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Who will win top awards this week at the Houston Auto Show?

Michael Herzing
Jan 22, 2019, 11:15 am
Courtesy photo.


Courtesy photo.

Mike Herzing is one of three founders of The Texas Motor Press Association.

One of the most anticipated events at the Houston Auto Show: the presentation of the Texas Truck, Car, SUV and CUV of the Year awards. This the "Texas Academy Awards" for the automotive industry, with four winners: Texas Car of the Year, Texas Truck of the Year, Texas SUV of the Year and the Texas Crossover of the Year. Presented by the Texas Motor Press Association, the winners are selected by an elite group of Texas Automotive Journalists.

Seeing a need to support automotive journalists in Texas, The Texas Motor Press Association (TxMPA) is the brainchild of Award-Winning Journalists Michael Herzing, Eileen Falkenberg-Hull and Alan Gell, who formed the organization on behalf of journalists. The organization hosts educational and networking events throughout the year to help members create meaningful, insightful, and informed content that influences the public's buying decisions, appeals to enthusiast interests, and registers with a Texas-based audience and beyond.

TxMPA, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization for automotive industry professionals, has quickly gained the support of some of the industry's foremost automotive journalists, including those from top outlets such Roadshow by CNET, The Drive, SB Nation Radio, American City Business Journals, AutoGuide, Alex on Autos, and Autobytel/Autoweb gained membership. In addition to notable nationwide outlets, TxMPA has members from Texas, the country's largest truck market, including personnel from TxGarage, Outdoor4X magazine, Let's Talk Wheels, iHeartVehicles, KCBQ AM, CarProUSA, and Estate Life Magazines.

Each spring the organization hosts the Texas Off-Road Invitational, an off-roading event where members test drive vehicles in challenging off-road conditions, interview vehicle engineers and product planners, and take a deep dive into the mechanics and design of the vehicles. ATVs and UTVs are welcome at this event. At the end of the Invitational, voting members register their votes for Texas Off-Road Truck of the Year, Texas Off-Road SUV of the Year, Texas Off-Road ATV of the Year, and Texas Off-Road UTV of the Year. The winners are announced that day.

In the late autumn, TxMPA hosts TxTalks, a day of Ted Talk-like speeches and interviews exclusively for members that allows attendees to expand their knowledge in a variety of automotive and professional development topics.

The TxMPA is led by President Michael Herzing, Vice President Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, and a Board of Directors consisting of Alan Gell, Bill Owney, Michael Garfield, and Greg Riley.

Anyone interested in TxMPA membership as an industry, journalist, influencer, or sponsor is encouraged to go to: https://texasmotorpress.com

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Maldonado had a big homer

Astros ride a big inning to win over Mariners to even series

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

After the Mariners came alive late in Monday's series opener to hand the Houston the loss and keep their playoff picture hanging in the balance, the Astros returned to T-Mobile Park on Tuesday to try and decrease their magic number. Here's how the middle game went:

Final Score: Astros 6, Mariners 1.

Record: 28-27, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Framber Valdez (5-3, 3.57 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Casey Sadler (1-2, 5.40 ERA).

Both teams trade first-inning runs

The Astros struck first in Tuesday's game, not waiting around until the ninth inning to get on the board. Instead, they jumped out to an immediate 1-0 lead after a two-out RBI-single by Kyle Tucker in the top of the first. The Mariners responded quickly, though, getting a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning before a two-out RBI-double of their own to tie it 1-1.

Astros score five in the sixth

The 1-1 score held all the way until the top of the sixth when the Astros would flip the script from the night prior, taking advantage of some mistakes by Seattle to put up a big inning. First, Michael Brantley started the inning with a solo go-ahead homer to make it 2-1. Then, Kyle Tucker would get his third hit of the night with one out before eventually scoring after a walk and two wild pitches, making it 3-2. With two walks to keep the inning alive and put some insurance runs on base, Martin Maldonado took advantage with a big three-run home run to extend the lead to 6-1.

Valdez finishes seven strong, Astros even series

After allowing the one run in the bottom of the first, Framber Valdez recovered and put together a solid outing on the mound. He allowed just five hits total, two of which came in the first, then back-to-back singles in the fourth and a single in the fifth, while otherwise keeping the Mariners at bay. He would end up completing seven innings of one-run baseball while striking out eight. His final line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 0 HR, 108 P.

After Valdez, Enoli Paredes would take over in the bottom of the eighth, working around a leadoff single to get a scoreless inning to keep it 6-1. In the non-save situation, Josh James would come in for the bottom of the ninth and finish off the win for Houston.

Up Next: The finale and rubber game of this three-game set will start a bit earlier on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 5:40 PM Central. The pitching matchup will be Nick Margevicius (1-3, 5.35 ERA) for the Mariners going against Zack Greinke (3-2, 3.90 ERA) for the Astros.

astros recap astros score mariners recap mariners score astros vs mariners mlb mlb recap framber valdez kyle tucker martin maldonado astros

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