" and that his frankness sometimes "gives rise to a negative im

BARCELONA, Spain -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter may have thought joking about Cristiano Ronaldo was all in good fun, but the Portugal forward and Real Madrid have certainly taken offence. Madrid asked Blatter on Tuesday to apologize for having mocked Ronaldo while praising Barcelona rival Lionel Messi at a recent event in England. Blatter had told an audience at Oxford University that Ronaldo "is like a commander on the field of play" before strutting around the stage to the laughs of the students in attendance. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said that club president Florentino Perez had sent a letter to Blatter asking him to "rectify what I consider a lack of respect for a serious and professional player." Blatter later responded by saying Ronaldo was an "exceptional" player. In a statement provided to the AP, FIFA said that Blatter had "confirmed in letters sent to Real Madrid CF as well as the Portuguese Football Association that Cristiano Ronaldo is an exceptional player - as he had already mentioned at the Oxford University event last Friday, and on many other occasions." While slighting Ronaldo during the public event, Blatter said he preferred Messi, the Argentina forward who has won FIFAs world player of the year award for the past four years. Ronaldo won the award in 2008, finishing second in voting behind Messi in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Ronaldo took Blatters stinging words, and mimicry, to heart, and apparently wasnt convinced by Blatters attempt at making amends. "This video shows clearly the respect and consideration that FIFA has for me, for my club and my country," Ronaldo wrote on his Facebook page late Tuesday. "Much is explained now. I wish Mr. Blatter health and a long life, with the certainty that he will continue to witness, as he deserves, the successes of his favourite teams and players." Earlier on Tuesday, FIFA included Ronaldo and Messi on its list of 23 finalists for this years world player of the year award. The list will be pared down to three players in early December. "Messi is a good boy, that every father and every mother would like to have at home," Blatter told the Oxford crowd. "Hes a kind man, a good boy. Thats what makes him so popular, and naturally hell always get a lot of votes because he plays well and scores goals." Then, while comparing Messi and Ronaldo, Blatter made a joke about Ronaldos hair. "They dont have the same attitude and that gives life to football. One has more expenses for the hairdresser than the other but that doesnt matter," Blatter said. Ancelotti defended Ronaldos character. "I completely agree with the president (Perez)," Ancelotti said. "I havent spoken to Ronaldo about this. I think he shows every day and in every match that he is a serious and professional player that respects everyone." Ronaldo also received support in Portugal. Portuguese football federation president Fernando Gomes said Ronaldo is "often misunderstood because hes forthright and honest," and that his frankness sometimes "gives rise to a negative image which isnt him." The spat is bound to strengthen the belief among some Madrid fans and sections of the Madrid-based sports media that FIFA has a bias for Barcelona and Messi. Former Madrid coach Jose Mourinho snubbed FIFAs awards gala for the past two years while he was at the Spanish club, as did Ronaldo in 2012. Mourinho accused Barcelona of receiving help from FIFA referees in ousting Madrid from the 2011 Champions League semifinals. Gary Harris Jersey . 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"And that was just a clear signal and why it was time to make those changes. Will Barton Nuggets Jersey . Gonzalez participated in his final game on Sunday, Atlantas 21-20 defeat at the hands of the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, having posted four catches for 46 yards.MONTREAL – The New York Rangers took a commanding 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-1 over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 on Monday at the Bell Centre. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 41 saves between the pipes, but it was defenceman Ryan McDonagh who got the first star of the game as he had a goal and an assist and now has two goals and four assists for six points in two games. With a big series lead and a chance of wrapping up the series back at Madison Square Garden, the young blueliner was surprisingly low-key considering his performance in Games 1 and 2. "Just everybody else around me," he answered when asked what the key to his recent offensive success has been. "You cant have that success without your teammates doing what they need to do and getting you the puck in certain situations. "It was great fore-checking on my goal and simple play by Dom [Domenic Moore] to find me. You play like that and good things will happen. It was great passing by Richie [Brad Richards] on the power play and then just simple plays by everyone. Everybodys really contributing and its showing on the scoreboard." McDonagh now has nine points in 16 games in the playoffs, but six of those have come in the last two. "I was just trying to be a little bit simpler out of my zone," said McDonagh, who - as Montreal fans know all too well now - was drafted 12th overall by the Canadiens at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. "If I have a second or two to make a direct pass, make it. But I was just looking for stick blades too much at times and its tight checking in the playoffs so you want to make sure that youre not giving forwards an opportunity to grind you in your own zone. So the simplle plays will work a lot in the playoffs and Ive been able to make good reads and thats helped me.dddddddddddd" McDonaghs teammates have noticed the changes as well and are happy the hard work is paying off for their teammate. "The last bunch of games hes been getting better and better," said blueliner Marc Staal. "Obviously, we need that offence from the back end and hes really providing it right now. But its also the little things hes doing. "He works so hard on his defensive game and is so hard on his stick out there. Hers smart in his own zone and that cause us to have a lot of offense from it and obviously on the powerplay thats huge too. That hard work is paying off." Head coach Alain Vigneault echoed Staals assessment and credited McDonaghs defensive game - which in turn has led to more offence. "Both go hand in hand," he explained. "Like when Ryans gap is good and, obviously, hes got tough matchups because hes always playing against the other teams best line. "When his gap is good and hes battling hard in his one-on-ones, usually the offensive part of his game is there, and its been very good the last two games." James Murphy is a freelance reporter who also writes for NHL.com, the Boston Herald and XNsports.com. He covered the Boston Bruins/NHL for last 11 seasons writing for ESPNBoston.com, ESPN.com, NHL.com, NESN.com, the Boston Metro, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. Murphy also currently hosts the radio show "Murphys Hockey Law" heard Saturdays 9-11 AM ET on Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio and 4-6 PM ET on Websportsmedia.com. In addition to that, he is a regular guest TSN 690 in Montreal and Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio as well as a hockey analyst on CTV Montreal. ' ' '