He says he's been done wrong, and maybe there's a country song lurking somewhere in this.
The longtime anthem singer at Nashville Predators hockey games has is sad. He's been replaced in the Stanley Cup playoffs by superstar singers such as Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.
Dennis Morgan, who has sung at 185 Predators games over the past 17 years, told The Tennessean in Nashville that he has been hurt and disappointed by being upstaged by A-list country acts, including Underwood, who is married to team captain Mike Fisher.
"They came to me and said the captain's wife asked to sing the anthem that night," Morgan said. "It was presented to me as a one night only kind of thing, and I agreed to it. Then they continued to bring in these other singers and touted them as 'A-listers,' which kind of hurt me."
Morgan said he had planned to bring it up with the team after the playoffs, but he was getting a lot of questions from people who knew him.
"The most important part of a Stanley Cup run is not what happens in pregame ceremonies, but rather what happens on the ice," he said. "I will address any disappointment I have with the Predators' decision hopefully after a Stanley Cup parade."
The team said in a statement that the arrangement with Morgan allowed for "nationally and internationally renowned musical artists to perform when available."
High on cannabis
Ricky Williams, the former Miami Dolphins running back whose career and reputation were tarnished by marijuana use, is now a national spokesman for cannabis use.
After spending years as the punchline for pothead jokes, Williams will be a keynote speaker at the Southeast Cannabis Conference and Expo on June 9-11 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. It is the first large-scale cannabis convention ever held in South Florida, and it is expected to draw thousands of participants including patients, scientists, doctors and others working in the cannabis industry.
More than 20 NFL teams play in states where some form of marijuana use has become legal since Williams retired from the league in 2004 after multiple failed drug tests. Williams travels the nation to promote the medicinal benefits of the drug, and he believes it can help with concussions and pain management.
At the expo, Williams is scheduled to discuss his cannabis use on a panel called Pro Athletes Pro Cannabis. Other speakers include former NFL players Marvin Washington and Boo Williams.
And finally
Jim Barach of WCHS-TV in Charleston, W.Va., on the death of Adolph Kiefer, 98, America's oldest living Olympic gold medalist: "He won his medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1936 Games in Berlin, which also explains why he was the last American medalist named 'Adolph.' "
Sports quiz
Ricky Williams played one year in the Canadian Football League for what team?
Sports answer
Williams played for the Toronto Argonauts in 2006.
Sports on 05/17/2017