanimous All-American. White set 22 NCAA, Pac-10, USC and Rose Bowl records.

He was a three-time all-conference first-teamer, was USC’s team MVP in 1978 and ’79 and finished fourth in Heisman voting as a junior.

He was USC’s rushing leader in 1977 (1,478 yards), 1978 (1,859 yards) and 1979 (2,050 yards), as well as the school’s total offense leader in 1978 (1,854 yards), scoring leader in 1978 (86 points) and 1979 (114 points) and kickoff return leader in 1976 (295 yards).

White had 31 career 100-yard rushing games, including 10 in 1979.

He is a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, having won player of the game honors twice. The Trojans won three Rose Bowls and four bowl games with White.

He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He made the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2015.

White also was a hurdler on USC’s 1979 track team.

The Browns made White a first-round pick in 1980, and he spent five years in Cleveland before four seasons with the Rams. In 1987, White led the league in rushing (1,374 yards) and rushing touchdowns (11) in earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.

He returned to USC in 1990 as a special assistant to the athletic director. In 1993, he became an assistant football coach in charge of the Trojan running backs and held that position through 1997 before taking an administrative job at the school.

White is survived by his ex-wife Judianne White-Basch, their children Nicole White, Julian White, Tara White, Ashton White and Sophia White, and granddaughter Giovanna Hemmen.

Memorial service details are pending.

[wcfwtf]

I heard guitarist Jeff Beck died
one of the greatest

[DanO]

RIP Charles and Jeff.