Miller loses his legs to diabetes News Utah Jazz

Jazz owner and Utah business mogul Larry H. Miller is recovering from double-amputation surgery performed Friday. According a statement from Jazz officials, Miller had his lower legs removed 6 inches below the knee. The surgery stems from his ongoing battle with complications due to type-2 diabetes, which over the past several months has included a heart attack, kidney failure, excessive water-weight gain, gastrointestinal bleeding, a bone infection, foot ulcers and a hospital stay this past summer that lasted nearly two months.

"Obviously the biggest thing is his long-term recovery," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said Friday night. "We're concerned for him, as somebody that we've all known for a long time, and want him to get well," O'Connor added. "But, knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up for the game (tonight)." The Jazz face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, though Jazz spokesman Jonathan Rinehart said Friday that he did not know when Miller ? who was not at the team's last home game, a victory last Tuesday night over Minnesota ? would be back at his usual courtside seat. Miller, 64 and a father of five, is in his 24th season as owner of the Jazz. He bought 50-percent stake in the team in 1985, and purchased the remaining half the next year. The Salt Lake City native owns the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, a vast business network that includes automobile dealerships, movie theaters, restaurants, real-estate ventures, local independent television station KJZZ, Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele County, the Salt Lake Bees AAA baseball team and the NBA's Jazz. Last July, Miller turned over daily operational control of his companies ? including the Jazz ? to his oldest child, son Greg. "Larry," Greg Miller said in the statement released by the Jazz, "is doing well and is expected to continue to recover in the coming weeks and months." E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com