PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AFC : Modell Gains Easy Approval of Free Rent

Art Modell got his deal Wednesday when the Board of Public Works in Annapolis, Md., unanimously approved a 30-year, rent-free lease to a $200 million stadium the state will build next to Camden Yards in Baltimore. Now the Cleveland Browns owner needs league approval.

Cleveland has filed a lawsuit and asked the NFL to withhold its approval.

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Denver Bronco wide receiver Mike Pritchard was given a 25-day suspended jail sentence, 18 months probation and 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty in Boulder, Colo., to two misdemeanor charges in an Oct. 29 traffic accident that injured two women. . . . The Miami Dolphins switched safeties, replacing Gene Atkins with Louis Oliver. . . . Rookie Eric Zeier will remain Cleveland’s starting quarterback Sunday against Green Bay, even though the Browns have gone 1-2 since Vinny Testaverde was benched. . . . A proposal to build a new $205 million open-air stadium for the Chicago Bears about 30 minutes from downtown Chicago in Gary, Ind., is not an attempt to steal the team, said Gary Neale, founder of Northwest Indiana Chicagoland Entertainment Inc. “We are just as much a part of Chicagoland as any other location,” he said.