AUSTIN, Texas -- ?As Charlie Strong gets off an elevator near his office, a student recognizes him and wants to show the Texas coach a video. Its footage of the cannon shooting off from the 45-40 loss to Oklahoma last Saturday. Strong enthusiastically obliges and later runs into one of his walk-on players majoring in engineering and jokes, I sure didnt major in engineering.For a guy whos reportedly in serious trouble, Strong doesnt show it. He knows the stakes and knows that he probably will be in trouble if the Longhorns dont turn it around and suffer through a third straight losing season. But he also knows that spending any time wondering or fretting about whom may or may not be against him among Texas power brokers is useless.I said to somebody the other day that what we have going here is that the players are still with us, Strong told ESPN.com in a wide-ranging interview on Monday. Now, if we had the players complaining, wed be in trouble. And the parents, too. I get text upon text upon text from parents telling me to hang in there and that theyre praying for me and that their son came here to play for me.Its a lot more unified here than maybe some people have made it out to be. Were talented and were young, and weve got guys who can play. We just have to find a way to be more consistent, and were going to do that.In the face of three straight losses and swirling speculation that his third season at Texas could be his last, Strong doesnt flinch.Its not his style, never has been.He didnt flinch as a kid growing up in Batesville, Arkansas, when on some nights he would share a house with as many as 15 people. He didnt flinch during his defensive coordinator days at Florida when he kept getting passed over for head coaching jobs by less qualified candidates.And hes certainly not going to flinch now, even with a 13-17 record as Texas head coach and the restlessness and grumbling at one of college footballs biggest fish bowls growing louder by the day ... and the loss.For the 56-year-old Strong, its business as usual. His blueprint and his vision havent wavered. Neither has his resolve.You stick to it, especially here, because if you dont, it will wear you down, he says.Unfortunately for him, his Monday each of the past three weeks has been the same, trying to explain a Texas loss and, more specifically, how the Longhorns suddenly cant stop anybody. Theyve given up at least 45 points in all three losses and a total of 1,734 yards.Its no secret that the specter of Houstons Tom Herman looms large in these parts. The fear among some Texas supporters is that Herman may be scooped up by another school if Texas doesnt act this year by cutting ties with Strong.Confronted with that scenario, Strong flashes his easy smile and shrugs. Sure, hes heard it -- more than once.At the same time, he also has been in touch with key boosters, as he has since he took the job. More importantly, he knows which ones to call. Of course, at a place like Texas, one of the inherent problems is that everybody thinks hes a key booster, creating a very vocal and loud minority.Theres also a misnomer out there that Strong isnt engaged with some of the big-money Texas boosters. Just this summer, he attended a function at Roger Staubachs house in Horseshoe Bay with several prominent Texas donors.I know the guys to keep in touch with, and I do, Strong said. Theyve been great and always want to know if theres anything they can do to help. Now, I dont go to dinner with those guys, so Im not going to be seen in public with them. Im not a member of their country club and I dont play golf, so I dont go play golf with them. But I pick up the phone and call them, keep in touch.They want the same thing I do, to see this program continue to make strides.Strong said the notion that he has tucked away in his own football cocoon and disengaged with everybody simply isnt true and a narrative that has been falsely planted.They also said we had no relationship with high school coaches, and look at the recruits weve been able to get in this state, Strong said. Its almost like everything they said we dont do, we do. Thats why you dont spend time fighting that stuff. We have enough to keep us busy.Like winning games, which ultimately will decide Strongs fate. Hes not na?ve. Even with the recruiting gains made on his watch, it would be difficult for him to survive if this season completely unravels. The Longhorns close out October with Iowa State at home this Saturday, then Kansas State on the road and Baylor back home.We need to finish strong, where were on an upswing, Strong said. We dont want to be going backward, and were not.Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin both came publicly last week in support of Strong. Dreaded votes of confidence or not, one of the things Strong has going for him is that Perrin is from the Darrell Royal tree, and many of Royals former players are influential and have expressed their support for Strong.But most important, at least with regard to turning this season around, is that the Texas players have remained staunchly behind Strong.What I look at is we have a team thats making strides and not going backward, Strong said. Now, we havent won like we want to, but I look at where were heading and know well get there because I believe in the kids so much that I know its going to happen.Strong was criticized for Texas lack of offense his first two seasons, and one of his mandates from fans was to bring in a quarterback for the future. Well, he has done that with freshman sensation Shane Buechele, who has thrown for 1,204 yards and 11 touchdowns.The problem now is on defense. The Longhorns have been scorched by the deep ball, and even with Strong taking over the defensive play-calling last week, the results were the same. Its true that you have to be equipped to win shootouts every week to contend in the Big 12, but Strong said the plan was never to sacrifice on defense to get there.I dont think we sacrificed anything, he said. What we have lost is giving up the big play. I dont think weve lost anything in terms of toughness or competing on defense. Its just giving up the big plays. Thats what is killing us right now, and thats what we have to get fixed.Strong has never been one to think too much about the what ifs in coaching.Its part of the business. People lose their jobs, he said.But in terms of the bigger picture, he admits theres a different sort of pressure to succeed at Texas that he holds near and dear to his heart. Its why he says softly, but with conviction, that he has to make it.I look at it like this: A lot of African-Americans didnt get this opportunity, and now that I did get it, there are so many people counting on me to be successful, and not just African-Americans, but people who just never got a chance, Strong said. Sometimes, I think its bigger than me. I dont know why I think like this, but Ill be lying in bed at night thinking, Theres another minority out there who wants to be the CEO of IBM, and if Im successful here, will that success help that guy go be the CEO of IBM or go run a hospital?You look at Texas and look at how big the Texas job is, and nobody wants to win more than I do. But if that opens up doors for others, thats a win for a lot of people. Nike MLB Jerseys China . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. http://www.cheapmlbjerseys.info/ . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys Free Shipping . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Pakistan 284 for 9 in 49 overs (Azam 120, Sharjeel 54, Carlos Brathwaite 3-54) beat West Indies 175 (Samuels 46, Nawaz 4-42) by 111 runs (D/L method)Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe 21-year-old Babar Azam enhanced his promising reputation with a maiden ODI hundred against West Indies on Friday. That, sandwiched between Sharjeel Khans half-century, and a late cameo from Imad Wasim, led Pakistan to 284 for 9 in a match reduced to 49-overs-a-side because of a floodlight failure. Chasing 287, courtesy the Duckworth-Lewis revisions, West Indies sleepwalked their way, much like they had done in the T20Is, to 175, and suffered another demoralising defeat.There is an air of serenity around Azam. He is technically correct in defence and drives with the head over the ball. He was among very few to receive glowing appraisals from coach Mickey Arthur after the disastrous tour of England.In Sharjah he walked in to face the second ball of the match, after a Shannon Gabriel beauty that had Azhar Ali nicking behind for a duck. It took a stunning catch from Kieron Pollard at the edge of the wide long-on boundary to ultimately dismiss Azam in the 43rd over for 120 off 131 balls. In between, there was a display of solid strokes coupled with risk-free cricket and a stroke of luck - he survived a close lbw appeal off Sulieman Benn early in his innings. He lugged 70 of his runs through ones and twos: excellent running in humid conditions.Azam first added 82 for the second wicket with Sharjeel, and then 99 for the fourth with Sarfraz Ahmed. Wary of the seam movement generated by Jason Holder and Gabriel, Azam played copybook cricket more often than not. It wasnt until Sharjeel cut loose that Pakistan began to lift the scoring rate - he clattered 44 of Pakistans 60 in the Powerplay.West Indies Powerplay, on the other hand, was a crawl. If they hoped to stop the rot at the top of the order by introducing a debutant in Kraigg Brathwaite, who had played 31 Tests before this game, they were in for a reality check. They managed all of two boundaries in their first ten overs, both supplied by Johnson Charles before he was dismissed by Mohammad Amir.After posing a threat with a bevy of away-going deliveries from over the wicket, Amir had switched his angle to around the wicket and coaxed the ball to straighten enough to take the outside edge. West Indies had to wait 30 balls for their next boundary, which was also Kraigg Brathwaites first, off the 34th ball he faced.Kraigg Brathwaites poor debut ended when he angled Hasan Ali behind in the 13th over for 14 off 38 balls. In fact, it was the second-slowest, in terms of strike rate,, by a West Indian on ODI debut.dddddddddddd Mohammad Nawaz, the left-arm spinner, then unravelled the chase with three quick strikes, including wickets of Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin. When Kieron Pollard sliced a catch to deep point, West Indies were 99 for 5 and the asking rate had crept towards eight. Marlon Samuels flickered briefly and made 46 before West Indies were bowled out in 38.4 overs. They just couldnt find a way to adapt, again.Sharjeel, though, had adapted well enough, even as West Indies blocked his favoured leg-side region during Pakistans innings. He responded to the seamers modus operandi of testing in the channel outside off by hitting a flurry of boundaries down the ground. He scythed Gabriel over mid-off for a brace of fours before shovelling Carlos Brathwaite and Holder over long-on.The arrival of spin, however, slowed Pakistan down. Only 65 runs came off the next 15 overs for the loss of Sharjeel and Shoaib Malik. Benn, who bowled slower through the air as opposed to firing it in, provided West Indies with a breakthrough when he had Sharjeel skewing an outside edge to short third man for a 43-ball 54. Twenty balls later, Sunil Narine found Shoaib Maliks outside edge, which was held at slip.In between the two wickets, Azam endured the first of the two insecure moments during his knock. Benn slid in an arm-ball, which rapped him on the pad. Ahsan Raza, the on-field umpire, shot down the appeal, but Holder insisted on a review. Hawk-Eye showed that the ball would carry onto hit the top of the stumps, which meant umpires call was upheld. Then in the 27th over, Azam escaped when Carlos Brathwaite failed to effect a direct hit off his own bowling following a mix-up with Sarfraz.Sarfraz, himself, was reprieved on 5 when Ramdin fluffed a stumping chance. He proceeded to keep the score ticking with Azam. Just as he threatened to accelerate, Holder duped him with a slower ball.Azam, however, went on to raise his ton off 119 balls, having been on 50 off 74 balls. He reached three figures when he drove Narine through the covers in the 38th over. He celebrated the landmark by leaping in the air before performing the sajdah.Azam then spanked Benn and Narine for leg-side sixes, but when he attempted one against Carlos Brathwaite, Pollard snaffled the big hit. A floodlight failure, which lasted for over an hour, handed West Indies some respite. Pakistan were limited to 24 for 3 in 4.3 overs upon resumption, but it was only crumbs of consolation for the losing side. 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