Golf
BEIJING - China has launched a renewed crackdown on golf, closing 111 courses and telling members of the ruling Communist Party to stay off the links in an effort to conserve water and land.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency said Sunday the courses were closed for improperly using groundwater, arable land or land in nature reserves. It said authorities have imposed restrictions on 65 more courses.
China banned the development of new golf courses in 2004, when it had fewer than 200. The ban was meant to conserve farmland and water supplies. But the number in operation has more than tripled since.
Developers build courses under the guise of parks or other projects, often with approval of local officials. The party has fired local leaders for accepting free rounds.
NBA
SALT LAKE CITY - The ownership of the Utah Jazz has been transferred from Gail Miller to a legacy trust in a move that ensures the team and Vivint SmartHome Arena remain in the family for generations.
Miller and her late husband Larry purchased 50 percent of the franchise in 1985 amid concerns the team would move. They bought the remaining 50 percent a year later. Miller said Monday that the primary reason for the transfer is to make sure the team stays in the state.
This is believed to be the first legacy trust for a professional franchise in any of the four major U.S. leagues.
NFL
NEW YORK - The NFL and Special Olympics are teaming up to allow athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to compete together in flag football games.
The league will kick off the partnership by hosting a unified flag football exhibition game Wednesday in Orlando during Pro Bowl week.
NFL Foundation grants will fund Special Olympics Unified Sports, which allows people with and without intellectual disabilities to be on the same team.
Funding will support Special Olympics programs in Northern California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Virginia.
Tennis
MELBOURNE, Australia - Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick have been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Clijsters, a Belgian, won four Grand Slam singles titles — the U.S. Open in 2005, 2009 and 2010, and the Australian Open in 2011 — along with two major doubles titles.
Roddick was ranked No. 1 for 13 weeks before Roger Federer gained the top ranking in February 2004.
Also in the Class of 2017: wheelchair tennis player Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch, tennis historian and journalist Steve Flink, and the late instructor Vic Braden.
MELBOURNE, Australia - Venus Williams has become the oldest woman to reach the Australian Open semifinals in the Open era, returning to the last four at Melbourne Park for the first time in 14 years.
The 36-year-old Williams beat No. 24-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday, winning the last six points in the tiebreaker to seal her 50th career win at Melbourne Park.
Williams hadn’t reached the semifinals in Australia since 2003, the year she lost the final to her sister, Serena.
Associated Press