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Editor's Note: Welcome to the new Sports Illustrated Digital

Over the last year, while the Seahawks were ascending, the Spurs were avenging, the Red Sox were moving ever further from curses and the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams were champions again, at SI we were busy keeping our edge, too. We rolled out new websites and content channels -- Extra Mustard, Swim Daily, SI Now, The MMQB, SI Edge, and Planet Futbol -- while working furiously in the background, plotting a digital transformation that officially begins now. As you can see, the new Sports Illustrated Digital is bigger, bolder and better than ever.

The goal all along was to create a progressive platform that would allow us to showcase the best of Sports Illustrated -- breaking news, opinion and analysis from reporters with access, longform journalism, video storytelling, riveting photography -- that you expect from us in a more visual and intuitive way no matter what device you’re using. And that’s just part of our evolving story. In addition to creating a best-in-class responsive mobile and desktop experience, tomorrow will feature the launch of 120 Sports, which is a cutting-edge digital video sports network that will bring a ground-breaking, live product with highlights, to viewers. Then next week, under the FanNation banner, SI will debut a mobile-first daily fantasy game, in which you can set your lineup and invite your friends to play in less than 60 seconds. It’s that simple.

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.
  • A bigger, more striking photo and video experience that better showcases the visual storytelling that has been the hallmark of Sports Illustrated since 1954.
  • App-like navigation that gives you to access any part of the site with one touch, along with a never-ending stream of content options on every page.
  • Data visualization tools for our player and team pages that allow you to filter through many different categories for the latest information in a much more compelling way. Want to see where the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton ranks in home runs and RBIs, against all major league players or National Leaguers or the N.L. East or just his teammates? Check it out here.
  • The ability to seamlessly bring in live social platforms, like Twitter and Instagram, via feeds, onto any page in real time.

Not unlike a sports franchise, we’re constantly upgrading, innovating and trying to give our fans the best product possible. And you can expect many more improvements in the coming months. Along with 120 Sports, which will be integrated across our site and feature live commentary, news, analysis, in-game look-ins, highlights and social discussions, all packaged in 120-second segments for the modern consumer, you can see why we’re so bullish on the new Sports Illustrated.

As always, we welcome your feedback.

Visit 120 Sports at its website at 120sports.com and be on the lookout for a free app that will be available soon.

Sign up for an email alert for FanNation’s official launch next week.