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Chandler Gets Starting Call in Chicago

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From Staff and Wire Reports

Chris Chandler will start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears on Sunday, replacing an ailing Jim Miller.

Miller has tendinitis in his throwing shoulder and elbow and hasn’t practiced since Monday. Although Bear Coach Dick Jauron originally said Miller’s status could be a game-time decision, he made the switch Friday after Miller missed practice again.

It will be Chandler’s first appearance in a regular-season game since Dec. 30, when he played for the Atlanta Falcons. It will be his first game against Detroit since 1998, the year he led the Falcons to the Super Bowl.

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“It feels like 10 years since I’ve played,” Chandler said after Friday’s practice. “I’ve been trying to do whatever I can to try and feel comfortable in the offense over the past few weeks, to keep learning it, be ready in case something were to happen.”

Miller was upgraded from questionable to probable, so he’ll likely serve as Chandler’s backup ahead of third-stringer Henry Burris.

Chandler spent the last five seasons in Atlanta before signing a three-year, $4.5 million deal with the Bears last spring.

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Bear defensive end Bryan Robinson was arrested for drunken driving and released on his own recognizance early Friday.

Robinson practiced Friday morning, but it wasn’t immediately certain if his arrest would keep him out of the starting lineup for Sunday’s game at Detroit.

“We are aware of Robinson’s arrest this morning and are currently gathering information related to the incident,” Bear General Manager Jerry Angelo said in a statement. “After we have finished this process, we will further address the situation.”

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Los Angeles is suing the NFL’s merchandising arm to recover more than $200,000 in unpaid city taxes, court documents showed.

The city filed suit on Tuesday, alleging NFL Properties, which is headquartered in New York but has an office in Los Angeles, has not paid taxes called for under municipal code.

The lawsuit alleges NFL Properties has not paid city taxes since 1994, and that a tax assessment for $216,914.83 was sent to its New York office in April 2001. No one at the New York offices of NFL Properties could be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

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The San Diego Chargers will make a game-time decision Sunday on whether linebacker Junior Seau will play against the Oakland Raiders. Seau, who has been bothered by a sprained ankle since the third game of the season, is listed as questionable, as is defensive end Marcellus Wiley.... Buffalo Bill reserve running back Shawn Bryson will miss the rest of the season because of torn ligaments in his left knee and starting cornerback Antoine Winfield won’t play in Sunday’s game against Miami. Winfield had arthroscopic knee surgery Friday and it was not known how many games he would miss.... Cleveland cornerback Daylon McCutcheon will not start against the Houston because of a bruised elbow he suffered last Sunday against Tampa Bay.

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