TORONTO -- On a day when Julio Cesar essentially said farewell to Toronto FC, fellow goalie Joe Bendik opted not to talk to the media. Perhaps he was ceding the day to the Brazilian No. 1, one reporter surmised. A day later, Bendik came clean. Chatting with journalists had conflicted with his tee time Tuesday. The 25-year-old American keeper, who shot a round of 79, comes with a certain amount of swagger. That ego took a jolt when, after winning Torontos No. 1 job in 2013, Bendik lost his starting role in pre-season to Cesar. "A hit to my pride today but luckily Ive got tons of it! Going to take in everything I can from a top shelf gk (goalkeeper) to better my abilities," Bendik tweeted, with a colourful adjective before tons, when Cesars signing was announced in February. Three months later, Bendik is back as Torontos No. 1. Cesar has left the club for the World Cup and is not expected back, with Englands Queens Park Rangers looking to cut short the loan agreement with MLS. Bendik says he is a better goalie for having spent time with the 34-year-old Cesar. "He did things for my career that I couldnt do over 20 years, probably," said Bendik, his post-practice calendar apparently a littler clearer Wednesday. "Just to see him play, see his professionalism was amazing. "Now I have to step in and start to play some games and continue what I did last year. And continue what Ive done the last three games." Cesar gave way to Bendik for both legs of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Bendik also played in Saturdays 2-0 league win over the New York Red Bulls when Cesar was laid low by the flu. Bendik came to Toronto in a December 2012 trade with Portland. The Timbers got forward Ryan Johnson and goalie Milos Kocic in exchange for Bendik, the third overall pick in the 2013 SuperDraft and allocation money. At the time, the goalie component of the deal seemed like a swap of backups with Bendik taking over for Kocic -- who believed he should have been No. 1 in Toronto -- behind the oft-injured Stefan Frei. But when Frei was injured in the first pre-season game in Florida in 2013, Bendik took over and started 33 games for Toronto. Frei was traded to Seattle at the end of the season and Bendik was rewarded with a new contract. When he heard Cesar was coming to Toronto, Bendik said he knew it could go "either amazing or terrible. Luckily its amazing." It helped that inside the team, word was that Cesar was likely going after the World Cup. Rather than being left out in the cold, Bendik knew in essence that he was having an extended training camp -- while having the opportunity to learn from one of the best goalies in the world. It was no coincidence that Nelsen, praising Bendik after he helped Toronto win a penalty shootout in the Amway Canadian Championship, said he would not be surprised to see his young keeper earn a call-up to the U.S. national team after the World Cup. Cesar was moving on. Bendik was back. For Nelsen, the Cesar acquisition was always a marriage of convenience with a short timeline. Cesar needed a place to play ahead of the World Cup and QPR wanted some salary relief. Toronto got a world-class goalie, a tutor for Bendik and the invaluable publicity of seeing Toronto FC by the name of Brazils goalkeeper at the World Cup. Having Cesar around would also help settle fellow Brazilians Gilberto and Jackson. Plus the short-term nature of the relationship means that the club will have some salary cap space come the summer. It was win-win. "Its benefited the league, its benefited the club and its benefited every single player here at Toronto," Nelsen said. It helped that Cesar, like Englands Jermain Defoe and American Michael Bradley, was a good citizen with an ego seemingly in check. They may be stars, but they dont act like it. Cesar met the media only periodically in Toronto. But he was always relaxed when he did, his arm invariably around translator Daniel Correia. "Thats Nellie," Bendik said, referring to Nelsen. "I think his No. 1 prerequisite is you have to be a good guy. You have to be a character in the locker-room. If youre not, he doesnt really care for it." Cesars relaxed way was infectious. Bendik, for one, says the Brazilians message was to let mistakes go, to look ahead rather than behind. When that advice comes from a Serie A goalkeeper of the year and Champions League winner, you tend to listen. "When he came, right away he took me under his arm and he wanted the best for me right from the start," Bendik said. "That helped me a lot to embrace the moment." Its help that Bendik says he will pay forward -- if he finds himself playing in his mid-30s with a young goalie. "I hope Im half the way he is," he said of Cesar. "Its been fantastic," said backup goalie Chris Konopka. "Working side by side with Julio, with the Brazil No. 1, hes as focused as he will ever be because hes preparing himself to be on the world stage, for basically the No. 1 team in the world," he added. "All eyes are going to be on him. It was definitely a unique and great experience working side by side with him." The goalies arent the only ones to praise Cesar. Captain Steven Caldwell says playing with Cesar has been one of the highlights of his career. "The impact hes had on me and everybody else at this football club is huge," said the Scottish defender. "In such a short space of time, for everybody to have the pleasure to see what its like to be a top, top professional and an outstanding goalkeeper is a real pleasure." "An outstanding human being," added Caldwell. The whole team plans to stay in touch with the Brazilian, by means of a chat group during the World Cup. No one will cheer louder than the Toronto FC dressing room if Cesar gets to hoist the World Cup. Trevor Williams Jersey . Canada wasnt in the game from the outset. Head coach Dan Church left Calgary in the morning without addressing the players. He told The Canadian Press he felt the organization lacked confidence in his ability to defend the Olympic gold medal in February. Doug Flutie Jersey . None of them are Finlands Pekka Rinne, who stands as Canadas biggest challenge in Thursdays quarter-final round. Even while a young Finnish team has struggled with penalties, turnovers and a lack of offensive depth, Rinne has been a rock with a 1. http://www.officiallosangeleschargersfoo...e-jersey-womens. The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No. Justin Jones Jersey .DeMarco Murray got his 20th carry late in the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead, not long after Dez Bryant made his final catch of the day.Sure enough, a 44-17 win over Washington didnt change Dallas post-season position. Junior Seau Jersey . -- Dee Ford prefers to keep things simple: Play hard and fast, and let others worry about his NFL draft stock.(SportsNetwork.com) - It comes a few years later than expected but Columbus is finally getting its chance to shine as the host of the NHL All-Star Game. Sundays exhibition at Nationwide Arena marks the leagues 60th mid-season showcase and the first since Ottawa hosted No. 59 back on Jan. 29, 2012. The Blue Jackets originally were slated to host All-Star weekend in 2013 but the event was scrapped thanks to the lockout-shortened season. The 2014 Winter Olympics pushed the return of All-Star festivities back another year, but despite the delays John Davidson says the franchise is ready for its big moment. Its our time to show off to the world and were ready to do it, Davidson, the Blue Jackets president of hockey operations, recently told his teams web site. Our group is really proud to put it on and we hope everyone really enjoys themselves. Thats the whole idea here. Todays clash pits Team Toews against Team Foligno, a pair of squads picked at the All-Star Fantasy draft on Friday evening. Team Foligno will serve as the de facto fan favorites, as the club is not only captained by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno, but the team also made Columbus star Ryan Johansen the first overall pick on Friday. Sergei Bobrovsky would have likely have been plucked up by Team Foligno as well, but the Blue Jackets franchise goaltender had to pull out of All-Star weekend due to a groin injury. The second overall pick, for Team Toews, went to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel, but Kessel was later dealt to Team Foligno in exchange for winger Tyler Seguin. It was really fun. I was nervous going into it, but I had a great time with it, Foligno said of the All-Star fantasy draft. The guys made it really easy. The personalities really came out. It was a lot of fun. Folignos side won Saturdays NHL All-Star Skills competition, beating Team Toews, 25-19. Jonathan Toews, of course, is the captain of Team Toews. The Chicago Blackhawks forward is joined by assistant captains Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Rick Nash of the New York Rangers. Toeews will face off against Chicago teammate Patrick Kane on Sunday, as the American winger served as one of Folignos assistant captains along with Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.dddddddddddd However, Toews did snatch up a pair of fellow Blackhawks at Fridays draft, picking defenseman Brent Seabrook and goaltender Corey Crawford. Kanes side, however, wound up with Chicago blueliner Duncan Keith. Including Getzlaf and Nash, Team Toews ended up with the following additional forwards: Buffalo forward Zemgus Girgensons, the 21-year-old who unexpectedly led all players in All-Star fan voting; Flyers winger and NHL leading scorer Jakub Voracek, Islanders captain John Tavares, Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, Bruins two-way centerman Patrice Bergeron, veteran forward Patrik Elias of the Devils, Lightning center Tyler Johnson along with Calder Trophy candidate and Nashville center Filip Forsberg. Shea Weber (Nashville), Panthers rookie blueliner Aaron Ekblad, Minnesotas Ryan Suter, Mark Giordano from the Calgary Flames and Hurricanes d-man Justin Faulk round out the defense for Team Toews, while goaltenders Jaroslav Halak (Islanders) and Roberto Luongo (Canucks) will share the crease with Crawford. Additional forwards for Team Foligno are centers Anze Kopitar from Los Angeles and Steven Stamkos from Tampa Bay, Flyers captain Claude Giroux, wingers Bobby Ryan of the Senators and Radim Vrbata from the Canucks, Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin and Oilers pivot Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Led by Keith, the Team Foligno blue line also boasts Dustin Byfuglien of Winnipeg, re-converted backliner Brent Burns from San Jose along with youngsters Kevin Shattenkirk from St. Louis and Arizonas Oliver Ekman- Larsson. Montreals Carey Price, Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburgh and Brian Elliott from the Blues will serve as goaltenders for Team Foligno. Predators head coach Peter Laviolette will be in charge of Toews group while Los Angeles bench boss Darryl Sutter of the defending Stanley Cup champions will guide Folignos picks on Sunday. 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