A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: NFL Insider

Price: $3.99

Check any newsstand and you’ll find one, an Insider--information no one else has, except for the hundreds of publications around the country that utilize the tag.

Well, there’s finally a real one. NFL Insider is indeed an inside job, a magazine produced by the National Football League. The preview issue hits the street Sept. 1 and, since its source is itself, the league did a fine job digging for stories, photographs and information.

Here’s how you’ll feel the power of inside info . . .

The feature writing is superb and includes a full game plan: Star Power--Terrell Davis; Topical--How the Cleveland Browns were built; Medical--Atlanta Coach Dan Reeves and his recovery from open-heart surgery; Trends--The best receivers in the now pass-happy NFL; Emotional--Chris Spielman on taking a year off to stay with his cancer-stricken wife; Memory Lane--John Elway and other past stars; Xs and O’s--How Bill Walsh’s scripted play calling has changed the game.

This sucker is playbook thick. Statistics, reviews, charts, graphics . . . the pages overflow with information. The publication is well-displayed and organized. As has become the trend in copy-cat journalism, included in the 176 pages is a lead-off photo spread. There is also a spread of visual memories of the 20th century among the many fine photographs and photo illustrations.

The trouble with these type of publications is very early publishing deadlines, which leads to team scouting reports with “up-to-date” information such as players already gone, incorrect lineups, the Berlin Wall coming down, the Beatles breaking up and the Titanic sinking. NFL Insider avoided that problem by being vague, which works fine if a fan wants to glance at how other teams size up early. But when checking my favorite club (no, not telling) and seeing a report that only included “Keys to Success, Reasons to Worry, Intangibles, 1998 Stats Leaders, the Schedule and a Quote,” I let out a Boooooooooooooooooooooo!

Special versions of the magazine will be sold at games as part of the game program. The second edition will serve as the Super Bowl program. Next year, it will publish eight times and will include draft and minicamp editions.

Except for the scouting reports (Can’t the NFL change the deadline rules? It keeps changing its rules to ruin defenses), the magazine is off to a good start.