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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. As a Vikings and Seahawks fan, I spotted two nicknames for parts of those teams right away. Of course, the purple category is its typically loopy self. 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: Buy me some Cracker Jack.
Green group hint: Hoops homes.
Blue group hint: Like the Monsters of the Midway.
Purple group hint: Football teams, with a twist.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Things a stadium vendor sells.
Green group: NBA arenas.
Blue group: Famous nicknames for NFL defenses.
Purple group: NFL teams, with the second-to-last letter changed.
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 things a stadium vendor sells. The four answers are beer, cotton candy, hot dogs and peanuts.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is NBA arenas. The four answers are Barclays, Little Caesars, Smoothie King and United.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is famous nicknames for NFL defenses. The four answers are Legion of Boom, Orange Crush, Purple People Eaters and Steel Curtain.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is NFL teams, with the second-to-last letter changed. The four answers are beads (Bears), biles (Bills), colas (Colts) and packets (Packers).
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.
