Baseball: Gary Carter, a Hall of Fame catcher who helped lift the New York Mets to a dramatic victory over the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, died Thursday in Florida. He was 57 and had brain cancer.

Nicknamed “Kid” for his grit and youthful exuberance, Carter (pictured above) was an 11-time All-Star who hit .262 with 324 home runs and 1,225 runs batted in during 18 seasons playing for the Montreal Expos, Mets, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Carter was coaching at Palm Beach Atlantic University near his Florida home last May when he experienced headaches and forgetfulness and was diagnosed with brain cancer.

“Nobody loved the game of baseball more than Gary Carter,” Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver said. “Nobody enjoyed playing the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. He wore his heart on his sleeve every inning he played. For a catcher to play with that intensity in every game is special.”

Former Expos pitcher Steve Rogers, who is now a players’ union special assistant, played with Carter in Montreal.

“Gary was a champion,” Rogers said. “He was a ‘gamer’ in every sense of the word – on the field and in life. He made everyone else around him better …”

Los Angeles Times

Broncos sign Ex-Cougar Hill

NFL: The Denver Broncos signed free-agent wide receiver Jason Hill.

The sixth-year pro has played for Jacksonville and San Francisco, which selected him in the third round of the 2007 draft out of Washington State.

Hill has 76 career catches for 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns. He started 10 times last year and recorded a career-best 367 yards and three TDs on 25 catches for the Jaguars.

Associated Press

Ching goes back to Houston

Soccer: The Houston Dynamo reacquired forward Brian Ching, a former Gonzaga University standout, from the Montreal Impact in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.

Ching, an original Dynamo player and the club’s all-time leading goal scorer, was selected by the Impact in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft in November. Ching returns to Houston among the leaders of several franchise records.