Even if a South Carolina sheriff is successful in building a marijuana case against swimming superstar Michael Phelps, it might be hard to make the charges stick, defense attorneys say.

The case in Columbia, S.C., took a turn yesterday when lawyers for two people said their clients were among eight arrested last week and questioned at length about the November party near the University of South Carolina where Phelps was photographed smoking from a marijuana pipe. At the time, the men were renters at the house.

The effort to prosecute Phelps on what would be at most a minor drug charge seem extreme compared to similar cases, lawyers said, and have led some to question whether the sheriff is being overzealous because he's dealing with a celebrity.

"The efforts that are being made here are unlike anything I've ever seen before," said Jack Swerling, a defense attorney in South Carolina. "I know Leon Lott, I know him to be an honorable guy. I've known him for 30 something years. But the efforts here are extraordinary on simple possession cases."

After the photo was Phelps was published Feb. 1, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said his office would investigate and possibly charge Phelps, though officials have not specified what the offense might be. Since then, authorities have released little information, and the sheriff's department refused to talk again yesterday.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

SOONER PITCHER ON TEAM

Oklahoma State pitcher Andrew Oliver was reinstated to the team yesterday when an Ohio judge tossed out an NCAA rule that prevents college baseball players from hiring advisers who are in direct contact with big league clubs.

Oliver filed a lawsuit after he was ruled ineligible. The NCAA suspended him last spring because it said advisers he had hired listened in on contract negotiations after he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in June 2006.

Baseball players — unlike those in football and basketball — can be drafted before they've entered college, forcing many to retain advisers who can help them with negotiations. NCAA rules prevent those advisers from having direct contact with big league clubs.

Erie County Common Pleas Judge Tygh Tone ruled that the NCAA shouldn't restrict a player's right to have legal help when negotiating a big league contract.

GOLF

TWO TIED ATOP AT&T

Sunshine and tranquil conditions turned the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am into paradise for big hitters Robert Garrigus and Dustin Johnson.

Garrigus reached the uphill, 529-yard seventh hole at Spyglass Hill with a 5-iron and holed a 50-foot eagle putt, then closed out his first round with consecutive birdies for a 7-under 65. Johnson shot 65 at Pebble Beach to share a one-stroke lead after the first round.

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson, a Castle high alum, opened with a 4-under 68 at Pebble Beach, while Punahou alum Parker McLachlin struggled to a 76 at Spyglass.

TENNIS

NO. 1 NADAL RALLIES

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was pushed hard by 17-year-old junior champion Grigor Dimitrov before pulling out a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory yesterday to advance to the quarterfinals of the ABN Amro at Rottendam, Netherlands.

Dimitrov, the 478th-ranked wild card from Bulgaria, was last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior champ.

Nadal will next play seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 (6), 6-2. Also advancing to the quarterfinals were second-seeded Andy Murray and fifth-seeded Gael Monfils. Murray beat Andreas Seppi of Italy, 7-6 (4) 7-5, and while Monfils ousted defending champion Michael Llodra, 6-4, 6-4.

NO. 1 WILLIAMS SWEEPS

Top-ranked Serena Williams showed no signs of the illness that kept her bedridden last week as she ousted Karolina Sprem, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the Open GDF Suez quarterfinals yesterday in Paris.

Williams, after winning the Australian Open, didn't practice until Monday. Next up in the indoor tournament will be French qualifier Emilie Loit.

Joining Williams in the quarterfinals were second-seeded Jelena Jankovic, third-seeded Elena Dementieva, fifth-seeded Alize Cornet, wild card Nathalie Dechy, and Amelie Mauresmo, who has the most wins in the tournament's history.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 U.S. figure skating champion, withdrew yesterday from the World Junior Figure Skating Championships because of an ankle injury. Katrina Hacker will replace her at the event, which runs Feb. 23 to March 1 in Sofia, Bulgaria. ... A Mississippi grand jury in Lucedale, Miss., has ruled that the shooting death of a George County High School running back Billey Joe Johnson during a Dec. 8 traffic stop was accidental. ... Former No. 1-ranked Karrie Webb shot a 7-under 66 for a three-stroke in the Women's Australian Open yesterday in Melbourne, Australia, while 12-year-old Oh Su-hyun became the youngest player ever to participate in the tournament, shooting a 79. ... South Korean teen star Noh Seung-yul, 17, fired a 10-under 62 yesterday to take a one-stroke lead in the Malaysian Open at the Saujana Golf and Country Club's Palm Course in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.