ROME -- Mario Balotelli has expressed astonishment at the reaction to an argument he had with some Italian football pundits after a game on Friday. [url=http://www.thefaclonsshoponline.com/Ito-Smith-Falcons-Jersey/]Ito Smith Jersey[/url] . Following AC Milans 2-0 loss to Roma, Balotelli had a tense ex

ROME -- Mario Balotelli has expressed astonishment at the reaction to an argument he had with some Italian football pundits after a game on Friday. Ito Smith Jersey . Following AC Milans 2-0 loss to Roma, Balotelli had a tense exchange with the Sky Italia TV studio hosts. Balotelli said: "When Milan wins Mario is great, when it loses Mario is bad." Told by one studio host that he doesnt move enough on the pitch, Balotelli responded: "You dont know anything about football. Trust me." His comments provoked plenty of reaction both supportive and critical, and Balotelli responded on Twitter around 4 a.m. local time on Saturday morning, saying in Italian: "Mamma mia I divide Italy in 2! Wow! While nearly everyone abroad is united with me!" Then he added in English: "What a strange game." Balotelli, whose career had been littered with controversies and clashes with both coaches and teammates, was largely ineffective against Roma and he was substituted in the 69th minute. As Balotelli walked off, he appeared to question coach Clarence Seedorfs decision to remove him. "I didnt understand my substitution," Balotelli said in the interview. Told that he doesnt criticize himself enough, Balotelli said "Im a very normal player. Its you who says Im a standout." Balotelli is having a strong season and set a personal record last week with his 14th goal of the campaign. "I chose to take off Balotelli, but when he came off he didnt say anything special to me," Seedorf said. "We shouldnt always analyze every detail, when there is something negative to say about Balo, you are always ready. There are things said and done in the heat of the moment, but then its talked about and resolved. "Hes coming off the back of many positive weeks, both with goals and with his behaviour." Balotelli has a history of being in the headlines as much for his antics off the pitch as his talent on it. He made light of his troubles in 2011 when he was with Manchester City by unveiling a T-shirt with the slogan "Why Always Me?" during a 6-1 rout of Manchester United in a Premier League derby. That came after reports that a fire had broken out at his house when fireworks were let off in his bathroom. Balotelli escaped punishment earlier in 2011 after throwing a dart at a City youth-team player. No one was hurt in the incident. Custom Falcons Jerseys . Villar connected off Joe Saunders (11-14), sending a drive well over the left-field fence for his first career homer. The Astros scored six times in the first three innings to chase Saunders. Brandon Fusco Jersey . With his father watching from the stands, Harrison homered, doubled, single and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pirates to a 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. http://www.thefaclonsshoponline.com/Justin-Bethel-Falcons-Jersey/ . Al Harrington, another former Knicks forward, scored 22 of his 24 points after halftime for the Nuggets, allowing them to withstand Anthonys attempt to rally the Knicks after his poor shooting had them behind until the final minutes of regulation. Anthony finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, missing 20 of 30 shots in the Knicks sixth straight loss. MALMO, Sweden -- Anthony Mantha looked more relieved than jubilant after his three goals helped Canada start the world junior championship with a victory. It may be because there had been doubts the Longueuil, Que., native would make the team -- despite lighting up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season -- because of his questionable defensive play. No one doubted his ability to put the puck in the net, as Mantha demonstrated with a hat trick in Canadas 7-2 win over Germany on Thursday. "Its a great feeling," the lanky, six-foot-four right winger said. "For me, personally, I had to get a big game going and I think thats what I did." It helped that Mantha was on a line with perhaps Canadas most dynamic playmaker in Jonathan Drouin, who assisted on all three of his goals -- two on power plays and one at even strength. But Mantha, the grandson of former NHL forward Andre Pronovost, scores wherever he plays. He had 35 goals in only 32 games with the Val dOr Foreurs before joining Team Canada two weeks ago for the run-up to the world juniors. He has 85 goals in 99 games over the last season and a half. Coach Brent Sutter said what clinched his spot was that ability to put the puck in the net, which there is not a lot of on this squad compared to past world junior teams. Sutter hopes a crash course in 200-foot hockey will make the Detroit Red Wings prospect a more complete player as the tournament goes on. "He can score goals, but there are other aspects of his game he needs to continue to work on," said Sutter. "Things Ive talked to him about one on one. "Its simple. Its being a competitor in all three zones and making sure hes responsible in all three zones. Not just for this tournament, but for him to be a good pro. Especially with the organization hell go to in Detroit. Thats what they expect there. You cant just play the offensive side of the puck." Sutter said Mantha wants to learn and feels he is already "a better player now than when he joined the team 11 days ago. That comes from our conversations. He understands that hes not going to get on the ice if hes only going to be a power-play guy." He got a passing grade in two-way play against the Germans, who were overmatched but took advantage of some early Canadian sloppiness to keep the score close through the first 15 minutes of play. Mantha has a remarkably quick release for a big man, and having the clever Drouin laying passes on his stick could be a vital asset as the tournament moves on and the competition gets tougher. He said his grandfather, who scored 109 goals in 556 NHL games from 1957 to 1968 for Montreal, Boston, Detroit and the Minnesota North Stars, was a key influence in his hockey deveelopment. Justin Bethel Falcons Jersey. He said Pronovost taught him "three key points" to success, but wont reveal them all. "One is work," he offered. But he still went into the teams selection camp two weeks ago in Toronto looking to prove he can do more than score. "For sure I had to make an impression," he said. "Not every player was guaranteed a spot and I had to battle through it. I got great news and now Im trying to carry it on." Drouin has played with Mantha before in an exhibition series and feels that chemistry is developing. "Anthonys a big guy," said the third overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning. "Hes hard to play against in the corners and everything. I try to use my hands and speed and I think we complement each other pretty well." The Canadian team got a rousing welcome from the crowd of 1,831 -- nearly all wearing Hockey Canada jerseys -- at the 5,800-seat Isstadion, but still looked nervous as the game began. The Germans got the opening goal off a faceoff in the Canada zone as Dorian Saeftel put a shot through traffic that fooled goalie Jake Paterson only 1:35 into the game. After Josh Anderson and Mantha gave Canada a lead, Janik Moser tied it for Germany after defenceman Adam Pelech whiffed on a clearing attempt. Then Canada took over as Mantha and Bo Horvat got goals before the intermission, Sam Reinhart and Mantha added goals in the second period and Nic Petan finished a play engineered by 16-year-old Conner McDavid in the third. McDavid had two assists, while his linemate Reinhart also had two points. Their line with Horvat could have had several if not for some fine saves by Shawinigan Cataractes goalie Marvin Cupper. "I think I played pretty well," said McDavid. "I missed a whole bunch of chances that Im pretty embarrassed about, but I thought I played an all right game. "That shift where Bo and Reino set me up for a couple of breakaways and the goalie made a couple of good saves -- I was beating myself up pretty good about it, but they laid off me. They were good about it." The shots were 30-24 for Canada, but the game was not nearly that close. A tougher test comes Saturday when Canada plays its second group stage game against the Czech Republic. Notes: Defenceman Griffin Reinhart sat out the first of three games he will miss due to a suspension incurred at last years world juniors. . . Germany has six players from Canadian junior teams, including Prince Albert star Leon Draisaitl who had a mostly quiet game, and another six who play in the U.S. . . Canada has its second youngest team ever at 18 years 10 months 25 days. Only the 1987 team that was disqualified after a brawl with the Soviets was younger. 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