Get ready to add an ap on your mobile device and bookmark another sports site on your computer.

120 Sports makes it official debut tonight at 6 p.m. ET Eastern. Here’s the link to the site and a sample of what to expect.

The details from Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune:

Chicago-based 120 Sports is set to go live Wednesday with a steady stream of video highlights, pumped-up hosts, flashy graphics and score updates, making it a lot like other national sports cable networks — except for the cable.

The all-digital 24/7 network aims to be an online reinvention of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” for multitaskers with mobile devices and short attention spans.

Equity partners Time Inc. and Silver Chalice, a digital media company led by Bulls and White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, have teamed with MLB.com and the NHL and NBA to deliver video-driven sports reports with social interaction and related factoids in two-minute segments, hence the name, 120 Sports.

“We want to create a daily habit, where you’ll check us multiple times a day and have as long a viewing session as possible,” said Jason Coyle, 43, president of 120 Sports.

The network will stream live from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 3 to 11 p.m. Sunday. A morning show is also in the works, according to executives. During downtimes, 120 Sports will offer video on demand, giving fans a chance to catch up on the big stories of the day.

No cable subscription is required, and a free app unlocks the full service on tablets and smartphones.

Matt Brown of Sports on Earth had this assessment.

While hardly a direct comparison, think of it as sort of an NFL RedZone for sports conversation, quickly bouncing between topics in 120-second intervals — while also allowing users to watch in whatever order they please — and cutting in with highlights of important happenings around the sports world, along with focus on fantasy sports updates. Instead of being scripted, it’s user-driven and reactive to what sports fans are talking about in real time.

And this:

The best way to distinguish itself should be through all the rights it owns — the lack of NFL rights on Sundays in the fall is a notable omission — because on-air talent alone won’t be enough to attract viewers and keep them. The basic flow of a night at 120 Sports will go from pregame coverage to in-game talk to recaps of storylines (although all sports will be discussed year-round) and on Monday we got a look only at the first part, at 6 p.m., which may have the hardest time capturing an engaged audience. In our brief look, we saw Kim, Doyle and McFadden — all dressed casually, by design — standing around in-studio for a two-minute debate about which Washington, D.C.-area venue should host the NHL’s Winter Classic. 120 Sports likely won’t be attracting viewers through a former football and basketball player broadly talking about hockey — a problem that Fox Sports Live has had with, say, panel discussions featuring Andy Roddick chiming in on the NFL. But when live highlights are mixed in with discussion of current events, it should be easier to build an engaged audience.

Indeed, not having access to NFL highlights will be a major obstacle in the fall. Nothing moves the needle like pro football. 120 Sports will have to figure out a solution in that department.

Here’s another issue. Writes Sandra Gay of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Commercial breaks last 60 seconds, and no topic is discussed for more than two minutes at a time. Topics change on the fly as breaking news dictates.

What? There are going to be 60-second breaks for commercials? If I only have two minutes get my sports highlights, I’m not spending 60 seconds, or even 30 seconds, watching a commercial.

Also, what’s to stop ESPN or Fox Sports from creating a similar format to compete with 120 Sports? Each outlet has higher brand recognition and has the NFL under its umbrella.

Obviously, there are kinks to be ironed out. However, there also are a lot of smart people behind this, not to mention a ton of money. At the end of the day, it’s all about changing people’s viewing habits.

From the Sun-Times:

Will it work?

Chicago-based sports media expert Lissa Druss Christman said Tuesday that the network’s leadership is strong, but its challenges will be to compete with established sports venues, feature likeable on-air personalities who show real chemistry and attract an older audience accustomed to tuning in to shows at specific times of the day.

“Some people still like watching on the big screen and the liveliness that goes with it,” Christman said. “Will people have to remind themselves to watch it?”

“Time will tell if the audience is there and if it features the kind of substance that sports fans really want,” she said.

Saw this at JimRomenesko.com.

The Associated Press won’t be writing the traditional baseball gamers anymore. Romenesko quotes from an AP memo:

Next month, we will launch a new game story format that presents that content in a shorter, more engaging and faster way for print, digital and mobile customers.

THE FORMAT
The basics won’t change: We will continue to publish a NewsNow at game’s end, a 300-word writethru shortly after, followed by a 600-word writethru and a hometown lead.

What will change is how those stories look. The top of the story will continue to look like a traditional AP game story. After 300 words, the text will break into a chunky-text presentation featuring up to five bullet points that explain team story lines, key plays, injuries and a lookahead to what’s next for a team or player.

THE BENEFITS
EASY TO READ: The format allows consumers to more easily see interesting content, and it can be read faster across platforms.

SPEED: The format is naturally shorter than a traditional game story and can be published more quickly, resulting in a faster turnaround time from AP to newsrooms.

FLEXIBILITY: Customers have the option of using the 300-word traditional game story, or breaking off the bullet point items for briefs on websites, mobile or in print.

After the 300 wrap-up, writers will start shooting bullets. Here’s an example:

TIPPING PITCHES?
One night after Cleveland’s struggling right-hander Danny Salazar said he might be tipping his pitches, Indians manager Terry Francona said the 24-year-old Salazar is just leaving too many over the plate. Francona was surprised Salazar would say he was giving hitters clues.

“He’s not,” Francona said. “There were some instances last year in spring training that we kind of addressed with him. But, no, we really keep an eye on that.”

SLUMPS
Royals: Perez snapped an 0-for-22 slump with a drive over the center field wall off Masterson in the second inning for his first homer. The Royals catcher with a .295 average in three-plus seasons entered batting just .211 in 71 at-bats.
Indians: Third baseman-designated hitter Carlos Santana is in a 2-for-46 (.043) slide.

SLOPPY PLAY
The Indians came in tied for the AL lead with 20 errors. Kipnis, the second baseman, made his third of the year Wednesday.

UP NEXT
Royals: The six-game road trip continues in Baltimore with hard-throwing rookie Yordano Ventura (1-2) facing Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (0-3)
Indians: Cleveland heads west for its first interleague series. Righty Carlos Carrasco (0-2) faces San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Hudson (2-1).

It is a fairly logical idea for a sport with 162 games. Many newspapers phased out the traditional gamers long ago.

It’s a new day at SI.com.

Out is the grid format. In are content tiles.

Paul Fichtenbaum explains what it all means in an editor’s note on the site:

But first the website, which is a dramatic change from a grid-based system to one using content tiles, large, small and everything in between. You will see a number of changes and additions. It’s all meant to serve the audience and help you explore and enjoy the deep layers of content we produce, whether that’s hard news, feature writing, health and fitness or the ever-increasing intersection of sports and pop culture. Among the enhancements:

A flexible, responsive, more graphic layout that allows the editors to change the look and feel of the pages almost instantly to reflect the fast-paced changes in the news cycle. Kevin Durant goes for 50? Johnny Manziel tosses five TDs? Clayton Kershaw throws a no-no? The site is designed to get you the news, analysis and visuals as quickly as possible. The mobile website is specifically designed for users on phones and tablets, with scores front and center on the home page and section fronts and always one touch away through persistent navigation no matter where you are on the site.

A cleaner, clutter-free viewing and reading experience that’s just as simple to access from your mobile device as your desktop, with easy-to-share social tools at your fingertips.

Fichtenbaum told Eric Fisher of Sports Business Daily:

“We needed to break out of the traditional, grid-based system,” said Paul Fichtenbaum, Time Inc. Sports Group editor. “Everything is movable and completely open-ended, and the only limitations we now have are really the creativity of the editors and producers.”

Like anything else, it will take some getting used to.

Previews of the latest Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO, tonight at 10 p.m.).

The opening episode is very timely: Suspicion that 400 soccer games in Europe were illegally fixed.

Sunday’s rating underscores the possibilities for ESPN and Univision if the U.S. can advance and actually make a run here. The numbers could be staggering, as this thing continues to build. Of course, there’s a big if there.

So yes, ESPN and Univision really felt the pain of that last-second goal.

The final numbers told the story of the growing World Cup fever that is sweeping the states.

ESPN’s telecast averaged 18.22 million viewers, the most ever for a soccer game ever aired in the U.S. The previous high was the final of 1999 Women’s World Cup, which averaged 17.97 million viewers.

The rating peaked in the final minutes as nearly 23 million viewers saw the crushing tying goal.

Univision averaged 6.5 million viewers, making for a combined audience of 24.7 million viewers in the U.S.

ESPN and Univision will be hard-pressed to replicate those numbers when the U.S. meets Germany Thursday. Unfortunately for the networks, the game time is 12 p.m. ET. The first two American games were at 6 p.m. ET.

Then again, many workers could call in sick Thursday. This World Cup fever is real for U.S. soccer.

I had a chance to see Garrison Keillor do his great Prairie Home Companion show Saturday at Ravinia in Highland Park outside of Chicago.

The show went on despite end-of-the-world storms that drenched those in the outdoor seating. Luckily for me, I was under the pavilion.

Keillor, 71, still has his fastball. He played to the Chicago audience by giving his version of why the Cubs haven’t won the World Series since 1908. It makes about as much sense as anything else.

If you want to listen to the audio, the Cubs segment occurs at the 1:11 mark of the show.

Keillor said:

It’s the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field in Chicago, which was built in 1914 on the site of the old Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary. And right there is the key to the story of the Chicago Cubs. This team is the living embodiment of Lutheran theology, which if I need remind you is not about winning. It’s not about being No. 1. It is about taking the back seat and being of service to others.

The Cubs have been of service to so many other teams. They have pulled other teams out of losing streaks. Batters who were in painful slumps have recovered their confidence against the Cubs.

It’s a good Lutheran team you’ve got there on the North Side of Chicago.

*****

Keillor then honored the Cubs with a song.

We can accept dropped flyballs, wild pitches and flubs,

Within these sacred ivy walls, we commune with the Chicago Cubs.

The race is not always to the swift, so blessed are the meek.

We thank the Lord for any gift, and always turn the other cheek.

Trying to discern the way, theologians got invites.

For years, we only played by day, and then reluctantly put on the lights.

We do not ask to come in first; We never will be gifted.

We accept that we are cursed, and prayer has failed to lift it.

We live by faith and we give thanks, and know someday in heaven,

We’ll play the Series with the Yanks, and win the best of seven.

AAAA-Men.

As expected, ESPN did a big number for yesterday’s U.S.-Portugal game.

The game pulled a 9.1 overnight rating of major markets, the highest overnight for a World Cup games on ESPN. Final overall ratings will be in later.

However, there are questions that the audiences numbers may be under reported. More so than other championship-type telecasts, the World Cup appears to be a communal viewing experience. Yesterday in Chicago, an estimated 20,000 people gathered to watch the game in Grant Park.

The World Cup also has been great for bars, with the beer flowing to handle the large throngs of people gathered there.

The networks complain regularly that the actual ratings for sports are under reported because they don’t take into account people in bars, etc. Certainly seems to be the case for the World Cup.

There’s little question that the World Cup is the story of the day. Build up in full force for Thursday’s game against Germany.

******

From ESPN on the overnight rating:

ESPN’s USA vs. Portugal telecast on Sunday, a 2-2 tie at Arena da Amazônia in Manaus, averaged a 9.1 overnight rating, making it the highest overnight rating for a World Cup match on ESPN or ESPN2, according to Nielsen.

In addition, the telecast ranks as the third-highest Men’s World Cup match of any round on any ESPN network – tied for ABC’s USA vs. Ghana round of 16 match in 2010; and behind ABC’s presentations of the 1994 World Cup Final featuring Brazil vs. Italy (12.8 overnight rating), and the 1994 USA-Brazil round of 16 match (10.4 rating)

The top-10 metered markets: Washington, DC (13.3), Columbus, Ohio (12.6), New York (12.5), Boston (11.5), Hartford & New Haven (11.3), Providence (11.2), Atlanta (11.1), Baltimore (11.0), Norfolk (10.5), and Orlando (10.5).

To date, the highest-rated markets on the ESPN Networks are: Washington DC (5.0), New York (4.3), San Francisco (4.1), Orlando (3.8), and Los Angeles (3.7).

I posed the question last night on my Twitter feed at @Sherman_Report. Received some fun replies.

As always, whenever there’s heartbreak, people always think of the baseball team on the North Side of Chicago.

Feel free to make your contribution.