Hank Williams Jr., ESPN part ways

(CBS/AP) BRISTOL, Conn. - Hank Williams Jr. will no longer sing the words "Are you ready for some football?" on Monday nights on ESPN.

Each side claimed Thursday it had decided to part ways after Williams' tune - "All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight" - opened "Monday Night Football" for more than two decades. The network had pulled the intro for this week's game after the country singer used an analogy to Adolf Hitler in discussing President Barack Obama on Fox News on Monday morning.

The 62-year-old country singer-songwriter issued a statement Monday night insisting his remarks were misunderstood, then apologized Tuesday.

ESPN says: "We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams Jr."

But in a statement to The Associated Press, Williams wrote, "I have made MY decision. ... Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE."

Williams is the son of country legend Hank Williams, who died in on tour in 1953, when his son was just a toddler.