Milwaukee — Michael Phelps doesn’t seem to be in much hot water with his sponsors despite his public apology after being photographed inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

From apparel company Speedo to luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega, several sponsors are standing by the 23-year-old swimming phenom — at least for now. Other big companies, like Visa Inc., Subway, and Kellogg Co., aren’t talking yet.

Experts say if Phelps doesn’t stick to the straight and narrow, he could hurt his chances at future endorsements. And there’s no guarantee he won’t be dropped quietly once the furor dies down.

Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at this summer’s Olympics in Beijing, acknowledged “regrettable” behavior and “bad judgment” after the photo appeared Sunday in the British tabloid News of the World.

The paper said the picture was taken during a November house party while Phelps was visiting the University of South Carolina.

NFL

Rams hire Croom

St. Louis — Sylvester Croom, who resigned under pressure as head coach at Mississippi State in November, is returning to the NFL as an assistant coach for the new-look St. Louis Rams.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo announced the hiring on Monday, along with four others — Tom McMahon as special teams coordinator, Rock Gullickson as strength and conditioning coach, Brendan Daly as defensive line coach, and Matt House for defensive quality control.

Panthers owner recovering

Charlotte, N.C. — Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was recovering Monday after a heart transplant.

The team issued a statement that said the 72-year-old Richardson underwent the overnight five-hour procedure at Carolinas Medical Center. He had been on a heart transplant list since December.

Titans co-owner dies

Nancy Neville Adams, who co-owned the Tennessee Titans with her husband Bud Adams, died Sunday night. She was 84.

Born in Hattiesburg, Miss., she attended Kansas University where she met her husband in 1942.

He was studying engineering and playing halfback on the KU football team, but with World War II under way he never graduated, leaving school to join the Navy.

After his discharge in 1946, Adams started ADA Oil Company in Houston. The two were married the same year.

Mrs. Adams is also survived by daughters Susie Smith and Amy Strunk and seven grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were pending Monday.

Baseball

Sources: Perez, Mets agree

New York — Oliver Perez and the New York Mets reached a preliminary agreement Monday on a $36 million, three-year contract.

The deal is subject to the pitcher passing a physical, two people familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement wasn’t final. The physical is scheduled for today.

New York had offered Derek Lowe — another client of agent Scott Boras — a $36 million, three-year contract, but Lowe accepted a $60 million, four-year offer from Atlanta. In addition to Lowe, the Mets also held talks with agents for Tim Redding and Randy Wolf, and agreed with Redding on a $2.25 million, one-year deal.

Braves, Kotchman agree

Atlanta — Casey Kotchman and the Atlanta Braves avoided salary arbitration, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $2,885,000.

Rockies, Fogg agree

Denver — The Colorado Rockies agreed to a minor-league contract with veteran right-handed pitcher Josh Fogg on Monday.

Selig got $3 million raise

New York — Baseball commissioner Bud Selig made more than all but three of his sport’s players in 2007.

Selig received a raise of about $3 million to nearly $17.5 million that year, according to Major League Baseball’s latest tax return.

Cubs make two deals

Chicago — The Cubs traded one-time playoff starter Rich Hill to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named Monday. They also made a deal with Oakland, sending reliever Michael Wuertz to the Athletics for a pair of minor-leaguers.

The lefty Hill was 1-0 with a 4.12 ERA in five starts with the Cubs last season. He was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on May 3 and struggled after his demotion. He went a combined 4-7 with a 5.85 ERA in 13 appearances at Iowa, Class A Daytona and rookie-level Mesa.

Golf

Mediate withdraws

San Diego — Already missing Tiger Woods as he recovers from knee surgery, Torrey Pines lost the other half of its U.S. Open memory when Rocco Mediate withdrew Monday from the Buick Invitational.

The Buick Invitational starts Thursday at Torrey Pines, the public course that staged a riveting U.S. Open last June when Woods birdied the final hole to force a playoff against Mediate, then rallied the next day to beat him in 19 holes.

College football

Colorado raises prices

Boulder, Colo. — University of Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said Monday that the Buffaloes’ athletic department is expected to make money during the fiscal year ending June 30, so no cuts or layoffs are planned.

Still, the athletic department decided to raise prices on football season tickets by $8 a game for about a-third of the seats at Folsom Field next season.

Prices will jump from $50 per game to $58 for about 18,000 of the best seats at the 54,750-seat stadium.

Ohio St. OL arrested

Aliso Viejo, Calif. — Ohio State offensive lineman Alex Boone was arrested after being subdued with a Taser during an alleged drunken tirade, authorities said Monday.

Boone, 21, was taken into custody late Sunday for investigation of resisting arrest after Orange County sheriff’s deputies responded to a disturbance call outside of a home.

When they arrived, the 6-foot-8, 312-pound tackle had been jumping on car hoods, yanking on a tow truck cable and trying to break a window, said sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino.

KU’s Holt plays in challenge

El Paso, Texas — Kansas University senior linebacker James Holt participated in Saturday’s Western Refining Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Challenge. Holt, who competed for the Texas team, earned a start and recorded three tackles.

The Nation defeated the Texas team, 27-24, in El Paso, Texas. Holt had one solo and two assisted tackles in game. He shared in a tackle for loss. His three tackles tied for sixth on his team.

“I started and played a pretty good portion of the game,” Holt said. “I was able to make a tackle for a loss and hopefully did a few things that will keep the scouts’ eyes on me. Overall, I felt like I had a pretty good performance.”

Kellogg Jr. chooses NU

Ron Kellogg Jr., son of former Kansas basketball standout Ron Kellogg, has opted for walk-on status on Nebraska University’s football team.

Young Kellogg, a quarterback at Omaha, Neb., Westside High, picked the Huskers over scholarship offers from North Dakota and Northwest Missouri State.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Kellogg won MVP honors at the Nebraska quarterback camp last summer.

The elder Kellogg, a 6-5 guard, was the Jayhawks’ leading scorer with a 17.6 average as a junior and played on KU’s 1986 Final Four team. He ranks 17th on the school’s career scoring list with 1,508 points.

FSU WR dismissed

Tallahassee, Fla. — Preston Parker’s troubled football career at Florida State is over after his second arrest in less than a year.

Coach Bobby Bowden announced the junior receiver was dismissed from the team Monday in a one-sentence statement released by the school.

The 21-year-old Parker, from Delray Beach, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after Tallahassee police found him asleep in his running car early Saturday.

NBA

Bynum out with knee injury

New York — Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum will be sidelined approximately eight to 12 weeks because of a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee, the team announced Monday afternoon.