Lakers owner Buss hospitalized

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss has been hospitalized for treatment of an undisclosed form of cancer, team personnel told the Los Angeles Times Thursday.

Citing "multiple team personnel," the newspaper said the 79-year old Buss was in the intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he had been visited by several current and former Lakers stars.

His son Jim, the team's executive vice president of player personnel, said at the hospital his father was "doing fine" and the family has bee4n "dealing with this."

"We just aren't going to make any comments on it," Jim Buss said.

Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were reported to be among the Lakers greats, past and present, visiting Jerry Buss, who bought the team in 1979 and turned it into one of professional sports' premiere franchises during his tenure.

The Lakers, recently valued at $1 billion by Forbes Magazine, have won 10 NBA championships under his ownership.

Jerry Buss has been hospitalized frequently during the past two years, including an admission for an undisclosed surgery in August, the Times reported.

The normally hands-on owner has not been present at any games this season, the newspaper noted.