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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition isn’t too tricky. (Floridians, you’ll do well today.) If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Sunshine State.
Green group hint: Grab your racket.
Blue group hint: Drop the puck.
Purple group hint: High draft picks.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Florida teams.
Green group: Types of tennis courts.
Blue group: NHL awards.
Purple group: NFL draft No. 1 picks, familiarly.
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 Florida teams. The four answers are Dolphins, Lightning, Magic and Rays.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is types of tennis courts. The four answers are carpet, clay, grass and hard.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is NHL awards. The four answers are Hart, Lady Byng, Norris and Vezina.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is NFL draft No. 1 picks, familiarly. The four answers are Baker, Eli, Keyshawn and Orlando.
Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories
The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.
That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.
#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.
#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.
#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.
#4: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.