CLEVELAND - The NBA All-Star weekend is the unofficial halfway mark of the NBA season and to say Anthony Bennetts rookie campaign hasnt gone quite as expected so far would be an understatement. The 20-year-old rookie from Toronto, the first Canadian ever selected with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft when the Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed him in 2013, has had anything but a storybook beginning to his professional career. While the rest of the NBAs best and brightest spent their weekend in New Orleans for All-Star festivities, Bennett was just the second No. 1 pick to not be selected for the annual Rising Stars game, composed of the leagues best rookie and sophomore players since Washingtons Kwame Brown in 2001. Bennett is patient when asked about his struggles. After starting his professional career 0-for-15 from the floor, hes had to get used to talking about it. "Well, its not the way I planned it to go, I can say that," Bennett said. "Im pretty sure everything will turn around soon. Im working hard and Ive got my teammates with me. The coaching staff has been helping me a lot so Ive just got to keep my head up and go hard." While his start hasnt been ideal, Bennett has faced the music and remained calm amid pressures and criticisms coming from all angles. Speaking in the Cavaliers locker room before a recent game in Cleveland, Bennett was frank about his struggles this season, while also confident that the tide was turning. "Its overwhelming, but Im pretty level headed," Bennett said. "Ive got nice teammates who have been in the league a few years. They can tell me a lot of what theyve been through. Ive been humble, level headed and working every day." The advice from teammates and coaches is the same: keep working. A visit to the Cavaliers practice facility showed he is taking that advice to heart. Long after everyone else has left the floor, Bennett remained. Practising free throws under the watchful eye of an assistant coach, Bennett looked like any other NBA rookie. "Everybody has had their part," Bennett said of the Cavaliers organization. "Helping me with my game, shooting after practice, or pulling me aside and giving me pointers here and there. Everybody has been really helpful." Injuring his shoulder prior to the NBA Draft, Bennetts rookie season was derailed before it began. Missing the Las Vegas Summer League where rookies get their first taste of NBA life, while also being unable to train during the offseason, Bennett came into the Cavaliers training camp with extra weight to accompany the extra pressure that every first overall pick carries with him. Playing sparingly at the beginning of the season, Bennett has worked hard to shed the extra pounds and get into game shape so hes ready to go when his name is called. Last Tuesday night, in a victory against the Sacramento Kings, Bennett posted his best performance to date, recording 19 points and 10 rebounds. He followed up the next night with a two-point, two-rebound performance. Bennetts roller-coaster experience serves as a reminder of the patience necessary when drafting young players each year. With half a season behind him, Bennett is starting to get a feel for what to expect each night he steps onto the floor as a pro. "In college it would be one game, someones a seven-footer, but the next game someone is six-foot-six," Bennett said. "Everyone is pretty much the same size now. Youve got to go hard every time." In addition to staying after practice for extra work, Bennett often returns for a second session. How does the first overall pick deal with the lows that have accompanied his season thus far? With a little help from his hometown friends. "My close friends from back home, theyve been with me from the start, before this [being in the NBA], so they see my ups, they see my downs. They know what Im going through." After a game where he hasnt performed well, or even gotten the chance to get off the bench, they are the ones who help keep Bennett focused on whats in front of him. "Every time I have a bad game or am feeling down, I hit them up and they tell me to keep staying with it," Bennett said. "Theyll come out here and after bad games theyll go with me straight to the gym. Thats something thats really helpful for me and Im thankful for it." As Bennett begins to show flashes of why the Cavaliers wanted him in the first place, he isnt allowing an unexpectedly difficult beginning make him lose sight of the fact that hes living his NBA dream. "Its a huge honour. Its a blessing, you know? I just cant let this opportunity slide for me. I have to work hard every day. This is my job. I have to work hard and be happy about it." Nike Huarache Naiset . As the schedule flipped from November to December, they would go on to drop five straight, falling six games below the .500 mark before a franchise-altering trade turned them into an unrecognizable team. Nike Air Force 1 07 Suomi . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. http://www.airforce1suomi.com/air-force-1-sage.html. Austin does not believe the game-time temperature is going to be an advantage for either side heading into the Grey Cup. "We dont think about (the cold)," said Austin. "Im not even sure how you would determine an advantage. Air Force 1 Off White Suomi . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier. Air Force 1 2020 . - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning. PITTSBURGH -- Every time the St. Louis Cardinals faced Francisco Liriano in 2013, the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander found a way to push the Cardinals around. At long last, St. Louis pushed back. The Cardinals jumped on the Pirates ace early, Yadier Molina hit his second homer of the season and Jhonny Peralta added a late two-run shot as St. Louis pulled away for a 6-1 win on Saturday night. The victory was the first by the Cardinals against Liriano, who went 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA against St. Louis last season, including a triumph in Game 3 of the NL division series. "Hes tough, man, but he caught a lot of the plate with his pitches tonight, especially in the first inning and then on the home run," Molina said. "Hes a tough pitcher and we kind of caught him when he wasnt at his best." Molina finished 2 for 4 and his solo homer in the sixth gave the Cardinals plenty of cushion as they bounced back from a 12-2 loss on Friday by not waiting around for Liriano to get into a rhythm. St. Louis used a three-run first inning to put the Pirates in a quick hole then held on as Joe Kelly (1-0) shook off some rust in his first start of the season. The right-hander worked 5 1-3 innings, walking four and striking out four. "I made some good pitches when I had to but I struggled a little with my command from time to time," Kelly said. "It seemed like when I really needed to make a pitch I was able to do it and avoid getting into big trouble." The Pirates had their chances. They loaded the bases in the third but managed only a single run when Kelly walked Russell Martin. Pittsburgh left 11 runners on base, including seven in the first four innings. "We had opportunities to cash in and we werent able to do it," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said hours after agreeing to a contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through at least 2017. St. Louis reliever Carlos Martinez, who typically works the eighth inning, replaced Kelly with two on and one out in the sixth and retired Starling Marte and Travis Snider on groundouts to end the threat. "It was a part of the game where it could have gone in a different direction fast," St. LLouis manager Mike Matheny said.dddddddddddd "Carlos came out and did exactly what we needed him to do." Liriano, who struck out 10 in six innings on opening day against the Cubs, settled down after initial command issues. He surrendered four runs on seven hits in six innings, walking two and striking out four. "Theyve got some good hitters and they hit some good pitches down and I made a couple of mistakes too," Liriano said after falling to 9-2 in his career at PNC Park. "Thats part of the game. Just one of those nights." It wasnt exactly a repeat of the last time Liriano faced St. Louis, when he held the Cardinals in check in Game 3 of the NL division series to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. St. Louis rallied to take the series in five games and six months later it appears the clubs that finished one-two in the NL Central remain evenly matched. The teams have now split the last 26 meetings. For once, however, the Cardinals got the best of Pittsburghs ace by not messing around while he dealt with location issues in the first. Matt Carpenter led off with a single. Peralta walked and Matt Holliday followed with an RBI single to right. Peralta scored on a sacrifice fly by Allen Craig, with Holliday scoring on a perfectly placed single to left by Matt Adams. Molina provided insurance with a homer to right and Peraltas second home run with the Cardinals slipped inside the left field foul pole against Pittsburgh reliever Jeanmar Gomez in the ninth. That was more than enough for a bullpen that didnt surrender a hit in 3 2-3 innings of work. NOTES: Marte went 1 for 5 and has reached base in each of his 17 career games against St. Louis. ... St. Louis reliever Jason Motte, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, participated in a simulated game in Florida on Saturday. Matheny said the team doesnt have a pre-determined role set for Motte, who saved 42 games in 2012 before the injury. ... The series concludes on Sunday when Adam Wainwright (1-0, 0.00) is set to go for St. Louis against Edinson Volquez (0-0, 0.00), who pitched two innings of relief in a loss to the Cubs on Thursday. ' ' '