Legendary former Minneapolis Lakers coach John Kundla reached 100 on July 3, 2016, and the milestone was marked with large stories in newspapers and prominent sports websites around the country. The New York Times went full out with a piece on John a couple of weeks before he turned 100.

I offered this warning to John when visiting for the Star Tribune's piece on his 100th birthday: "I wrote a column on Edor Nelson, the football coaching legend at Augsburg, on his 100th birthday, and Edor died a couple of weeks later.''

John laughed and said he would try to avoid that jinx He made it another year, 101 on July 3, but there had been recent health setbacks and on Sunday, surrounded by much of his large family, John died in the early afternoon at Catholic Eldercare.

Karen Rodberg, John's daughter, described the peacefulness of the event for her deeply religious father, and it sounded beautiful.

PATRICK REUSSE