AUSTIN, Texas -- In meetings, in practice and when he was just thinking to himself, Charlie Strong pleaded with his team not to be a one-game wonder after a big season-opening win. Jeremy Lin Jersey .That turned out to not be a problem at all.Freshman quarterback Shane Buechele passed for 244 yards and four touchdowns and No. 11 Texas backed up its first national ranking since 2013 with a 41-7 victory over UTEP on Saturday night.I was nervous, said Strong, who entered the season under tremendous pressure after two losing seasons. Everyone was telling them how good they are and I wondered how would they respond? I kept telling them, `Just focus. We havent done anything yet.Sophomore linebacker Malik Jefferson said the message came through. But Jefferson suggested the players didnt really need the reminder because they knew how to handle the week after beating Notre Dame.We were 5-7 last year, Jefferson said. We cant be satisfied with anything.Buechele wasnt there for the previous two years of losing, but there was no letup from the freshman as he put together another splendid game with his arm and feet. He was 22 of 27 passing and his 34 yards rushing in the zone read option showed the Longhorns (2-0) have even another wrinkle in their new offense.Buechele threw touchdown passes of 29 and 7 yards to Jerrod Heard, who started at quarterback most of 2015 but moved to wide receiver this season. He also connected with Dorian Leonard for a 46-yard score in the third quarter that made it 34-7.I felt good out there, Buechele said. We started slow but I feel like we finished strong ... I like throwing the ball to all these guys.Aaron Jones ran for 123 yards and a 51-yard touchdown for UTEP (1-1).THE TAKEAWAYUTEP: The Miners missed the passing of injured starting quarterback Zack Greenlee, who was held out to rest a strained knee before the start of the Conference USA schedule. Kavika Johnson was 9 of 15 for 42 yards, and Jones gave the Miners their only punch on offense. The Longhorns knew Jones was the primary option on nearly every UTEP possession until the score got out of hand.Were not making excuses for anything. They whipped us handily, Kugler said.Texas: Buechele continues to impress. His second start came behind an offensive line that was missing two starters with injuries. Buechele was sacked three times and withstood several more hits, but his first two touchdown passes were precision throws into coverage on the sideline in the end zone. His third was a deep throw that hit Leonard in stride.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Longhorns should stand pat. They easily handled a team they were supposed to and Buechele proved hes no fluke. No one in front of Texas lost so theres no real room to move up unless AP voters punish No. 9 Georgia for its close win over Nicholls. Staying where they are they are would still be another big step for a program that has been on the skids the last two years.HEARDS BIRTHDAY BREAKOUTHeards first two career touchdown passes came on his 21st birthday. Hed been letting everyone know his big day was coming up by announcing it for days on Twitter. He finished with six catches for 46 yards.It says hes a ball player, said Texas running back Chris Warren III. Hes an athlete who can play.Strong praised Heards quick adjustment to catching passes instead of throwing them. Last season, it was Heard who everyone thought was the quarterback of the future when he broke Vince Youngs single-game school record for total offense.Hes always vibrant, always has a smile on his face. That first touchdown was a good catch, Strong said.UP NEXTUTEP: The Miners host Army next Saturday in their last game before starting Conference USA play.Texas: The Longhorns get their first road test next Saturday at California, which beat Texas 45-44 last season when the Longhorns missed an extra point in the final seconds.LAST WORDHes very talented, Kugler said about Buechele. Probably Texas fans are really excited of having him for four years. Antonio Davis Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Toronto Raptors Gear . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. https://www.cheapraptors.com/ . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. NEW YORK -- The Yankees?announced Sunday that?Alex Rodriguez?will play his final game in pinstripes Friday, then assume a position as?a special adviser and instructor with the team.Following Fridays game, Rodriguez will be unconditionally released by the Yankees from his player contract in order to sign a contract to serve in his new role with the organization through Dec. 31, 2017.This is a tough day. I love this game and I love this team, Rodriguez said, often choking up during Sundays news conference. And today Im saying goodbye.Rodriguez, 41, said the agreement arose out of conversations over the past few days with Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner. Relegated to little more than a spare part lately, the three-time AL MVP said the last four weeks have not been fun.Its been very painful and embarrassing to sit on the bench. Its been awkward, Rodriguez explained.Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, however, acknowledged that Rodriguez has a right to change his mind and pursue any potential opportunity. And for his part, Rodriguez never used the word retire.So, if another team offered him a chance to play, would he consider it?A lots happened the last 72 hours, Rodriguez said. You know, when Hal told me, I just told him: Give me a few days. I need to kind of think on this, sleep on it. I have not thought past the pinstripes, and my horizon is Friday. And, I havent thought much more than that.Yankees manager Joe Girardi said hed talk to Rodriguez about possibly playing this week in Boston before the team returns home.Hes earned the right for us to sit down and have a conversation, Girardi said, later adding, If he wants to play in every game, Ill find a way.The Yankees, who are pushing to play younger players, are contractually obligated to pay Rodriguez the remainder of his $21 million salary for this season and the $21 million he is owed for 2017, the final season of a 10-year, $275 million contract that was the largest in Major League Baseball when he signed it.Cashman confirmed that Rodriguez and the team did not reach any type of settlement regarding the remainder of his contract. Rodriguez, therefore, will be paid the full sum still owed on his deal, which is approximately $27 million.When asked if the Yankees considered letting Rodriguez play on another team in order to reach certain home run milestones, Cashman said no teams reached out to the Yankees to inquire about trading for him.Rodriguez has won three MVPs and has made 14 All-Star teams during his 19 full seasons in the big leagues. He is fourth on the all-time home run list with 696, trailing leader Barry Bonds (762) by 66.Of course I think I can play baseball. You always think you have one more hit in you, Rodriguez said. That wasnt in the cards. That was the Yankees decision, and Im at peace with it.With Brett Gardner, Brian McCann and his teammates in attendance at a packed news conference, Rodriguez said he was thankful he would get a few more at-bats in front of family and friends.We all want to keep playing forever, Rodriguez said. But it doesnt work that way.Rodriguezs announcement comes just two days after Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira announced he would retire at the end of the season.I think the ultimate way to go out is to go out on your own terms and Tex is getting an opportunity to do that, and its sad to see that Alex isnt, Gardner said. If we had played better collectively as a team things wouldnt be unfolding this way. Its something thats kind of hard to swallow. Ive been around ffor a little while and its sad to see Alex going like this. Stanley Johnson Jersey. Statistically speaking, Rodriguez is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he may never get in because he was suspended a then-record full season in 2014 for performance-enhancing drug use. It was the second time he had admitted to using PEDs.The Yankees had essentially made Rodriguez a full-time bench player this season one year after he was a vital member of the lineup during his 33-home run comeback in 2015. But he never could get going in 2016, hitting just .204 with 9 home runs and 29 RBIs in 62 games. His OPS is .609.Rodriguez recently sounded at peace with being cut, saying he would go home to Miami to spend more time with his daughters. Rodriguez mentioned his daughters this spring when he told ESPN he planned to retire following the 2017 season.Rodriguez was drafted by the Seattle Mariners as the No. 1 pick in 1993. By 1996, at 20, he was an All-Star and second in the MVP voting after leading the league in average at .358 and home runs at 36.By the time he was 25, he left Seattle for Texas for what was then the largest contract in American sports history, a 10-year, $252 million deal that exactly doubled the $126 million the?Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Garnett?was due to earn.Though he personally produced for the Rangers, the marriage would last only last three years. After winning the MVP in Texas in 2003, Rodriguez was nearly dealt to the Boston Red Sox, who were still in the middle of their 86-year championship drought. A trade for Manny Ramirez was agreed upon, but it was foiled by the MLB Players Association, which wouldnt allow Rodriguez to give back money from his initial contact.With Derek Jeter at shortstop and Aaron Boone -- who had just beaten the Red Sox with a game-winning home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series -- at third base, the Yankees did not have a need for Rodriguez. But when Boone tore ligaments in his knee playing pickup basketball, Cashman swooped in, dealing?Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias for Rodriguez. The Rangers chose Arias over a minor leaguer named Robinson Cano, who was on a list of players from which Texas could choose. Texas also paid $67 million of the $179 million that Rodriguez was still owed.Rodriguez agreed to move from shortstop to third base in order to play next to Jeter. Rodriguez went on to win three MVPs, and he finally shook off his postseason troubles by leading the Yankees offensively during their 2009 World Series run.Prior to that season, Rodriguez first admitted to PED use after a Sports Illustrated story outed him.Rodriguez said after the SI story that he was a changed man, but his involvement in Biogenesis and subsequent fight to try to overcome the allegations led him to file lawsuits against baseball, the players association and a team doctor. He questioned the integrity of then-commissioner Bud Selig, as well as other executives, during a controversy-filled attempt at a defense.There was a thought Rodriguez may never play again after the suspension, but with the Yankees still owing him $61 million, Steinbrenner decided to let him return.Rodriguez, looking for forgiveness, carried himself with contrition and helped lead the Yankees to an AL wild-card berth in 2015.This year, though, he and the team have not had the same results.ESPNs Andrew Marchand and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '