HOT CORNER

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. One exception: No products will be endorsed.

*

What: “Beyond the Glory: Walter Payton.”

Where: Fox Sports Net, Sunday, 8 p.m.

The story of Walter Payton’s life, as well as the story of his death, is packed with emotion.

Payton retired in 1987 after a 13-year career with the Chicago Bears in which he became the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, and his No. 34 was retired by the Bears.

When Payton was 44, his family began to notice physical changes in him. He was diagnosed with a rare disease of the liver. He planned to get a transplant, but his situation worsened and doctors discovered he also had liver cancer.

Payton died Nov. 1, 1999, at 45.

Interviewed for this documentary were Payton’s son, Jarrett; daughter, Brittney; wife, Connie; brother Eddie; mother, Alyne; plus his coach with the Bears, Mike Ditka, and a number of his Bear teammates.

Says Brittney Payton: “The amount of letters that came in and the amount of cards ... it was nice to go back and read them and laugh at some of them and cry at some of them.”

Says Ditka: “I only remember the person.... There will never be a star like No. 34.”

-- Larry Stewart