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Connections: Sports Edition has a fun purple category. Once you see the connection, you’ll assemble that one easily enough. Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Think Venus and Serena Williams.
Green group hint: Protect your head on the gridiron.
Blue group hint: Hoopster Bruins.
Purple group hint: A certain color.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Tennis lingo.
Green group: Parts of a football helmet.
Blue group: UCLA basketball alumni.
Purple group: Orange things.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is tennis lingo. The four answers are ace, deuce, fault and let.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is parts of a football helmet. The four answers are chin strap, face mask, pads and shell.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is UCLA basketball alumni. The four answers are Holiday, Lavine, Love and Westbrook.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is orange things. The four answers are basketball, football pylon, Netherlands and Syracuse.
Quick tips for Connections: Sports Edition
#1: Don’t grab for the easiest group. For each word, think about other sports categories it might fit in – is this a word that can be used in football, or to describe scoring options?
#2: Second meanings are important. The puzzle loves to use last names and even college names that mean other things, to fool you into thinking they are words, not names.
#3: And the opposite is also true. Words like HURTS might seem like a regular word, but it’s also the last name of at least one pro athlete.
