LOS ANGELES – A “super bowl” of another kind will be televised Feb. 5 when four-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul hosts the fourth annual Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational Presented by Sheets™ Brand Sunday, Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Paul, who joined the Los Angeles Clippers at the start of the 2011-12 season, hosted the fundraiser which is fast-becoming a tradition during the PBA Tour season at Lucky Strike LA Live and will benefit charities supported by his CP3 Foundation.
The list of celebrities competing in the made-for-TV event include Reggie Bush (former USC star, Super Bowl winner and Miami Dolphins running back), Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers forward and reigning NBA Dunk Contest champ), Michael Strahan (NFL great, Super Bowl winner and Fox NFL Sunday analyst), Jerry Ferrara (from HBO’s Entourage), Jesse Williams (of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy), Grammy award-winning recording star Ciara, and comedian Kevin Hart.
The PBA Tour has an all-star lineup led by PBA Hall of Famer and 35-time Tour titlist Pete Weber; Jason Belmonte of Australia, one of only two players in Tour history to win a Tour title with a unique two-handed delivery; six-time Tour winner Wes Malott, and four-time winner Ryan Shafer. Storm Bowling Products is once again the official bowling equipment sponsor for the event.
The telecast includes the Celebrity Super Shootout featuring all eight celebrities bowling a one-ball eliminator competition where the bowler with the lowest pinfall is eliminated. This year’s Celebrity Invitational uses a trios Baker format where a pro is part of a team with two celebrities and the pro bowls the first, fourth, seventh and 10th frames.
Making up the trios teams are: Belmonte, Hart and Paul; Shafer, Ciara and Strahan; Weber, Ferrara and Griffin, and Malott, Williams and Bush. In the opening match, Team Belmonte faces team Shafer and in the second match Team Weber faces Team Malott with the winners facing off in the final.
The show will also feature chart-topping teen sensation Mindless Behavior who will perform music from their current hit CD, “#1 Girl,” one of the biggest selling debuts from a new artist in 2011. The group gained popularity touring with Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, and the Backstreet Boys. Their new single "Girls Talkin’ Bout" is climbing the radio charts now.
Paul, an accomplished bowler, founded his CP3 Foundation in 2005 as a tribute to his late grandfather, Nathaniel Jones, and the Winston-Salem, N.C., community where he grew up. The foundation has provided funding for activities ranging from a scholarship program to food drives to recreational support programs for children in under-served communities in both Winston-Salem and New Orleans.
Paul and Belmonte have won back-to-back titles in the special event. Other celebrity bowlers who have participated in previous events include fellow NBA stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant and Rudy Gay; NFL stars Hines Ward, LaMarr Woodley, Jack Del Rio and Bush, and hip-hop stars Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Lil Wayne and Nelly.