The 2009 Gators cereal, which hits stores across Florida today, features UF coach Urban Meyer holding up the 2008 National Championship trophy from his team’s victory in the BCS national championship game at Dolphin Stadium in January.

The box of frosted corn flakes is the sixth in the limited edition series produced in a partnership between Florida’s Dairy Farmers and Gator Sports Marketing, which handles UF’s sponsorship and advertising. The cereal is distributed by Deerfield Beach-based Triton Innovative Marketing. (UF is among a number of college and pro teams with special edition cereals. Read the piece I wrote about the program in December here).

As part of this year’s release, the Dairy Farmers have also launched a contest to win a refrigerator and a year’s a supply of milk. (That’s 52 coupons good for a gallon of milk each week, in case you were wondering). Entrants must be at least 18 and explain why they want a new fridge and milk. Enter the contest until Dec. 15 – one entry per person per day -- at Floridamilk.com.

More than 20,000 of the boxes go on sale today at Winn Dixie, Albertsons, Sweetbay and at Gatorzone.com.

> Discuss this entry

Add promoting physical fitness to Heisman Trophy-winning UF quarterback Tim Tebow’s list of things to do. On Wednesday, Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Tebow to co-chair the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness.

He doesn’t have to pull all the chairing duties – he’s co-chairing with former Tampa Bay Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks, who serves as council chair, and council co-chair Olympic gold medal gymnast Shannon Miller. The council, created by Crist in 2007, is charged with promoting physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle.

The roster of council members includes athletes who either live in, play or played in or have some connection to Florida from tennis star Jennifer Capriati to Parkland Olympic swimmer Dara Torres to Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell to Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal.

In addition to leading the Gators to a national title in the BCS National Championship game against Oklahoma at Dolphin Stadium in January, Tebow volunteers at schools, churches and hospitals and takes mission trips to the Philippines to volunteer at a home for orphaned Filipino children, according to a release from the governor’s office.

“Tim Tebow’s leadership and servanthood both on and off the field make him an ideal candidate to serve as co-chair of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness,” Crist said in a statement. “Tim is a true role model who consistently demonstrates the fitness and healthy living characteristics the council is responsible for promoting.”

(Photo credit: Tebow Family, Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association / May 2, 2008: In an impoverished village outside General Santos City in the Philippines, Tebow helped with health care for impoverished children.)

> Discuss this entry

Sharing a few bits of tid:

+ On behalf of UF, the Collegiate Licensing Co., sent a cease and desist letter to Teebows.com, which is selling underwear bearing the letter ‘T’ and a bow, in honor of the school’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow. The school’s logo and Tebow’s image have been removed, but the site is still selling three different styles of panties for $6 apiece.

+ The Los Angeles Dodgers debut “Mannywood” starting with today’s homestand at Dodger Stadium against the San Diego Padres. It’s two sections of seats closest to the Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez in which fans can buy two field box seats and get two free limited edition Mannywood T-shirts for just $99 in honor of the enigmatic player’s No. 99. On May 5, for Cinco de Mayo, the shirt will say “Yo estuve en Mannywood,” meaning “I was in Mannywood.”

+ And those interested in a rather intimate – in a TMI sort of way – portrait of former Marlins and current Boston Red Sox owner John Henry’s courtship of second wife-to-be Linda Pizzuti can check out Boston Magazine’s lengthy and revealing piece in the May edition. With photos. The wedding is planned in June.

> Discuss this entry

So, the Lingerie Football League is coming to BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise … and now, you can buy Tim Tebow-inspired lingerie.

Read more (and check out photos) about the bikini top- and short shorts-clad Miami Caliente playing later this year here.

And check out the newest garment to honor 2007 Heisman Trophy-winning UF quarterback Tim Tebow: cotton blend panties with a 'T' and a bow on them. Available in three styles for $6 a pair. The mind reels.

> Discuss this entry

Those public service announcements by local athletes in which they say they don’t chew, dip or smoke, are having an impact. So much so that Gov. Charlie Crist proclaimed this week “Tobacco Free Florida Week.”

In an unusual display of teamwork, eight pro and college teams around the state along with Fox Sports Florida and Sun Sports are continuing the anti-tobacco messages in force this week. The networks have taped more than 90 tobacco-free announcements with players and coaches. They’ll be played on scoreboards and during game telecasts.

Skeletons -- representing the nearly 29,000 Floridians who die each year from smoking, according to the Centers for Disease Control – will be dressed as sports fans and placed in the stands at participating arenas and stadiums (see photo of skeletons in UF and FSU gear). Street teams will promote anti-tobacco messages; smokifier vans, in which fans can see how they would age if they smoke, will be at the events.

"By combining efforts of professional and collegiate teams, local County Health Departments and other key tobacco prevention stakeholders, we can further extend the reach of the campaign's message," Kim Berfield, Florida Department of Health deputy secretary, said in a statement.

The festivities started Friday at the Orlando Magic-Detroit Pistons game and continued today at FSU’s basketball game against Clemson. Sunday afternoon’s Marlins-St. Louis Cardinals spring training game in Jupiter will also be a Tobacco Free Florida event. The rest of the week’s schedule: Monday night’s Heat-Cleveland Cavaliers game at AmericanAirlines Arena; Tuesday’s Tampa Bay Rays-Houston Astros spring trianing game; Thursday’s Panthers-Pittsburgh Penguins game at BankAtlantic Center; Friday’s Tampa Bay Lightning-St. Louis Blues game; and Saturday’s UF-University of Kentucky basketball game.

"Tobacco Free Florida Week presents a tremendous platform for us to utilize our unique media assets, along with those of our sports team partners across the state, in a concentrated, highly-visible way and encourage Floridians to pledge to be tobacco free," Fox Sports and Sun Sports Senior Vice President and General Manager Steve Liverani said in a statement.

Tobacco Free Florida Week is one part of this year’s campaign to promote anti-tobacco messages and help smokers quit. The campaign is funded by tobacco settlement dollars made available for anti-smoking programs when Floridians approved a constitutional amendment in 2006. Last year, $17 million was spent on the media campaign; the amount is up to $19.8 million this year.

The program directs smokers to the American Cancer Society’s Quitline for counseling and nicotine replacement patches, gum and lozenges. The message has been effective. Calls to the Quitline rose from about 4,000 in 2007 to about 45,000 last year.

> Discuss this entry

An Oakland Park Dunkin’ Donuts is celebrating the Florida Gators return to the BCS National Championship game on Thursday with specially decorated donuts and a deal.

Donuts celebrating UF will feature orange icing and blue sprinkles. And you can pick up two dozen for $9.99. Franchisee Michael Koroghlian is hoping fans will want to add UF donuts to their tailgate.

“Fans can enjoy them before the game and then have an extra dozen ready to roll following a Florida victory,” a hopeful Koroghlian said in a statement.

The Gators donuts will be available from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday at the Dunkin’ Donuts at 801 E. Commercial Blvd., Oakland Park.

> Discuss this entry

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, enough UF fans in Georgia expressed interest in license plates bearing the Gator mascot that the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles is now offering UF plates.

A thousand Florida fans said they’d be willing to pay the $25 extra for the Gator plates, the paper reported. Apparently they’d tried in the past, but were never able to gain enough support. That changed after the Gators won a national championship in basketball in 2006 and followed that with a football championship.

> Discuss this entry