Seattle, WA, United States (AHN Sports) – PBA Hall of Famers Mike Aulby and Parker Bohn III, along with PBA Tour champions Danny Wiseman and Doug Kent, participated in the 10th annual “Jeff Gordon Bowling Ball” in Indianapolis on July 28, an event that raised more than $300,000 in support of Jeff Gordon’s Children’s Foundation and Riley Hospital for Children.

The annual bowling fundraiser has generated more than $1.58 million to Riley Hospital for Children since its inception. In addition, Gordon made a pledge of $1.5 million to Riley Children’s Foundation in 2010, establishing the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation Pediatric Cancer Research Fund.

Funds from the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation are creating a $1 million endowment for research conducted in partnership between Riley Hospital and the Wells Center for Pediatric Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine. The remaining $500,000 is addressing immediate research needs at Riley Hospital.

BARNES TO APPEAR ON NBC’S TODAY SHOW ON FRIDAY, AUG. 19

PBA Triple Crown winner Chris Barnes will make an appearance on NBC’s The Today Show on Friday, Aug. 19, offering bowling tips to co-hosts Kathi Lee Gifford and Hoda Katb along with their mothers. Barnes also will do a few bowling stunts.

The segment will be taped at Bowlmor Lanes in Manhattan. Barnes and The Today Show ladies will be joined by three local youth bowlers who will also show off their skills. The Gifford-Hatb segment airs in the fourth hour of The Today Show.

PBA SENIOR TOUR, REGIONAL COVERAGE RETURNS TO XTRA FRAME

PBA.com’s exclusive online coverage of the PBA Senior Tour and Regional action continues with Xtra Frame airing the final rounds of the concluding events on the 2011 PBA Senior Tour schedule. And while the Xtra Frame staff is in the neighborhood, pba.com’s subscription-based video streaming service will also include

coverage of the finals of two PBA Regional events.

The upcoming Xtra Frame schedule includes:

Sunday, Aug. 14 – PBA Central Region Elite Motors/Backhaul Direct Open, Crest Lanes, Marion, Ind.

Monday-Tuesday, Aug. 15-16 – PBA Senior Decatur Open, Spare Time Lanes, Decatur, Ill.

Sunday, Aug. 21 – PBA Central Region Lefeld Implement Classic, Pla-Mor Lanes, Coldwater, Ohio.

Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 24-25 – PBA Senior Jackson Open, Airport Lanes, Jackson, Mich.

Monday-Tuesday, Aug. 29-30 – PBA Senior Dayton Classic, Capri Lanes, Kettering, Ohio.

To subscribe to Xtra Frame, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame logo.

PBA Regional Roundup:

INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS GOMEZ, WILLIAMS AMONG PBA REGIONAL WINNERS

Colombian native Andres Gomez of Sunrise, Fla., defeated Jesse Rodriguez of Davie, Fla., 235-174, to win his first PBA title in the PBA South Region’s Jimmy Keeth Memorial Open at Jupiter Lanes on Sunday. Along with his title, Gomez earned $2,500.

Also on Sunday, another international player won his first PBA title. In the West Region, Stuart Williams of England posted a 4-4 match play record and a 16-game total of 3,844 pins to win the PBA West Region Virgin River Lanes Championship.

Williams, who earned $1,300, defeated Andre Eubanks of Los Angeles, Calif., by 158 pins for his first PBA Regional title. With his win, Williams became eligible to enter the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions which will be held in April at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas. Eubanks had a 5-3 match play record and 3,686 pins for 16 games including match play bonus pins.

In the companion Virgin River Senior Open, Tony Rodriquez Jr. of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., went 5-3 and knocked down 3,948 total pins for 16 games to top Marv Sargent of Temecula, Calif., for his first Senior Regional title and $1,200. Rodriguez also became eligible to enter the Tournament of Champions as a PBA title winner. Sargent had 3,909 pins, 39 behind Rodriquez.

Bill O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., defeated Travis Celmer of Wernersville, Pa., 240-192, to win the PBA East Region Storm Products/Bowlers Supply Open at Colony Park Lanes North Sunday for a $2,800 prize and his seventh career PBA Regional title.

In Arlington Heights, Ill., Harry Sullins of Chesterfield Township, Mich., closed with a string of five strikes, overcoming a 29-pin seventh-frame deficit to upset top qualifier Kerry Painter of Henderson, Nev., 213-210, in the title game of the PBA Midwest/Central Senior Beverly Lanes Open presented by Allstate Insurance on

Sunday. It was Sullins’ third PBA Senior Regional title of the season and the 18th overall regional title of his career.

In Lubbock, Texas, West Texas A&M collegiate player Taylor Coggins of Burleson, Texas, won nine of his 12 matches to pull away from the rest of the finalists and win the inaugural PBA Southwest Region Lubbock Open at South Plains Lanes Sunday. Coggins earned $2,200, topping Dino Castillo of Carrollton, Texas, by 229 pins for the win. But he doesn’t get credit for a PBA title because he’s a non-member.

Next weekend’s round of PBA Regional events includes: the PBA East Region Iroquois Lanes Senior Open in Canajorharie, N.Y.; the Central Region Elite Motors/Backhaul Direct Open at Crest Lanes in Marion, Ind.; the Midwest Region St. Charles Lanes Non-Champions Challenge in St. Charles, Mo.; the Southwest Region Plano Super Bowl Open in Plano, Texas, and the PBA Northwest/West Region Ten Down Lanes Open

presented by West Bank at Roseburg, Ore.

Also in the Central Region, the Modern Woodmen of America Senior Championship at Al-Mar Lanes in Bowling Green, Ohio, will be held Tuesday-Friday, Aug. 16-19, sandwiched between the PBA Senior Decatur (Ill.) Open and the PBA Senior Jackson (Mich.) Open.

For complete Regional tournament schedules and entry information, visit pba.com and click on “Regional Tour” under the “Schedules” drop-down tab.

QUICK NOTES:

Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour star Tommy Jones and partner Shannon Pluhowsky won their fourth title in the 12th annual Luci Bonneau Striking Against Breast Cancer Memorial Mixed Doubles Tournament in Houston, Texas, on July 24. Jones and Pluhowsky posted a combined 16-game total of 3,490 pins to top Andres Gomez and Clara Guerrero by 59 pins. Emily Maier and two-time PBA Tour titlist Mike Fagan finished third in a sold-out field of 84 teams that featured more than a dozen Lumber Liquidators PBA

Tour title winners.

Journeyman PBA Senior Tour competitor Ron Garr of Ridgedale, Mo., may be done bowling for the season. The 64-year-old right-hander made it to Round 8 in the losers’ bracket in the USBC Senior Masters before being eliminated and tying for fifth place, but he was experiencing some hip pain. He decided to work it out by

riding a bike, but reportedly hit a rut and took a nasty spill, resulting in a fractured left collarbone in addition to assorted abrasions.

PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli won a pair of gold medals for Venezuela in the men’s singles and men’s all-events categories in the 44th Lee Evans Tournament of the Americas at Sawgrass Lanes in Tamarac, Fla. Monacelli won the singles crown with a 12-game total of 2,657 pins and led in all-events with a 36-game total of 7,879 pins, a 218.86 average. The event, which drew competitors from 15 American Zone countries, ended on Aug. 6.

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Last Vegas, NV, United States (AHN Sports) – Frank Mir won a unanimous decision over Roy Nelson in a battle of heavyweight contenders at UFC 130 Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Mir dominated on his feet and on the ground as Nelson tired quickly in the three round fight.

The two fighters exchanged punches in the early going as the fight looked to be an entertaining brawl. Nelson charged in early and scored the first takedown of the bout before Mir quickly reversed.

As Nelson tried to throw punches, Mir tied him up against the cage and battered Nelson’s body and head with knees.

“How many times did I knee him in the face?” Mir asked after the fight. “What’s with that guy’s chin?”

Much like Nelson’s previous fight–a loss against Junior Dos Santos–he took a great deal of punishment but impressed observers by continuing to come back for more.

As Mir’s knees sapped Nelson’s energy, Mir began to score takedowns against the former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, almost at will.

He finished round one with a trip takedown, then scored a half dozen more in the last two rounds of the fight.

“I expected to win the grappling aspect,” Mir said. “It went even better than I’d planned. I won every aspect of the fight.”

“Wrestling was my main focus in camp, and I think it worked out well for me tonight,” Mir added.

Nelson appeared to be fatigued by the end of the second round, and his punches had very little power on them. Mir also seemed to tire as the final round wore on, but the former UFC champion kept taking Nelson down, and Nelson, to his credit, kept battling back to his feet.

“His wrestling was something I wasn’t expecting, and I just got tired,” Nelson said.

Scores were 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26. AHN’s unofficial scorecard had it 30-27.

Mir won his second straight and improved to 15-5. Nelson lost his second straight, dropping to 15-6.

Mir was taken to the hospital afterward, reportedly because of a possible broken jaw.

On the undercard, Travis Browne scored the Knockout of the Night over Stefan Struve in a battle of skyscrapers.

The 6’7″ Browne is usually the tallest man in the cage, but he faced someone four inches taller Saturday night.

Browne got an early takedown, then fought off two Struve choke attempts as they grappled on the mat.

When the fighters returned to their feet, Browne finished the fight with a right-handed Superman punch that landed squarely on Struve’s chin. Struve was out before he hit the canvas, and the fight ended at 4:11 of the first round.

Browne’s ninth career knockout was also his sixth straight win by knockout. He moved to 11-0-1. Struve dropped to 21-5. Four of his five losses have been by knockout.

Browne’s performance probably cost Brian Stann the Knockout of the Night bonus, although Stann’s second round TKO of Jorge Santiago was named Fight of the Night.

Stann nearly finished the fight in the first round, as he dropped Santiago with a left hook, but the round ended before he could get the stoppage.

In the second, Stann landed an uppercut that appeared to hurt Santiago. He dropped Santiago with another power shot and finished the bout with ground and pound. The fight was stopped at 4:29 of the second.

Stann earned his second straight knockout and eighth of his career. He won his third straight and moved to 11-3. Santiago, a former Sengoku champion, lost his UFC debut, dropping to 23-9 on his career.

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Clinton, Iowa, United States (AHN Entertainment) – Flavor Flav has closed the doors to his new restaurant just four months after its grand opening.

The rapper turned reality TV star, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton, Jr., abruptly closed Flav’s Fried Chicken on Sunday after a war of words between him and his business partner Nick Cimino, according to WQAD News 8.

“I started this,” Cimino said. “I put together everything from the menu to the color of the building to the sign. I did everything. What Flav’s doing, he’s a fraud. He doesn’t want to be hurt with the other ventures he’s doing and he wants to become a millionaire off my dime, off my ideas.”

The rapper said he had to do “whatever possible” to save his reputation.

“I gave (Cimino) permission to take my name and my license to operate a business,” Flavor Flav told the news station. “I have to do whatever is possible for me to save my name and that’s to shut the business down because Nick Cimino isn’t running the business right.”

The new restaurant was showing signs of trouble earlier this month when employees were complaining that they were not receiving paychecks.

“The reason I pulled the license was because there’s a lot of employees that weren’t getting paid,” Flav said.

Flav, who starred in VH1′s “The Surreal Life,” Flavor of Love” and “Strange Love,” with Brigitte Nielson, grew close to Cimino after he began selling the rapper’s homemade chicken wings at his Las Vegas restaurant.

Since then, they hoped Flav’s Fried Chicken would become a national franchise.

But Flav says he’s not “chickened-out” about this experience and isn’t ruling out opening another restaurant.

The rapper, who founded the rap group “Public Enemy,” said he hopes to open another restaurant in Iowa and an entertainment venue called “Flavor Flav’s House of Flavor” in Las Vegas.

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New York, NY, United States (NewsBahn) – The founders of three of the largest Internet poker companies doing business in the United States are among 11 people accused Friday of bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling offenses.

The charged were unveiled Friday when federal authorities unsealed a indictment in Manhattan.

The government also seeks at least $3 billion in civil money laundering penalties and forfeiture from the poker companies and the defendants. A federal district court has issued an order restraining approximately 76 bank accounts in 14 countries.

Five Internet domain names used by the poker companies also were seized.

Among those charged were Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate of Poker Stars, Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick of Full Tilt Poker and Scott Tom and Brent Buckley of Absolute Poker.

In a statement, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bhahara said: “As charged, these defendants concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits. Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in massive money laundering and bank fraud. Foreign firms that choose to operate in the United States are not free to flout the laws they don’t like simply because they can’t bear to be parted from their profits.”

The statement said owners of the poker sites “arranged for the money received from U.S. gamblers to be disguised as payments to hundreds of non-existent online merchants purporting to sell merchandise such as jewelry and golf balls. Of the billions of dollars in payment transactions that the poker companies tricked U.S. banks into processing, approximately one-third or more of the funds went directly to the Poker Companies as revenue through the ‘rake’ charged to players on almost every poker hand played online.”

After U.S. banks refused to accept payments from the gambling sites, which would have in violation of federal law, federal authorities said the companies persuaded a few small local banks in financial trouble to process their payments “in return for multi-million-dollar investments in the banks.”

John Campos, vice chairman of the board of a small private bank, SunFirst Bank of Saint George, UT, was among those charged in the indictment.

Four other men – Ryan Lang, Ira Rubin, Bradley Franzen and Chad Elie – were accused of being “highly compensated ‘payment processors’” who “lied to banks about the nature of the financial transactions they were processing, and covered up those lies, by, among things, creating phony corporations and websites to disguise payments.”

The indictment notes that in a press release dated Oct. 16, 2006, Absolute Poker announced that the company would continue its U.S. operations because “the U.S. Congress has no control over” the company’s payment transactions.

Two of the men were arrested Friday: Campos in Utah and Elie in Las Vegas. A third defendant, Franzen, is expected to appear in New York on Tuesday for arraignment. Bitar, Scheinberg, Burtnick, Tate, Tom, Beckley and Rubin are believe to be outside the U.S. and have not yet been arrested.

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A government commission is to unveil measures aimed at ensuring taxpayers will never again need to bail out Britain’s banks, with recommendations that risk splitting the coalition and infuriating the banking sector.

Amid warnings from large banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered that they will leave London if the proposals by Sir John Vickers are too radical, the commission will seek to ringfence savers from riskier banking operations.

The commission has considered the potential impact of its proposals on the City and is expected to counter suggestions that they would encourage banks to move to New York or Hong Kong.

The report, thought to run to 200 pages, was handed to ministers late on Friday to be presented to the banks at 6am on Monday – an hour before its official release. It is expected to back away from proposals such as “narrow banks”, which only take savings, and splitting high street banks from their investment banking divisions, which Vince Cable, the business secretary, previously alluded to as “casinos”.

But it sets out a handful of ideas to avoid another taxpayer bailout and bolster competition on the high street in the wake of the rescue of HBOS by Lloyds, which was only permitted because Labour overrode competition concerns.

Crucially, Vickers and his four commissioners have looked at ways banks can bolster their capital through new types of loss-absorbing financial instruments. They are concerned that the capital held by banks before the crisis – largely equity – was too brittle and lacked the flexibility of other types of instruments that might be more effective incushioning the blow of multibillion-pound losses.

Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury, told the BBC : “Our priority as a government is to make sure that those people who recklessly gambled with our economy are no longer able to be bailed out by taxpayers.

“That’s why this commission is looking at separation issues within the banking system to make sure that the bits that are valuable to us as an economy, retail banking and so on, could be protected, whereas those people who engage in that sort of casino banking take responsibility for themselves.”

Sources close to Cable, the business secretary, and the chancellor, George Osborne, were this weekend trying to stifle suggestions of a rift between them over banking reform, which was the first item on the coalition agreement.

Government sources noted that the combined balance sheet of Britain’s banks is still five times that of the British economy. “We have to get this right,” one said, pointing out that both Ireland and Iceland had economies dwarfed by the size of their banks.

Although the commission is thought to have concluded that any suggestion of a full-break up the banks is not necessary, some of the ideas could have a similar impact. Vickers is known to have considered so-called subsidiarisation, which requires major banks to ringfence funds inside individual parts of the group.

There are three main options: geographic, where business activities are segregated based on their domicile; functional, where business activities are segregated based on nature of business and client; and operational, where critical operations such as cash are segregated.

RBS is the only bank to have made a public estimate about the cost of being a universal bank – putting it at between £3.5bn and £4.8bn annually – and analysts at Goldman Sachs believe Barclays has most to lose.

Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat peer who resigned as party spokesman over the lax treatment of banks, said: “It’s in the whole City’s interest – not just the banks’ – that real bank reform makes London the world’s most trusted financial centre, instead of a British version of Las Vegas. Calling the banks’ bluff would be best business decision our government could make.”

Although the interim report is being closely watched by the banks, any overhaul is unlikely to take place until 2012. A final report is due in September and will be considered by a cabinet committee chaired by Osborne. The presence of the former HSBC chairman Stephen Green, now a trade minister, on this cabinet committee has caused some controversy. Financial crisis Global recession Banking Financial sector Barclays HSBC London Danny Alexander Vince Cable George Osborne Jill Treanor guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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