NEW YORK (AP) -- Although the Chicago Cubs aren't part of Tribune Co.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, experts say a federal court overseeing the case is likely to review the baseball team's impending sale anyhow.

It's not yet clear whether such a review would be a mere formality, or whether it could derail or delay a sale. Bankruptcy lawyers said Friday it ultimately could rest on whether creditors and the court believe Tribune could have gotten more than $900 million -- what the billionaire Ricketts family has agreed to pay for the Cubs and related properties.

Only one thing seems certain: The sale alone won't immediately lift Tribune out of bankruptcy protection, even though $900 million would be plenty for a $593 million principal payment Tribune has due this coming June.

"The train has already left the station," said Ira L. Herman, a bankruptcy lawyer at Thompson & Knight LLP in New York. "There has been a robust sales process, and the assets have been fully exposed to the marketplace."

John Penn, a bankruptcy lawyer at Haynes and Boone LLP in Fort Worth, Texas, said creditors who object risk losing a share of the proceeds, if the sale ends up falling through.

"What you don't want to do from a creditor's standpoint is jeopardize a good sale by reaching for a great sale," he said.