Lenovo's ThinkPad Tablet Sports Optional Pen and Keyboard

Leave it to laptop veteran Lenovo to make a tablet that's as comfortable with a pen or keyboard as it'll be with your fingers. The Android 3.1-based ThinkPad Tablet is a 10.1-inch slab that can work pretty much like most of today's Honeycomb tablets, but also allows you to add a $99 USB-based, full-sized keyboard and a digitizing stylus.
Like the HTC Flyer, the ThinkPad Tablet works with a digitizing pen that, unlike styluses used on traditional capacitive-screen-only tablets, can work on the screen even when your hand is resting on the touch display. It's also pressure-sensitive, which means you can vary the width of your drawing line by decreasing and increasing pressure on the screen, instead of selecting a different pen thickness. Even though there's a built-in slot ready and waiting for it, the pen doesn't ship with the $499 tablet; it adds $30 to the price.

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The $99 keyboard portfolio add-on is also a dock and makes the ThinkPad Tablet look very much like a ThinkPad laptop, but with one significant difference. The trademark Trackpoint button is actually an optical control. Instead of gently pushing the button this way and that to move the mouse, you move your finger over the head of the button. It works rather like the touch buttons on today's BlackBerry devices.
This is actually the second Android tablet Lenovo's unveiling. It also has the more-consumer-friendly IdeaPad K1, which while roughly the same size, does not offer pen input or work with the keyboard dock.
Otherwise, the two tablets share a host of similarities. Both have traditional USB ports and SD card slots. Both offer Lenovo's proprietary Android interface overlay, which gives you quick access to core features, and there's a proprietary Android app marketplace. Preinstalled applications include Norton Mobile Security, Docs to Go, and free access to 2GB of cloud-based storage. Each 10.1-inch tablet also runs Nvida Tegra 2 processors.
There are, of course, differences. The ThinkPad Tablet is clearly targeted at a business audience. So where the IdeaPad is all smooth lines and curves, the 1.57-pound, 14mm-deep ThinkPad Tablet is all black and features squared off corners and more visible buttons. It includes two cameras, a back-corner-mounted 5-megapixel and a 2-megapixel camera on the front (same as the K1). Its screen resolution is a higher-than Apple iPad 1,280-by-800 pixels.
The ThinkPad Tablet will ship with 16, 32 and 64GB options, on Wi-Fi and 3G. In North America, it'll be available on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, but without a contract. Instead 3G will be sold via a variety of day-pass options. While the 16GB Wi-Fi model pricing has been set at $499, additional pricing details were not yet available

7-on-7 summer high school football events raising concerns

The hot topic at the group's issues forum was the explosive growth of 7-on-7 football teams and events, the influence of non-scholastic coaches in these programs and the possible ramifications on recruiting. Some players are joining 7-on-7 all-star teams and traveling long distances to events, which can leave their high school coaches and counselors feeling left out of the recruiting process.

"High school football needs to be high school football and stay high school football," says coach Mickey Conn of Grayson High in Loganville, Ga. "People trying to leech onto this thing need to stay out of it. These kids need to be with their teammates and build their (high school) teams during the summer and play with each other."

About 200 representatives of state high school athletic associations from around the nation heard Marcus Wilson, an NCAA assistant director of enforcement, discuss the topic, NFHS executive director Bob Gardner said. This comes amid growing concern that 7-on-7 is starting to resemble the summer basketball model, which years ago changed how high school basketball players are recruited by colleges.

Gardner said the worry among administrators is the entity appears to be "snowballing."

"The recruiting process is getting to be like basketball, with more of an emphasis on summer events, travel teams and outside influences and less regard for the school and the school coach. That has not been good for basketball, and I don't think it would be good for football."

Participation in a 7-on-7 event — an all-passing game with skill position players — is not a violation of NCAA regulations. There is no rule limiting the number of teams a player can be on or events he can participate in. College coaches, though, are prohibited from attending the events, per NCAA rules.

But the receipt of any illicit benefits or preferential treatment from outside parties could jeopardize players' college eligibility, said Rachel Newman Baker, NCAA managing director of enforcement. NCAA investigators have spent a good portion of the summer traveling to various 7-on-7 events, Newman Baker said.

"A lot of it is about connecting the dots. Who is affiliating with who? Who works with who? What prospects are close to third parties?" she says.

There have been high school-team-based 7-on-7 leagues and events for years. Most high school coaches don't have a problem with those.

The traveling all-star teams, however, are a different matter, and some high school coaches are working on their own to try to limit outside influences. It's a matter of educating players and parents, they say.

"Our state coaches association has talked about trying to come up with almost a coaches' seal of approval with all these different events because guys are charging $50, $80, $100 at combines, telling kids they're going to get all these looks (from colleges), and they're not," says Frederick (Md.) coach Vince Ahearn. "Colleges want the game tape and want to see a kid in camp."

Biff Poggi, the longtime coach at Gilman High in Baltimore, prohibits his players from competing for all-star teams, which he likens to "old-time gladiator acts" going from place to place.

"It's very undisciplined, and there's a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with football going on," Poggi says. "They peddle kids to colleges, and they say they are giving them exposure and are acting as mentors. But a lot of these kids don't need any more exposure."

There is money to be made in 7-on-7 events even for high school teams.

Booker T. Washington (Miami) recently earned $10,000 for its booster club by winning the Battle by the Beach 7-on-7 tournament in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. The Tornadoes defeated Treasure Coast (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) in the title game. As the runner-up, Treasure Coast won $5,000.

The cash was put up by a New Smyrna Beach-area organization that raises money for youth and high school sports in the area.

Washington coach Tim Harris said the money helped defray expenses for a trip to play in an event the following week at Walt Disney World near Orlando and also will pay for shoes, sweat suits and equipment.

"It was a great incentive for the kids to work for something (where) they can actually see the result," Harris says.

Will SEC rule start trend?

As concern has grown, the Southeastern Conference passed legislation at its spring meeting this year which bans all non-scholastic 7-on-7 events from the league's campuses. The SEC still will allow events for high school teams.

"The premise of this legislation is to anchor football recruiting in an academic environment," commissioner Mike Slive says. "This spring, we were asked by our schools to specifically put the 7-on-7 issue on the agenda (for the meeting).

"We're going to propose this nationally and ask the NCAA to pass it. There are those who believe (recruiting) should be part of the academic experience and mission and should all occur within the academic environment. It will be very interesting to see if there is national support. We hope it will help."

Added the NCAA's Baker, "I do feel confident that we're on the front end of this and we can have a positive impact. … I think the membership will have a pretty engaged time (looking at the issue) in the next year."

But all-star events could still be held off campuses. An inaugural one was sponsored in late June by IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., which operates summer camps, weekend programs and year-round academies in various sports for athletes.

Twelve teams participated in the event, which was put together by Chris Weinke, the director of IMG's football academy. Weinke won the Heisman Trophy as quarterback for Florida State in 2000.

"We didn't want to make it too big to start off," Weinke says. "My philosophy was to provide a good product and invite all-star teams to start, but we will move into all-star and high school team events moving forward."

Recruiting at heart of debate

Don Clayton, coach at Cinco Ranch in Katy, Texas, and incoming president of the Texas 7-on-7 State Board of Directors, said his state's coaches got into 7-on-7 as a conditioning vehicle, not a money maker. The state coaches association holds its own 7-on-7 event, now in its 12th year. It includes 25,000 athletes.

While the Texas state 7-on-7 event involves only high school teams, that doesn't prevent other non-scholastic groups from having similar events or stop high school teams from playing in events outside the state tournament.

Badger Sport/New Level Athletics held a 7-on-7 championship earlier this month at SMU in Dallas. The event was won by 1925 Productions, an all-star team from California, coached by former Southern California and NFL players Keyshawn Johnson and Brian Kelly.

The pair also has put on a series of 7-on-7 events through their business, Big Man on Campus (BMOC). Not all the events are scholastic-based.

Kelly says he doesn't invite recruiting services to be at his events but sees little wrong in steering players toward one school or another.

"It scares me to see what the kids often base their decisions on," says Kelly, who said players don't consider enough factors when selecting a college. "That's one of the reasons that we're doing this. We want them to make good decisions."

Kelly said the 7-on-7 events put on by BMOC don't bring in a lot of money, possibly $20,000 a year total. However, they help build the brand of BMOC, which includes camps, personal training and a potential reality TV program that revolves around high school players making a college choice.

"We're building something," Kelly said. "The real money is in getting sponsorships from companies such (as) Nike, Under Armour or Gatorade. If you do it right, corporations are going to want to get attached to your brand."

Badger Sport/New Level Athletics is run by former New Hampshire player Baron Flenory, whose operation has been under scrutiny since reports surfaced in March that Oregon had paid Flenory more than $3,700 for recruiting information. The payment was cleared by the school's compliance office as being within NCAA rules at the time. However, the NCAA ruled that Badger Sport/New Level Athletics can no longer receive payment from schools for recruiting information if it wants to continue to stage events on campuses.

Flenory, who says his firm has put on events at UNLV, Pittsburgh and Rutgers among other colleges, believes he has been "unfairly portrayed," and denies that he steers players to certain colleges. "That's an absolute no," he says. "We want to be as transparent as possible. We believe in travel 7-on-7 as the best thing for recruits in terms of the camp process."

However, Flenory says he has a hard time understanding how high school coaches can feel threatened by his operation because players still have to play regular high school football in pads and helmets with its blocking, tackling, rushing and special-teams play to be legitimately evaluated for recruiting purposes.

"You can't tell me a high school coach who has been active in a kid's life is going to be cut out of the process

NBA players looking overseas but it may not be 100% ideal

For Sonny Weems, agreeing to a deal in Lithuania is a proactive move, with the uncertainty of the NBA lockout clouding his future with the Toronto Raptors.

For New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams, it's a chance to play abroad with minimal commitment or risks.

Playing overseas is the intriguing topic of the moment in the early stages of the NBA lockout, but the idea is not for anybody and everybody.

• MORE: Pachulia, others turn their attention to Europe

• STORY: Yao Ming retirement risks NBA profile in China

"From a functional standpoint, it might not be a situation that's beneficial to both sides," said agent Bernie Lee, who had 19 clients overseas last season.

For starters, spots are limited. It's not as if 400 or so NBA players can find a willing team.

Some of the top European leagues (Spain, Russia, Italy) also have limits on the number of U.S. players on a roster.

Money is limited, too. European leagues with roster limits pay the best; leagues with no restrictions on U.S. players don't pay as well.

"What you're going to see is guys with maybe one foot on either side of the fence," Lee said.

Players such as Williams and Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia, who are planning to play for Turkish team Besiktas if the lockout costs them NBA games next season, are the exception.

In general, European teams are not interested in signing players with the caveat of returning to the NBA when the lockout ends. Many teams prefer long-term stability.

"In the eyes of coaches, general managers and owners, European professional basketball is not lesser or subservient to the NBA in any way," Lee said. "Just because there's this opportunity of having what would appear to be an available pool of NBA players, it's not going to make them jump up and down."

Playing internationally also means dealing with cultural and language barriers. "It's not easy, trust me," Pachulia said. "It's not always how good of a player you are. It's a different lifestyle, language, traveling, training camp. Everything is different."

Weems' agent, Roger Montgomery, said his client took into account those factors and said, "Where, when and how much?"

"It's not going to be a difficult transition for those who want to go overseas," Montgomery said. "That difficult part will be for those who don't really want to go but have determined the (NBA) season is going to be lost."

Most European jobs will fill up in the next few weeks. Octagon agent Lance Young, whose clients include Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, said some of his players would take a wait-and-see approach.

"If a lockout keeps going, a guy like Stephen might go over for a little while," Young said.

Lee and Young agree on a burgeoning basketball market that will be attractive in a long lockout: China.

"The biggest money is China, hands down," Young said. "You can make almost double in China what you can in Europe. The Chinese league isn't as good of a league. But if it's all about money, you might as well go over there and make as much money as you can."

The Chinese season doesn't start until December, and teams recruit in September and October, Lee said. Players will know if NBA games are lost. "I can see a number of NBA guys getting attractive offers from Chinese teams that will have those walk-away outs," Lee said

Kevin Durant not ruling out playing abroad during lockout

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward said Tuesday during a promotional tour in China that he thinks more players will follow Deron Williams' example and play overseas if the NBA season is disrupted. Williams has said he will play for Besiktas in Turkey if the lockout remains.

"We'll see, I would like to try something new," Durant said. "But of course, my first option is playing in the NBA. So now I want to see how this lockout goes."

• STORY: Players looking overseas but it may not be ideal

• STORY: Pachulia, others turn their attention to Europe

He said he's still hopeful that a new collective bargaining agreement will be reached.

"If not, I will make a decision on where I am going to play basketball," said Durant, who added he's in no hurry to make a decision. "I am going to take it slow, everybody's going to wait to see how this plays out. D-Will, you know, he made his decision quick and I am sure you are going to see a lot of guys kind of follow his footsteps. So, he's very brave to be the first guy to do it."

He added it is "tough" to see Yao Ming retire, and the 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets center deserves to be in the basketball Hall of Fame.

Durant said it has been an honor to play Yao, who is expected to announce July 20 that he's retiring from the NBA after nine seasons because of leg and foot injuries. The 30-year-old Yao has missed 250 regular-season games over the past six seasons.

"Tough, man, tough to see a great player and a great competitor like Yao Ming leave the game after being injured a few years," Durant said. "As a player, you come into the league, the first thing somebody asks you is what you want to do when you get here, and a lot of players say, 'I want to dunk over Yao Ming.' So you can tell how much impact he has in the game.

"He comes in, he works every day and you can tell that he's never in trouble and he sets such a good example for the players coming into the league."

Asked if he thought Yao should have a place in the basketball Hall of Fame, Durant said the Chinese player deserves the honor.

"It was exciting to watch such a tall guy but that can shoot the basketball and put so much pressure on your defense by playing down low, and also his defense, too," Durant said. "He does so much for the game, and he does deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. He's so dominant in the game, and he changed the game by him just running up and down the floor."

Yao boosted the popularity of the basketball league in China and throughout Asia, spiking merchandise sales and TV ratings for games after the Rockets made him the top overall pick in the 2002 draft.

Timberwolves' Tolliver keeps faith with business venture

No, the Minnesota Timberwolves forward is not looking to play overseas during the NBA lockout. Instead, Tolliver, recently married, is fully engaged in his real estate business and what he says is a risky apparel venture with a former NBA Development League teammate.

"After I'm done with basketball, I'm going straight into entrepreneurship," says Tolliver, who owns properties in his hometown of Springfield, Mo., and Richmond, Calif., through his company, Say You Can .

"Financially, I'm fine. I'm keeping busy and doing my businesses, so I'm not bored or anything. I don't have any reason to go overseas. … I'm doing what I love to do."

• STORY: Timberwolves fire coach Kurt Rambis after two years

• MORE: T'wolves team report

He recently formed a partnership with Lanny Smith, a teammate from the Idaho Stampede. A 2010 knee injury ended Smith's NBA aspirations, but he soon started Active Faith, a Christian-based apparel company. Tolliver had long been interested in the idea.

Smith and Tolliver have used word-of-mouth advertising to get support from NBA players. The Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose and C.J. Watson have worn Active Faith wristbands that say, "In Jesus name I play." So has Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

"It's definitely a movement. It's starting to pick up with the football guys" and other athletes, says Smith, who attended church with Tolliver when they were teammates. "He told me then, 'If you get this up and running, I would like to invest.'

"A lot of guys will say that, but sure enough, when the time came and it needed a boost financially, he was there."

Tolliver, who signed a two-year, $4.8 million deal with the Timberwolves going into last season, is a 2007 finance graduate from Creighton. He began investing when he played professionally in Germany in 2008 and then while in the D-League.

He was called up by the San Antonio Spurs and played 19 games in 2008-09, then played two games for the Portland Trail Blazers and 44 with Golden State the following season. Tolliver started 29 games for the injury-depleted Warriors, averaging 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. That success led to a free agent deal with Minnesota.

"Once I went overseas and played for a few months, I was able to scrape up enough pennies to buy my first house," Tolliver says. After signing with the Spurs, "I was able to get another property. I've been able to continuously pick properties, then form my real estate business."

Active Faith is close to his heart; there's interest in the apparel line from private Christian schools. And Smith will be in Atlanta next week to speak at Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard's basketball camp.

Tolliver started Say You Can two years ago with a childhood friend, naming it in honor of his late mother, Donna Lewis, who had those encouraging words since he was in elementary school. He's bringing that same mind-set to Active Faith.

"I'm willing to take a chance. This is like my baby," he says. "I'm passionate about it. Even if it doesn't pan out, I'll have fun trying to build it up."

Shaquille O'Neal will share TNT stage with Barkley

O'Neal will become a regular with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson on the Emmy-winning studio show Inside the NBA.

But will one set be big enough, literally and figuratively, for The Diesel and Sir Charles?

O'Neal said the two giants will peacefully co-exist. "It is not a concern for me. I've always been a team player," he said on a conference call Thursday.

Turner Sports President David Levy said Barkley was one of the biggest proponents of hiring O'Neal. Smith has nicknamed his new colleague "The Big Analytical."

Said Levy: "We have always had four people sitting up there. … I think there will be enough to go around for everybody."

ESPN tried to recruit O'Neal as its answer to outspoken, entertaining Barkley. ESPN recently lost lead NBA game analyst Mark Jackson, who became coach of the Golden State Warriors. ESPN has often tinkered with the cast of its own pregame studio shows to replicate the success of Inside the NBA.

But the sports world's biggest TV free agent says he didn't want to start a bidding war for his services between networks. "(Inside the NBA) has always been my favorite show. I thought that was just the best fit for me," O'Neal said.

The funny, charismatic four-time NBA champion could make a great addition to the popular Barkley-Smith-Johnson team. Asked if he and Barkley could become the "Kobe (Bryant) and Shaquille" of TV, O'Neal said sure.

"Charles is a funny guy. He's a guy that says what's on his mind. I'm just honored to sit up there with him, Kenny and Ernie."

On the other hand, O'Neal has a tendency to mumble and talk in a low, monotone voice. Plus, chemistry's a funny thing in TV sports. What works on paper doesn't always work in reality.

TNT was forced to retreat back indoors from its outdoor set after Miami Heat fans taunted and threw towels at Barkley. He flipped them off.

Fox tried Joe Buck as host of its top-rated Fox NFL Sunday studio show. But there wasn't enough air time for Buck, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson. Buck was replaced by Curt Menefee.

Dwight Howard strongly considering career overseas

In an exclusive interview Sunday with the Associated Press, Howard said he would consider playing in China or Europe if the NBA lockout doesn't end.

Howard, a five-time All-Star who led Orlando to the NBA finals in 2009, stopped short of saying he's in contract discussions with teams overseas.

New Jersey guard Deron Williams said recently after signing with a team in Turkey that Howard could become a worldwide star if he played in China.

Howard, who hosted a celebrity basketball game Sunday at Langston Hughes High School to raise money for his charity, didn't disagree.

"The big thing for me is not giving too much information away, but at the same time I still need to let people know what's going on with me," Howard said. "I don't want to just sit over here and forget about basketball and waste, you know, opportunities for me to get better."

Howard wasn't interested in discussing his potential free agency at the end of next season. Along with Williams and New Orleans guard Chris Paul, Howard is a marquee name for potential free agency in 2012.

He saw no point in discussing the 2012-13 season when there's no guarantee of an NBA season in 2011-12.

That's why an opportunity overseas could make sense soon.

"If I decide to go overseas, the main thing is for me to continue to get better, not to do the things that I normally do, but do better at the things I'm not good at," Howard said. "So I can use that talent to go overseas, working on my skills and staying in great shape."

Howard recently hosted 400 kids at a youth basketball camp in Spain and was planning to host "a bunch of them in China, but the lockout messed everything up."

The former overall No. 1 NBA draft pick loves working with kids in his native Atlanta, but he's also longing to spread his appeal in other parts of the world.

"Being a role model lasts longer than being a basketball player," he said. "Right now I have an opportunity to do a lot of great things. I'm blessed with a lot of talents, but one of my talents is being great with kids. Being a good role model, you just want to lead them in the right direction."