AUSTIN, Texas -- With reports swirling that Texas power brokers may be moving to oust him after this season, Longhorns coach Charlie Strong says hes heard the rumblings and is engaged -- as always -- with the principal boosters.I know the guys to keep in touch with, and I do, Strong told ESPN.com on Monday. 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.Strong, in his third season at Texas, is 13-17 in his first 30 games. The Longhorns are 2-3 after their third straight loss Saturday, a 45-40 defeat to the rival Oklahoma Sooners.All the while, just down the road, Houstons Tom Herman is the name many are floating as a potential replacement for Strong.They want the same thing I do, to see this program continue to make strides, Strong said of the Texas boosters. We need to finish strong, where were on an upswing. We dont want to be going backward, and were not.Strong said he feels the fans frustrations, but he remains confident that hell return the program back to national relevance.I thought it would be faster. I thought I would turn it faster, and boom, then wed take off, Strong said. But what happened is once you get into it, you start realizing you dont have a quarterback, you dont have this, you dont have that. So it comes back to you have to go recruit.As badly as were getting beat up out there by some people, and despite some of the things that are being said, were still getting great players. We just have to learn to win some of these close games were losing and be more consistent. Its coming, and everybody in our locker room will tell you the same thing.Strong said hes received nothing but support from his bosses at the university as well as those key power brokers. Both Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin came out in support of Strong last week.What I look at is that 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.The Longhorns have fixed their offensive problems from the first two seasons and are averaging 41 points per game, but theyve also given up 45 or more points in all three of their losses this season. Strong took over the defensive playcalling duties last week against Oklahoma, but the Longhorns still gave up 675 yards and 45 points.The problem on defense is the deep ball, and we can get that fixed, Strong said. If we have to, we wont go with any more bump-and-runs, back our corners off and make people throw the ball in front of us. Right now, whats killing us are the chunk plays. Its killing us because teams arent driving the ball. Its a home run.Strong was asked Saturday after the Oklahoma loss if it was desperation time for the program. He told ESPN.com Monday the only way he would feel desperate is if the Longhorns lacked talent and werent recruiting well. He likened Texas situation now with where Butch Jones and the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers were last season.Were in pretty much the same position -- hes a year ahead of me, Strong said. And look at where they are right now. Wholesale Shoes Online . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Wholesale Shoes Cheap . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. http://www.cheapshoeswebsites.com/ .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Cheap Shoes Online . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Wholesale Shoes Suppliers . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Desperate to improve Floridas free throw shooting last season, coach Mike White tried a little bit of everything.He tweaked some of his players mechanics. He increased repetitions in practice. He had guys shoot while tired and winded and with some team accountability at stake. He even considered bringing in a sports psychologist.I didnt want it to become more mental than it already was, White said Tuesday.So he waited until the offseason.Over the summer, White brought in renowned sports psychologist Spencer Wood to work with the Gators.If you can train your mind, use different methods to understand how to stay in that place -- whatever that place is for you or whatever that trigger word is for you -- or get you back into that place of calm, or confident, those type things, I think it can help you with the rest of your game as well, said White, whos in his second season in Gainesville.So far, its made a noticeable difference for Florida (2-0), which plays St. Bonaventure (1-0) in Lakeland on Thursday night.After ranking 323rd (out of 346 NCAA teams) from the foul line last season, shooting a meager 64.7 percent, Florida is up to 78.6 percent so far this season. Two games are hardly enough of a sample size to make White a believer, but he wants to think there is improvement.You hope that moving forward we can be in the same mindset, White said. Im not sure its fixed. I dont want to sit here and think were a great free throw shooting team. But what weve seen the first two games is what weve been in practice. You want that to continue, of course. Our guys are in a pretty good place.White said feedback was positive, especially from center John Egbunu, point guard Kasey Hill and forward Justin Leon. Egbunu (53.2 percent), Hill (53.8) and Leon (46.2) were among Floridas worst foul shooters last season. All three are above 70 percent through two games.ddddddddddddLeon said Wood worked with players to find their hype meter on a scale of 1 to 10, telling them they needed to play defense at a more frantic pace than offense, especially at the line.He gave me a lot of different breathing patterns, Leon added. So thats really been working for me. ... Its good to see it impact the game. That means the stuff weve been doing is working, and it shows weve taken the time to put the effort in the gym.Woods resume includes a number of college and professional teams. He worked with the Gators previously, getting invited by former Florida coach Billy Donovan before the 2010 season and helping that team deal with the psychological aspects of trying to get back to the NCAA tournament after a two-year absence. The Gators, led by Chandler Parsons, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker, returned to the tournament.White blamed free throw shooting for his team missing the NCAA tournament last season. The Gators blew several leads, failing to put teams away late from the line, and had double-digit misses in 10 games.The Gators look considerably more confident this season. If not for newcomer Canyon Barry missing three of his first four underhanded free throws in the opener because of nerves, the Gators would have shot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe in both games.Very nice, very nice, White said. Knock on wood we continue shooting it this way. We have in practice. We just hope we continue to see that carry over. You can see it [in] their body languages, a little more confident at the foul line. ... Its a big factor for us. It kept up out of the NCAA tournament last year, single-handedly, and hopefully this year we continue shooting like this. ' ' '