2018 VYPE/K-MAC Volleyball Awards
Texas' Elite teams; All-State teams & more
Dec 20, 2018, 3:39 pm
volleyball awards vype.com
Originally Appeared on VYPE
Six UIL classifications.
Approximately 1,100 schools with a volleyball program.
If each school has, say, 10 players on its varsity roster (most teams have 9-15 players), that's 11,100 volleyball-playing student-athletes.
Good luck trying to identify about 250 of the best players in that pool of 11,000-plus.
Okay, enough of the dramatics. But you get the idea of what we were working with as we proudly announce the First Annual K-MAC Sports/VYPE Media All-State awards.
Butch Hart, whom I consider the Godfather when it comes to coverage of Texas High School girls' athletics (he's only been doing it since 1983), was nice enough to work with me on this list.
We're very thankful we received some knowledgeable input too. We'd like to thank the Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA); Felix Chavez of the El Paso Times; and a handful of coaches who wish to remain anonymous, all of whom provided input (stats, information, opinions) that helped us form the awards you see here.
We had one rule when we set out to make these awards: no restrictions or politics; no regards to number of schools (or their locations) included, no regards to graduation date – nothing. We just set out to name The Best of the Best.
The story continues here
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Astros stumble again as Braves complete gut-wrenching series sweep
Apr 17, 2024, 4:51 pm
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night at the Washington Nationals.
Houston manager Joe Espada made the announcement Wednesday.
“Getting him back is huge because it brings a level of confidence to our team, a boost of confidence that we’re going to get someone who’s been an MVP, a Cy Young (winner) on the mound,” Espada said. “It's (good) for the morale and to get stuff started and moving in the right direction.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. He made two rehabilitation starts, the first for Triple-A Sugar Land on April 7 before Saturday’s start for Double-A Corpus Christi.
Espada wouldn't say how many pitches the 41-year-old would be limited to but said they'll keep an eye on his workload.
“We've got to be careful how hard we push him early,” Espada said. “I know he’s going to want to go and stay out there and give us an opportunity to win, but we've got to be cautious of how hard we push him early in the season.”
Verlander wasn’t thrilled with the results in his rehabilitation starts, but he said Monday that those games were valuable in getting him prepared to come off the IL.
He allowed seven hits and six runs — five earned — in four innings against Frisco on Saturday. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.
Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six while pitching into the fourth inning for Sugar Land on April 7.
The Astros have gotten off to a tough start with Verlander and fellow starters Framber Valdez and José Urquidy on the injured list. They enter Wednesday's games last in the AL West with a 6-13 record.
Espada hopes Verlander can be the boost the team needs to get on track.
“It’s good to get him back in the rotation,” Espada said. “With what he means to this club just to get him back on track, getting some innings from him (to) build our rotation with the pieces that we need to move forward is exciting.”