ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols has repeatedly thrust himself into the Cardinals record book, putting his name alongside those of the great Redbirds in franchise history. He's done it again now, though in a decidedly off-the-field manner. Pujols will appear on a new commemorative Wheaties box, kicking off a new sponsorship between the cereal and Major League Baseball Properties.

Pujols and representatives of the General Mills brand introduced the new box cover on Thursday morning, the day before St. Louis' 2005 home opener at Busch Stadium.

"It's a great honor for me to be on the cover of the Wheaties box," Pujols said in a release issued Thursday. "I'm very excited about sharing the Wheaties box with my family."

Previous Cardinals to appear on Wheaties boxes include: Paul and Dizzy Dean, Pepper Martin, Joe Medwick, Johnny Mize, Marty Marion, Stan Musial and Ozzie Smith. The most recent was Smith, who was honored before his Hall of Fame induction in 2002.

Boxes of the cereal featuring the three-time All-Star will appear in stores starting this week.

Ready to roll: From the moment he signed with St. Louis, former Angel David Eckstein pointed to Cardinal tradition as one of the reasons for his decision. He was excited to be part of the history and legacy of the Redbirds, and on Friday he'll get one of his first major tastes of it.

Eckstein has played at Busch Stadium before, but never for the home opener. He's looking forward to all the ceremonies that make a Busch opener so famous.

"I've been told it's the best opening to be a part of," he said. "Just with the fan support, riding in the car, all that comes along with it. It will be interesting."

"Your nerves are going and everything like that, but once the game starts that's when you settle in. That's what you're used to."

Eckstein is certain to be a favorite of Cardinals fans, who embrace his style of dirty-uniform player.

Cracking down: With tickets for the final season in the current Busch Stadium sure to be a hot item, the Cardinals announced moves on Thursday that should prevent "hot" tickets of a different sort. Jay Nixon, the state attorney general of Missouri, joined team president Mark Lamping at a news conference at Busch to reveal new anti-scalping measures.

Cardinals game tickets will include a bar code, which will be scanned as fans enter the ballpark. That way, fans with counterfeit tickets will not be permitted in the stadium in the first place.

Schedule of events: The festivities for the final opener at the current stadium get under way at 2:20 p.m. CT on Friday, with game time set for 3:15 p.m. CT. Included in the events will be the traditional motorcade, with players riding around the warning track in 2005 Ford Mustangs. The 2004 National League pennants will be unveiled in painted form on top of the dugout and in flag form in center field, and Trace Adkins will sing the national anthem.

Red Schoendienst, Bob Gibson and Bob Forsch will be among those throwing out ceremonial first pitches. On Sunday, the Cards will receive their National League championship rings.

Nikko's quest ends: Nikko Smith, the son of Ozzie Smith, saw his bid to win "American Idol" come to an end this week. Smith performed "One Hand, One Heart" from "West Side Story" and was voted off the show on Wednesday night. Eight performers remain on the show's current season.