"It's hardware but it's not hard to wear"

We've got a lot to catch up on but we've got to start with the rings. The Pens received their Stanley Cup Championship rings yesterday and reverting to some annoying early 2000s slang, talk about some bling bling! At around 4.5 karats and 167 diamonds with a custom cut black onyx for the Penguins' logo, that is some serious bling. We think it looks really great. We have to say we think it's better than the Steelers' Super Bowl rings this year, although we expected the Pens' rings to be smaller and not compete with the huge rings the Steelers got. Shows what we know. What do you think?

Enough of us talking, here's the pictures:

(All photos Peter Diana/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Nice.

The rings were given out at a private ceremony Tuesday night. They were given out by number so Captain Sidney Crosby had to wait quite a while for his but didn't sneak a peak of others' before he had his own in his hands. Billy Guerin was eager to share his thoughts with the media which is where our title comes from. Guerin joked about his ring saying, "it's hardware but it's not hard to wear." We're sure it's not.

Something else arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday that has some value. The Stanley Cup was back from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto with Penguins' names inscribed. The Penguins' site provided the above picture of the newly engraved names.

- If you're in the Pittsburgh area you have a chance to see the Stanley Cup as well as the Lombardi Trophy at the City-County Building Portico from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday October 1st (today).

- You can watch the Pens raise their new Stanley Cup Champs banner as well as the game Friday night outside on the big screen. It is up and running now, showing highlights and the Penguins Stanley Cup Champs DVD. The Penguins also decided to add post-game fireworks to the festivities as long as the weather permits.

- The Penguins gained a player and lost a player Wednesday on waivers. The Pens claimed forward Chris Bourque off of waivers from the Washington Capitals. He is 23 years-old, 5'8" and 180 pounds and was drafted in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2004 NHL entry draft. He played four seasons with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and appeared in 12 NHL games. The Pens also lost Paul Bissonnette on waivers when the Phoenix Coyotes claimed him. He will be missed by a lot of people and it's a shame to see him go.

- The other players that were not kept on the roster all cleared waivers and will report to Wilkes-Barre. They are defensemen Nate Guenin and Deryk Engelland, as well as forwards Ryan Bayda and Chris Conner.

- Seth has some good stuff on new Penguin Martin Skoula.

- Sidney Crosby has practiced and feels optimistic about playing in the home opener Friday night.

- The Pens will play Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and it will be shown on NHL Network as well as FSN Pittsburgh. NHL Network should be blacked out to those in the Pittsburgh viewing area. The Pens will also play Saturday at 7:00 p.m. against the Islanders. All 30 NHL teams will be in action Saturday. The season begins today with four games on the schedule.