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Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 15, 2001
Kicker charged with DUI
PUNTA GORDA -- Chicago Bears kicker Paul Edinger was charged Saturday with drunken driving after his car crashed into mail boxes in a residential community.
Edinger was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after police found his vehicle in Punta Gorda Isles, a residential neighborhood, WFTX-Fox 4 in Fort Myers reported.
He was taken to Charlotte County Regional Medical Center and treated for minor injuries, then was taken to the county jail, the television station reported.
A spokeswoman with the Punta Gorda Police Department confirmed Edinger's arrest and said a report would be filed late Saturday. Bond information was not immediately available.
Edinger, 23, kicked a career-best 54-year field goal in the season finale against the Detroit Lions to knock Detroit out of the playoffs. He led the Bears in scoring with 84 points, finishing his rookie season making 21 of 26 field goals and all 21 extra points.
Edinger, a Lakeland native, was a sixth-round draft pick in 2000 after earning second-team all-Big Ten honors during his senior year at Michigan State. His 39-yard field goal as time expired beat the Gators in the 2000 Citrus Bowl.
Talks to extend the collective bargaining agreement could be wrapped up sooner than later. Gene Upshaw and other union officials are scheduled to meet with NFL officials in New York on Monday. The league and players are close to extending the agreement to 2006.
It is believed that only 12 to 16 minor differences, down from four or five times as many a few months ago, remain to be worked out.