On the sidelines

Former Soccer star featured on Web site\nFormer Hoosier star soccer player Pat Noonan is currently featured on Major League Soccer's Web site, www.mlsnet.com. The three-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and national champion is participating in the three-day 2003 Adidas MLS Player Combine. \nIn an interview with mlsnet.com, Noonan said he was excited and looking forward to the rise in talent the MLS brings. He said he credits Hoosier coach Jerry Yeagley with helping him in his decision to stay at IU and then to move on the MLS. The combine concludes today.\nSabres file for bankruptcy\nBUFFALO, New York -- The Buffalo Sabres filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, becoming the second NHL team in a week to seek relief from creditors.\nCommissioner Gary Bettman said the Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Buffalo is a step toward resolving the financial problems that put the Sabres under the league's control in June. The team is for sale.\n"It will enable the Sabres to secure financing that will allow them to continue to operate in the ordinary course, subject to league supervision, while the sale process is completed," said Bettman, who planned a news conference Monday afternoon.\nCourt papers indicate the team owes its 40 largest creditors more than $206 million. Creditors include the City of Buffalo, which lists a $750,000 claim for ground rent, and current Sabres players Curtis Brown ($133,000), Jay McKee ($133,000) and Brian Campbell ($25,000), owed deferred signing bonuses. The NHL's Pension Society lists a $29,937 claim.\nOther creditors include the Vancouver Canucks, who list a $442,000 claim for an unspecified contract, and former Sabres player Brad May (now of the Phoenix Coyotes), who's owed $104,000 in deferred compensation.\nThe Ottawa Senators filed for bankruptcy protection last Thursday with a debt load of more than $160 million.\nFormer major leaguers to become owners\nEVANSVILLE -- Don Mattingly and Cal Ripken Jr. will buy minority shares and become active partners in a Class A baseball team that is expected to move from Albany, Ga., to Evansville next year, the team owner said.\n"They'll work with me in tandem. They'll be involved in the whole operation," said David Heller, who plans to bring the South Georgia Waves, a South Atlantic League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to Mattingly's home town and play in a proposed 6,000-seat downtown stadium.