It is true to say, "the dinosaurs were killed off by a great chain reaction
> of events that began with the creation of the universe." It is also true to
> say, "the dinosaurs were killed off by a fucking huge meteor."
>
These statements are true only in the sense that Latin is a "dead language" (as if 600 million people alive today didn't grow up speaking variations of it). Some of the dinosaurs were killed in the manners you describe, but many of the theropod clade evolved into today's birds. Biologists and linguists may disagree with me, but I don't think we should confuse evolution with extinction.
-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað."