Sports briefly: Four Lynx among Olympic finalists

Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are in line to try for a fourth straight Olympic gold medal.

The trio, along with Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen, headlined the 25 finalists for the U.S. women's basketball Olympic team that were announced Monday.

They have helped the Americans win gold at the past three Olympics and hope to be on the team in Rio this summer. The U.S. has won an unprecedented five straight gold medals in the Olympics.

Other former Olympians among the finalists include Candace Parker, Tina Charles and Angel McCoughtry.

"I think the committee has a tough decision ahead of it," U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. "When I look at this list of athletes, we could split them down the middle and have two very competitive teams.

The U.S. will conduct a training camp from Feb. 21-23 at UConn, which will serve as a final opportunity for the players to impress the selection committee before the team is expected to be announced this spring.

Other WNBA stars among the finalists include league MVP Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins. UConn senior Breanna Stewart is also one of the 25 players.

FSU will pay Kinsman $250,000, according to a release from the university. The school will pay her attorneys an additional $700,000.

"Although we regret we will never be able to tell our full story in court, it is apparent that a trial many months from now would have left FSU fighting over the past rather than looking toward its very bright future," FSU President John Thrasher said.

Kinsman still is engaged in a lawsuit against Winston, suing him for sexual battery. Winston is countersuing Kinsman for defamation.

Baseball's strike zone could be getting a slight lift. Major League Baseball is studying whether to raise the bottom of the strike zone from the hollow beneath the kneecap back to the top of the kneecap. "I'm not in a position to predict whether it's going to happen or not," Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "I think that the interest in the topic is really driven by the fact that if you look over time there has been a movement down of the strike zone, largely as a result of the way we evaluate the strike zone with umpires."

... Mike Piazza's No. 31 will be retired by the Mets this summer. Piazza joins Tom Seaver (No. 41) as the only Mets to have their number retired.

Olympics: Organizers of the Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Olympics have chosen the UCLA campus as the prospective site for the athletes' village.

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