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HOT CORNER

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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: Super Bowl XXXVI Official Championship DVD and video

Producer: NFL Films

Distributor: USA Home Entertainment

Price: $19.95 (DVD), $14.95 (video)

The New England Patriots had an amazing season on their way to the Super Bowl championship and you don’t have to be a Patriot fan to take the ride again.

NFL Films tells the story of the Patriots’ season and Super Bowl victory in 65 minutes. The DVD contains 30 minutes of bonus footage.

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The season got off to a tragic start when quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein, 45, died of heart failure during training camp. When the regular season started, the Patriots lost to Cincinnati, 23-17, on Sept. 9. After the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 and the one-week postponement of games, the Patriots lost to the New York Jets, 10-3. They also lost starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who sheared a blood vessel in his chest when he was hit by linebacker Mo Lewis.

After a victory over Indianapolis with untested Tom Brady at quarterback, the Patriots fell to 1-3 by losing to Miami, 30-10. Who could have guessed then that the Patriots would beat the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.

It’s an unlikely story, one that NFL Films tells with clarity and artistry.

The bonus footage in the DVD includes an emotional NFL salute to America, the Super Bowl halftime show featuring U2, a segment on the 1976 Patriots and features on receiver-kicker Gino Cappelletti and quarterback Steve Grogan.

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