News Conferences

Jim Calhoun, who led the Connecticut men's basketball team to three national titles over 26 seasons, reportedly will announce his retirement today. Calhoun, 70, has recently struggled with health problems, including a fractured hip that needed surgery. Before that injury, he fought off cancer three times and suffered a painful spinal condition last season that forced him to miss eight games. Multiple sources are reporting the coach plans to announce his retirement at a news conference scheduled for 11 a.m. Calhoun, a Hall of Fame coach, has a career record of 873-380, including 625 wins with Connecticut.

LAS VEGAS -- The hard feelings between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and his world middleweight title opponent, Sergio Martinez, spilled into their news conference Wednesday. Martinez's trainer, Pablo Sarmiento, called Chavez a "chicken," adding his slightly favored, 37-year-old fighter will "pull the head off" his opponent at the Thomas and Mack Center on Saturday. Chavez (46-0-1, 32 knockouts) lashed back at Martinez, who has called the son of the Mexican boxing legend a protected, privileged figure who will be exposed by meeting the 2010 fighter of the year.

It's shaping up to be a busy September for major technology announcements. After months of rumors, Apple Inc. on Tuesday sent out invitations for a media event Sept. 12 in San Francisco that is widely expected to be the launch of the iPhone 5. "It's almost here," the email invite said, with a huge "12" underneath. Although the invite didn't say specifically what would be announced, the shadow under the "12" was of a large "5. " Apple will hold the event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 10 a.m. The Cupertino, Calif., company used the same venue in March to announce its latest iPad tablet computer.

In what may be the first clear sign that a new version of the Kindle Fire is on the way, Amazon announced Thursday it has sold out of its entire stock of the 7-inch tablet. The online retailer announced the news exactly one week ahead of a news conference it has scheduled in Santa Monica. The Kindle Fire is an Android-based tablet with 8-gigabytes of storage that sold for about $200 before selling out. Amazon said Thursday the Kindle Fire now holds 22% of the tablet market. If you search for the device on Amazon, the Seattle company will direct you to used units sold by its partners.

Penn State removed the statue of former coach Joe Paterno outside Beaver Stadium on Sunday in advance of NCAA sanctions that could cripple the football program for years. The NCAA, a methodical and procedural organization not known for tipping its investigative hand, has scheduled a Monday morning news conference at which, it stated, it will levy "corrective and punitive measures" against the school because of the child sex abuse scandal that led to the conviction of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter and goalie Jonathan Quick had plenty of interesting things to say during their news conference following L.A.'s 6-1 Stanley Cup-clinching victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night. Such as ... wait a minute, did that photographer just get whacked in the head with a Kings flag? That's hilarious! OK, sorry, what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, the news conference featuring the most valuable player of the postseason ... wait, who is that little chatterbox running, skipping and jumping all over the place?

NEWARK, N.J. - Even Darryl Sutter 's extended family seems to be getting a kick out of his televised media briefings during the Stanley Cup Final between the Kings and New Jersey Devils. Nephew Brody Sutter tweeted about the Kings coach the other day: "My uncle Darryl's interviews never cease to amaze me. What a guy. #ShortAndSweet #BeautyAlert" Brody, who was drafted last year by the Carolina Hurricanes, happens to be the son of Duane Sutter , who won four Stanley Cups playing for the New York Islanders.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama on Friday prodded European leaders to take further steps to stabilize their financial system while urging Congress to act on his jobs proposals at home, twin moves that signaled rising concern in his administration about the impact of the Euro zone crisis on the tenuous economic recovery. In a White House news conference, Obama said the situation in Europe is "not simply a debt crisis," and that nations must pursue strategies for job creation, not just austerity.

FREMONT, Calif. - Politics often feels like a carnival sideshow. Thursday was one of those days. Mitt Romney and aides to President Obama held competing news conferences on opposite sides of the nation, each aimed at establishing a layered and damaging narrative about the opponent and illustrating why he is incompetent to right the nation's economy. The events were a small preview of a general election battle that will be waged in person and on airwaves across the nation.

As Frank McCourt could tell you, at Dodgers Now, I'm here to help. Just a constant flow of upbeat suggestions. Been sending positive energy to the Dodgers long before McCourt discovered any Russian psychic. And because today is the big debut of the Dodgers' new ownership group , I thought it was only fair to offer a few suggestions on how to handle their morning news conference. Here is the No. 1 message: Be forthcoming. Simple, I know, but it's amazing how many mess this one up. Be honest, don't hide behind legal this or privacy that.