PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Bears’ Butler Is Sentenced for DUI

Kevin Butler, kicker for the Chicago Bears, was fined $1,000 and sentenced to 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty in Waukegan, Ill., to speeding and drunken driving.

Butler also was ordered by Barbara Gilleran-Johnson, Lake County Circuit judge, to take a 22-hour drivers’ education and counseling course.

Butler, who lives in suburban Hawthorne Woods, was arrested Aug. 6 in nearby Lincolnshire, one day before ending a contract holdout with the Bears. The team didn’t find out about the traffic charges until a few days later.

Under new NFL rules, the kicker could be suspended up to four games for his drunk driving conviction.

Butler, 29, will serve the community service sentence by speaking at high schools in the Chicago area about the dangers of drinking alcohol and driving, said his attorney, Anthony Savros.

The Miami Dolphins, 26th in the NFL in rushing defense, won’t have to face Thurman Thomas, Eric Dickerson or Barry Sanders this week. They won’t even have to face Darrell Thompson.

The Green Bay Packers’ leading rusher with only 69 yards in three weeks, Thompson will sit out Sunday’s game in Miami because of a bruised knee. He will be replaced by off-season Plan B acquisition Allen Rice.

The Dolphins (1-2) are giving up an average of 150 rushing yards. Last season, they were 16th (114).

“That’s a little misleading because of who we’ve faced,” inside linebacker Mike Reichenbach said of the figure for this season.

Defending against Rice will be a pleasant change for Miami, which in its first three games faced the Buffalo Bills’ Thomas (165 yards), the Indianapolis Colts’ Dickerson (60) and the Detroit Lions’ Sanders (143).

Bryan Millard, offensive right guard for the Seattle Seahawks, sat out Friday’s practice and is questionable for Sunday’s game at Kansas City because of a bruised calf.

Millard, who has not missed an offensive snap in 42 consecutive regular-season games, was kicked in the leg by John L. Williams on a running play during Thursday’s practice. Millard was carried off the field.

Terry Taylor, defensive back for the Detroit Lions, was reinstated by the NFL almost one year to the day after he was banned for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. The reinstatement is effective Monday.