Mirer Is Demoted to No. 3

Nine days ago, Chicago Bear Coach Dave Wannstedt said his plan was for Rick Mirer to be the starting quarterback the rest of the season.

On Sunday, he benched him at halftime during a loss to New Orleans. On Monday, Mirer lost his starting job to Erik Kramer. And on Wednesday, Mirer was demoted to No. 3 behind Steve Stenstrom, who has thrown four passes in his NFL career.

“Yeah, I’m upset,” Mirer said. “I want to throw chairs through windows, but that’s not going to solve anything. I need to play better.”

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Danny Kanell is getting more than just a chance to fill in for the injured Dave Brown as the New York Giants’ starting quarterback against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. If Kanell plays well while Brown sits at least two games because of a torn chest muscle, the starting job is probably going to be his on a permanent basis, Coach Jim Fassell indicated. . . . Tom Power, 64, director of administration for the New York Giants the past 25 years, died after a year-long battle with cancer.

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Several months of frustration on and off the field reached a breaking point Wednesday for beleaguered Carolina Panther quarterback Kerry Collins, who decided it was time to do some venting.

“Well, let’s evaluate the situation here,” Collins said, pausing to take a deep breath and exhale. “In the past couple months I’ve been called a drunk, a racist, I’ve been benched, booed. Other than that, I’m doing fine.”

Collins was benched last week, the result of a series of events that began in training camp.

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Brent Jones suffered a hairline fracture in his right leg--not a bone bruise as orginally believed--and the San Francisco 49er tight end was questionable for Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams.