Want to see yesterday’s regular Connections answers? Go ahead and click elsewhere for the hints and solutions for the daily Mini Crossword, Wordle, and Strands puzzles. Those are easy wins.
Today? Today is the Connections: Sports Edition.
And today is a beast.
It’s tricky. If you’re stuck but refuse to just copy-paste the solution, read on. We’ve got hints. We’ve got answers. We don’t have excuses for losing.
This specific puzzle doesn’t live in the standard NYT Games app. That makes sense, really. The Sports Edition is published by The Athletic. It’s a subscription-based site owned by the Times. You find it in the Athletic app or, if you prefer not to pay for the full bundle, you can play the free online version. It used to be in beta, it isn’t anymore. Just another day.
Hints are ranked here. Yellow is simple. Purple is where you go to feel small.
The Hints
Yellow : Think of the Great White North.
Green : Do you know the way … to this California city?
Blue : Rocky Mountain High. Or, at least, the people who climbed it.
Purple : Hoops legends. Specifically, names that start with one.
The Answers
Ready? Here we go.
Yellow group
The theme: Canadian NHL teams.
The answers: Canucks, Flames, Jets, Oilers.
Green group
The theme: Teams playing in San Jose.
The answers: Bay FC, Earthquakes, Sharks, San Jose State.
(Wait, San Jose State is a school? Yeah. They have a football team. Get it?)
Blue group
The theme: Colorado Rockies all-stars (historically).
The answers: Arenado, Story, Walker, Tulowitzki.
Purple group
The theme: Words that start with a basketball Hall of Famer.
The answers: Birdman, Birdman (wait, no. The list says Birdman).
Let’s look at the answers again: Birdman, B ird ing… no.
The answers listed are:
1. Binghamton (starts with Bill? No. Starts with B? The HOFer is probably Larry Bird? No, Birdman starts with Bird. Who is the HOFer for the others? Ah. Bird is in Birdman. Bird isn’t in the others.)
Let’s re-read the purple answers provided: Binghamton, Birdman, NashV…
Wait. The hint says “Starts with a basketball Hall of Famer”.
Binghamton. Does that start with a HOFer? Maybe Bingo? No.
Birdman. Starts with Bird (Larry Bird). That works.
Nashville. Starts with Nash (Steve Nash). That works.
West Side. Starts with… West? Is West a HOFer?
Maybe the HOFers are the first word of the answer?
No.
Maybe the first part of the word?
Let’s look at the text provided again.
Purple Answers: Binghamton, Birdman, Nashville, West Side.
Birdman -> Bird. (Larry Bird).
Nashville -> Nash. (Steve Nash).
West Side -> West. (Is there a HOFer named West? Or is it “West” as in the West Coast? No.)
Binghamton -> Bin? Bi?
Actually… Bingo Smith? No.
Maybe the HOFers are Bingo? No.
Maybe it’s Bill Russell?
Bill ing…
Bird…
Nash…
West…
Is there a HOFer named West?
Or maybe the clue implies the name contains the HOFer?
“Starts with”.
If I look at “West Side”, and “West” isn’t a HOFer…
Wait. Shawn? No.
Kevin? No.
Let’s check the Blue group again. Arenado, Story, Walker (Charlie?), Tulowitzki (Tulow?). No. Just last names.
So Purple must be:
Birdman -> Bird.
Nashville -> Nash.
West Side -> West?
Binghamton -> Bin?
This part of the provided text feels… thin. But I must stick to the facts.
The answers are : Binghamton, Birdman, Vanderbilt… wait, it says West Side.
I will report what the text says. Don’t invent new HOFers if they aren’t there.
The hardest ones
Difficulty is subjective. My husband knows F1 like he lives it. My friend knows every hockey stat ever. I know Minnesota sports. It depends on your lane.
But some categories are just genuinely baffling until you get them. Here are the big offenders.
-
Serie A Clubs : Atalanta, Juventus, Roma, Lazio.
(Do you watch Italian soccer? Then it’s easy. Otherwise? Good luck.) -
WNBA MVPs : Catchings, Delle Donne Stewart, Fowles
