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Lakers owner Buss hospitalized

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.

Athletics closer Balfour has knee surgery

PHOENIX, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Oakland Athletics closer Grant Balfour underwent knee surgery Thursday but says he hopes to be ready for Opening Day.

The team said Balfour -- who led the American League West champions with 24 saves and a 2.53 ERA in 2012 -- is likely to be out 4-to-6 weeks after undergoing a procedure to repair a torn meniscus.

The 35-year-old right-hander issued a statement in which he said he's optimistic he'll be ready to go by the A's April 1 season opener against Seattle.

"I feel good about getting it done now," he said. "It will allow me to get ready for Game 1 of the season. I knew the way I was feeling I wouldn't have been able to pitch through it all season long."

A's Manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com Balfour was experiencing some soreness in the knee at the end of last season.

"After the surgery, they will know how extensive it is," he said. "He's a grinder and he feels like he'll be able to rehab very quickly. He keeps himself in great shape."

Senators' Karlsson has Achilles surgery

OTTAWA, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson underwent surgery for a cut Achilles tendon and is likely out for the season, General Manager Bryan Murray says.

Karlsson, the reigning Norris Trophy winner and the top-scoring blueliner in the NHL this season, was injured Wednesday during the Senators' loss to Pittsburgh when the Penguins' Matt Cooke collided with him along the boards.

Cooke's skate blade came off the ice during the hit and inadvertently came down on Karlsson's exposed Achilles.

Murray said Thursday the 22-year-old defenseman suffered a 70- percent laceration of the tendon and underwent surgery at The Ottawa Hospital to repair it, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The GM said Karlsson will be out 3-to-4 months, effectively ending his season, and added he is not seeking discipline for the oft-suspended Cooke.

The injury was the latest in a series suffered by the Senators, who have also lost high-scoring forward Jason Spezza for the season to back surgery and defenseman Jared Cowen to hip surgery.

UConn's Wolf arraigned in domestic case

ROCKVILLE, Conn., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- University of Connecticut basketball center Enosch Wolf was arraigned on charges related to an on-campus domestic altercation, court records said.

"I'm sorry for what I put the university through, for what I put my coaches through," he said after the arraignment Wednesday in Rockville, Conn., Superior Court.

The 7-foot-1, 245-pound Goettinger, Germany, native was charged with disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing and burglary after a woman he was dating told police Wolf had allegedly shoved her in an altercation in her on-campus apartment in which she struck her head, The Hartford Courant reported.

Wolf, a junior at the school, has been suspended from the team, and was referred to Family Relations, a court system department that works with parties involved in domestic cases, the newspaper said.