It was supposed to be a party, a traditional part of the Kingdom International bowling event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the party in the darkness of a March night almost turned into a disaster when a group of bowlers drove high-powered all-terrain vehicles and dune buggies out onto the sand dunes.

There was a multi-vehicle crash. Three of the bowlers sustained serious injuries, including England's Dominic Barrett (pictured left), who was driven back to the campsite with a blood-spattered forehead, swollen face and a fractured collarbone.

Barrett and the other injured bowlers have now fully recovered, which the English star proved Sunday in Reno, Nev., where he won the PBA West/Northwest Region Sands Regency Casino Open at the National Bowling Stadium for his first PBA title.

Barrett, who currently ranks fifth on the European Bowling Tour points list, posted an 8-2 match play record and compiled 4,126 pins, including match play bonus pins, to win the $2,000 first prize in Reno by 16 pins over new PBA member Josh Blanchard (right) of Gilbert, Ariz.

Blanchard, a former Wichita State University star, also got his PBA career off to a great start, winning Friday's PBA West/Northwest Region Non-Champions event at the Stadium in his first PBA event as a member. Over the weekend, he also rolled his first PBA 300 game.

Ironically, Blanchard also bowled in the Saudi Arabia event in March and he, too, sustained minor injuries in an earlier ATV crash in the desert.

Barrett and Blanchard were both in Reno to prepare for the PBA World Series of Bowling which begins Friday at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas. Both newly-crowned PBA title winners are now eligible to enter the PBA Tournament of Champions which will be held in April at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas.

 

Fans can test-drive Xtra Frame during Friday's All-In Showdown for $3.99

PBA fans can watch the $45,000 winner-take-all BowlersDeals.com All-In Showdown Friday on pba.com's Xtra Frame bowling channel for only $3.99.

For bowling fans who have never experienced online "television" viewing, Xtra Frame will provide start-to-finish coverage of the special All-In Showdown event Friday from South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT).

Coverage of the All-In Showdown will launch more than 100 hours of in-depth coverage of the PBA World Series of Bowling on Xtra Frame, which is available to bowling fans around the world on a one-day ($3.99), World Series package ($24.99 through Nov. 30) or full-year ($64.99) subscription basis.

The eight-player, winner-take-all $45,000 BowlersDeals.com All-In Showdown will include Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas; Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore.; Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa.; Brian Himmler, Cincinnati; Ronnie Russell, Indianapolis; Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa.; Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., and Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., in a series of two-game elimination rounds, cutting the field in half each round until only the winner remains.

Each of the players paid a $5,000 entry fee; BowlersDeals.com added a $5,000 bonus to the pot.

 

Parks, Traber win PBA Midwest Senior Regional titles

Kenny Parks (pictured left) of Hammond, Ind., won his sixth PBA Senior Regional title of the season in the joint PBA Midwest Region's Lancer Lanes Senior Viper Open at Lancer Lanes Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and veteran Dale Traber (right) of Cedarburg, Wis., won Sunday's Senior Cheetah Open companion event for his ninth career Senior Regional title.

Parks nipped Dave Axon of Bellevue, Neb., 246-245, to win the $1,000 first prize and his 10th career PBA Regional title in Saturday's one-day event. Traber topped younger brother Darryl Traber of Waterford, Wis., 239-236, in Sunday's finale, also earning $1,000.

In the PBA Southwest Region, Mitch Beasley (left) of Clarksburg, Tenn., won all 10 of his matches as he dominated the 8th annual Odessa Open at Diamond Lanes in Odessa, Texas, Sunday to claim his 16th PBA Regional title. Beasley compiled a 22-game total of 5,512 pins, including match game bonus pins, to win the $2,200 first prize by 308 pins over Nathan Bohr of Wichita, Kan.

Future PBA Regional tournaments include the PBA South Region Gloucester (Va.) Open at Villages Lanes, Nov. 4-6; the PBA Midwest Region Victory Lanes Senior Invitational sponsored by Allstate Insurance in Kankakee, Ill., Nov. 4-6; the PBA South Region Gastonia (N.C.) Senior Open at George Pappas Liberty Lanes, Nov. 11-13; the PBA Central Region Dan Ottman Memorial Senior Classic at Sunnybrook Lanes in Sterling Heights, Mich., Nov. 11-13, and the All Regions South Point Open plus the PBA West Region Member/Non-Member Doubles at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas, Nov. 11-13.

All PBA Regional competitors earn qualifying points through Feb. 26 for the 2012 Dick Weber PBA Playoffs. The top 16 points leaders in the PBA's East, South, Central, Midwest, Southwest and combined West/Northwest Regions will earn berths in the new Xtra Frame Tour event which will be held March 30-April 1 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.

All first-time PBA Regional title winners also become eligible for the season-ending PBA Tournament of Champions.

For complete Regional tournament schedules and entry information, click here.

 

Quick notes:

AppleUmbrella.com, a website that covers "everything Apple" in the electronics industry, has posted a list of "25 sports apps you must have on your iPad"…and among the thousands of sports apps on the market, "PBA Bowling 2" ranks No. 23 on the list.

PBA Bowling 2 is described as "a versatile amusing, quite realistic bowling game for your iPad. Numerous different game play options are available and you can even be your preferred PBA bowler. Available for $2.99."

 

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