HOT CORNER

A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, heard, observed, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here. One exception: No products will be endorsed.

*

What: “Backyard Brawl”

Author: W.K. Stratton

Publisher: Crown Publishers

Price: $24.95

It took the Texas A&M; University football team nine years to score against the University of Texas. The Aggies eventually earned their first victory over the Longhorns by scoring 12 points in a 1902 shutout.

Played the day after Thanksgiving each year, the battle between Texas and Texas A&M; has become much more competitive--on and off the field. W.K. Stratton, a fan and historian of the rivalry, documents its entire history in “Backyard Brawl: Inside the Blood Feud Between Texas and Texas A&M.;”

Stratton, a Texan who writes for Oklahoma Today and the Dallas Morning News, found that, different from other popular college football rivalries, many of which stretch across state lines, fans of the burnt orange and maroon are “bitter rivals that can barely stomach each other.”

Tire slashings, fights and near riots after games are just a few manifestations of fan aggression recounted in this 288-page hard-cover book.

The rivalry, which ranks third in games played among major college football programs, also has been built on positive foundations, such as the many traditions of the schools, Stratton says. The Aggie “Midnight Yell” stems from Texas A&M;’s military background and takes place at midnight before each year’s big game.

And there’s the now-infamous Aggie “Bonfire,” which, in 1999, proved deadly when a mountain of lumber and flames collapsed on students, killing 12.

Stratton, who grew up an Aggie fan in Oklahoma after watching a documentary on the school, also includes many of his personal experiences at the Texas-Texas A&M; games. Details: www.randomhouse.com.