Astros' Brown named Texas Sportscaster of the Year

HOUSTON -- Veteran Astros television play-by-play announcer Bill Brown was named the Texas Sportscaster of the Year on Thursday by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Brown, who enters his 28th season calling Astros games in 2014, scaled back his schedule last year, calling home games and occasional road games on Comcast SportsNet Houston. He's a veteran of more than 30 years of broadcasting Major League games.

Brown joined the Astros in 1987 after working as a senior producer and anchor at the Financial News Network's SCORE program and had previously worked in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati calling Major League games.

The honor is just the latest for Brown, who was presented with the Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious Service in 2011 and inducted into the Houston Media Wall of Honor that same year. He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame on Nov. 12, 2004.