Will U.S. fans shell out cash for World Cup mobile TV?

As the first round of the World Cup progresses, it's providing an interesting petri dish on how U.S. fans consume the game.

Aside from the mainstay of watching the tournament on ESPN (and ABC), there are three main planks of the network’s strategy that bear watching.

First and foremost is whether U.S. fans will pay to watch on their cell phones. ESPN is breaking ground by offering live match coverage on mobile.

But are fans here willing to pay the price? Are they that devoted to the game, or the fortunes of the U.S. squad?

GoUSABid lays foundation for U.S. Soccer and World Cup

While the eyes of the world will turn to South Africa this week for the start of the World Cup, the USA Bid Committee has been working hard to ensure the eyes of the world will be on the U.S. come 2018 or 2022.

For a study on a website and an initiative done well, simply take a look at GoUSAbid.com, created by the USA Bid Committee. It is a separate entity from the U.S. Soccer Federation but it is working on behalf of the USSF.

The goal of the committee is to get FIFA to award the World Cup to the U.S. in either 2018 or 2022 (FIFA will award both in one round of bidding, an unusually efficient approach). The goal of the site is get people actively involved, grow their fan base, increase their database of names and capitalize on the surge in interest that comes with a World Cup.

GoUSAbid.com is a well-designed, well-planned, well-executed effort. It has already prompted more than 450,000 people to sign a petition to bring the tournament back to the U.S. (which hosted the tournament in 1994), a decision FIFA will make in December.

Chicago Tribune's gaffe on Pronger compounded in digital time

In this digital age of instant everything -- with live news and video at our fingertips -- newspapers still have the luxury of time, time to get things right.

That isn’t always the case, though, and the Chicago Tribune’s special pullout poster Tuesday is living proof of that.

With the Stanley Cup finals being played between Chicago and Philadelphia, the Tribune printed a poster of Philadelphia’s Chris Pronger. In a dress. With a headline that says Pronger “looks like Tarzan, skates like Jane.” Seriously.

The poster is demeaning to women. There is no gray area here. This wasn’t a case of poorly chosen words tumbling from the mouth of a corporate executive -- like BP’s CEO and his now infamous “I'd like my life back” quote -- or a bad headline that lived briefly on the Internet.

Gizmodo says the Froyo is sweet. Should I buy one?

One of the best things about working in the digital space is having an excuse to go out and buy/try the newest thing on the market. It’s kind of like when you have children, which gives you the built-in excuse to watch fun kids' movies -- “Ice Age and Wall-E” anyone? -- or dress up in a silly costume  on Halloween.

That’s the way I feel after reading Gizmodo’s review of the Android 2.2 ‘Froyo.’ I don’t have a Froyo. But I’ll probably go get one soon so I can compare it with the iPhone.

Do I need two phones? No, not really, though I can make the argument I can use one for my business and one for personal use. I’ve got a good friend at ESPN who had to get a second phone for work. And she chose a second iPhone. Sigh.

So give Gizmodo’s review a good look (and sift through the comments, too). Tell me what you think. Should I get Froyo or not?

Android 2.2 'Froyo' review: It's sweet {Gizmodo}
Wall-E review {RogerEbert.com}
Ice Age review {RobertEbert.com}