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The Arena Football League is on the brink of folding and declaring bankruptcy, an inglorious end for the 22-year-old indoor league that has suffered through a year of turmoil.

James Guidry, the regional director of the AFL players association, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it "seems to be inevitable at this point" that the AFL will soon announce that it has ceased operations. Guidry, speaking by telephone, said the players association will accept the owners' decision.

"We're waiting to see if this decision has been finalized by the AFL," Guidry said.

The AFL suspended play for the 2009 season, but some owners expressed hope that the league would return in some form in 2010. David Baker abruptly resigned as league commissioner two days before the 2008 ArenaBowl championship game. Owners did not look for a replacement.

MISCELLANY

ISNER BOUNCED IN D.C.: Greensboro's John Isner and Californian partner Sam Querrey lost in their first-round Legg Mason Tennis Classic doubles match Tuesday against Fernando Gonzalez of Chile and Tommy Robredo of Spain, 3-6, 7-6, 10-6 in Washington, D.C.

Isner will continue singles play today, when he'll face third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round.

U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR: Danielle Kang, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., rolled in a 30-foot par putt at the 18th hole to earn stroke-play medalist honors Tuesday by one shot at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. Sixty-four golfers will begin match play on Wednesday morning, leading up to the 36-hole final on Sunday.

BUICK PGA SPONSORSHIP ENDS: Buick ended more than 50 years of PGA Tour sponsorship Tuesday when it announced that it no longer will sponsor golf tournaments in Michigan and California because of the court-ordered restructuring of parent General Motors. The Buick Open will be replaced on the schedule next year by a new tournament at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, according to two officials with knowledge of the deal.

Buick was the oldest, continuous corporate sponsor on the PGA Tour and once had its name on four tournaments.

The PGA Tour now has lost four title sponsors this year -- Buick's two events, U.S. Bank in Milwaukee and Stanford Financial in Memphis, which was played in June without a sponsor.