FORT MYERS – Bling, bling!

If the Yankees don’t want to see the Red Sox receive their World Series rings at Boston’s home opener, it looks as if they’re going to have to close their eyes.

The Red Sox are expected to announce today that they will give out their World Championship rings on April 11 when the Yankees visit Fenway. After 86 years of suffering, the fans want it that way and so does Curt Schilling, so it makes perfect sense that it will happen.

Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said yesterday the final decision will be announced today. The Red Sox will give out a total of 500 rings to employees, not all in front of the Yankees. “I think anybody who is in the organization deserves to be thanked by all of us for what they did,” Werner said. “I know the list is pretty deep, but it’s appropriate because I think everybody deserves to be a part of this.”

There was some talk of not giving out the rings in the home opener because the Yankees were the opponent and the Red Sox did not want to rub it in the Yankees’ faces, but there has been a public outcry for the Red Sox to have the ring ceremony as part of their opener.

“If we do it on Opening Day we’ll do it in a way that is tasteful,” Werner said. “The most important thing is to do something that is appropriate for the fans. The Yankees can always sit in the clubhouse. It’s not going to be a very long ceremony. We care about doing things in a first-class fashion and we’ll do it appropriately.”