Private burial service held for Dr. Jerry Buss
Died from kidney failure
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A private burial service was held today for Lakers owner Jerry Buss at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.
Buss, 80, died Monday from kidney failure after a long battle with cancer. Only family and close friends attended the burial service.
“The Buss family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to the public for their tremendous outpouring of love and support over the past several days,” according to a statement released by the team.
The longtime Lakers owner was remembered Thursday at a memorial service at the Nokia Theater at L.A. Live attended by past and present Laker players, executives, coaches, friends and relatives.
NBA Commissioner David Stern called Buss “nothing less than a transformational force in the history of sports,” saying his groundbreaking work in marketing and other now-commonplace concepts in sports ownership “will continue into the future.”
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who helped transform the franchise into the most successful and glamorous team in North American professional sports, died today, the team and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center confirm. He was 80.
Buss died at 5:55 a.m., according to Cedars-Sinai spokeswoman Sally Stewart.
Buss had spent time in the intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with an undisclosed form of cancer, according to the Los Angeles Times.
LOS ANGELES, Clalif.—Laker executive Jeanie Buss said her book "Laker Girl,'' which will be released today, is not just about sports, but about relationships, which for her have the potential for tremendous personal and professional complications.
"I'm the boss' daughter and I'm dating his star employee,'' said Buss, referring to her father, Laker owner Jerry Buss, and the team's coach, Phil Jackson.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Calling it a "bittersweet business decision,'' Los Angeles Lakers part-owner Earvin "Magic'' Johnson sold his share of the team for an undisclosed amount.
"I am truly humbled to have been a Lakers player for 13 years and an owner for over 10 years,'' Johnson said in a statement released by the team.
"I thank Dr. (Jerry) Buss from the deepest part of my heart and soul for allowing me such an incredible opportunity.
I try to be objective in my commentary. OK, I’m lying. I’m very subjective in my commentary.
That’s what editorialists do, they editorialize. There’s only one way to see it—their way.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—In a game decried by TV commentators as an embarrassment to NBA basketball, to the Los Angeles Lakers and to coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers were blown out of the Western Conference semifinals by the Dallas Mavericks, 122-86.
Lakers center Andrew Bynum and forward Lamar Odom were ejected for deliberate fouls in the fourth quarter of the game at Dallas' American Airlines Center. Bynum bludgeoned Mavericks guard J.J. Barea with his elbow, then quickly stripped off his jersey at midcourt as he headed to the locker room.
