Winter hospitalized

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tex Winter, the 87-year-old special consultant to Lakers coach Phil Jackson, suffered an apparent stroke while attending a reunion of the Kansas State basketball team in Manhattan, Kan. He was taken to a hospital, Jackson told reporters after the Lakers' shootaround today. Winter formerly coached at Kansas State. "I've been in touch with the family and they feel relatively at ease with the situation, as difficult as it could have been," Jackson told reporters this morning. "I'm happy to say that, and they've basically said, 'Take your mind off of this and put it where it belongs right now.'" Winter is the man who devised the triangle offense run by the Lakers. Winter and Jackson began their association with the Chicago Bulls, winning six NBA titles in the 1990s. Winter also coached at Long Beach State. Among his players: Craig Hodges, a Lakers assistant.