The death of retired NFL great Randall Cunningham’s two-year-old son Christian left many people saddened and shocked.

The toddler was found dead in a hot tub last Tuesday in what authorities believe to have been an accident. The coroner has not yet reported on the cause of death, the Las Vegas Sun said.

The Las Vegas police said the boy was found floating in the hot tub by an adult woman who was at Cunningham’s house with several children. She tried to perform CPR. Paramedics brought the boy to St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Siena Campus where he died, the Las Vegas Review-Journal said.

Cunningham was out of town when his son drowned. He was taking an NFL physical which was needed for his retirement from the league, Las Vegas Sun said.

One day after the drowning many people stood outside Cunningham’s house and in front of Remnant Ministry, a church he founded and pastors, in a show of support, Fox 5 said.

On Tuesday night some 40 parishioners of Remnant Ministries gathered to remember Christian, share stories, weep and pray, the Philadelphia Inquirer said. Skip Jourdan, who plays guitar at the church said, “This is why you have a church family. This is why you belong to something like this. I can’t imagine trying to go through something like this and not having a church family. Who are you going to turn to?” the Las Vegas Review-Journal said.

High school students from Silverado whom Cunningham was coaching were also saddened by the tragedy. Cunningham’s assistant coach Martin Ferriter said, “We just had a little team prayer at the end (of practice). It was tough because a lot of kids were pretty emotional,” Fox 5 said.

Cunningham has four children. His eldest, Randall Jr., is also a football player and is rated as among the top quarterbacks of the nation for his age group. Randall Jr. will go to Silverado this fall as a freshman, Las Vegas Sun said.

The day before Christian’s death, Cunningham was talking about how his youngest son wanted to play football—not like his dad, but like his oldest brother.  The toddler was too young to understand that his dad was once a football star, Las Vegas Sun said.

Official theatrical poster for the film. Copyright: Downes Brothers Entertainment and Lucky Crow Films

This September, New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, one of America’s leading Christian and inspirational fiction writers, will see the release of the first feature film based on one of her bestselling novels: “Like Dandelion Dust.”

Finished in 2009, the movie has already made rounds in several national and international film festivals, garnering over 30 awards, including the Audience Choice Award at the recent Stony Brook Film Festival. However, the film will release nationwide on September 24, 2010.

Under the directorship of Jon Gunn (“Mercy Streets,” 2000 and “My Date with Drew,” 2004), along with a screenplay adaptation by Stephen J. Revele (“Copying Beethoven”), the film will follow “the lives of the struggling blue collar Porters and the privileged Campbell family,” according to an IMDB plot summary.

Young Joey Campbell (child actor Maxwell Perry Cotton in his feature film debut) finds himself at the center of a controversial dispute that could rip him away from the only home and family he has ever known.

His adoptive parents, Jack (actor Cole Hauser, Tyler Perry’s “The Family that Preys,” 2008 and Mel Gibson’s “Paparazzi,” 2004) and Molly (Kate Levering), are heartbroken when they discover that Joey’s biological father Rip Porter (Golden Globe nominee Barry Pepper, “Seven Pounds,” 2008) has been released from prison and found several loopholes in the adoption papers.

Porter quickly declares that his son be returned to him and a judge decides to uphold his claim. Jack and Molly soon find themselves devising a plan to get their son back at all costs. The film’s official tagline echoes the heart of the story: “Sometimes the greatest love is letting go.”

Although the film has yet to debut to a national audience, it has already received praise from several reviewers, including “Variety” writer Robert Koehler who hailed it as “cathartically emotional [with a] head-turning performance by Barry Pepper.”

Movieguide.org called the film “a very realistic look at a tragic situation. For audiences that love drama with strong characters, “Like Dandelion Dust” is compelling movie entertainment.”

Other cast members include Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino (as abused wife Wendy Porter), Kirk B.R. Woller, Brooke Bryan and Brett Rice.

The film is rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, including domestic violence and alcohol abuse.

You can find out more about “Like Dandelion Dust” and watch the trailer at the film’s official web site: www.likedandeliondust.com.

“Like Dandelion Dust” will release in theatres nationwide September 24, 2010.