Looking for help? You’re in the right spot. This edition threw me. At least once. There was a golf red herring hiding in plain sight. It confused me for a solid minute. I eventually cracked it, though. If you’re stuck, keep reading. Or don’t. Spoilers ahead, obviously.
Connections: Sports Edition isn’t part of the standard NYT Games app. It lives in The Athletic. Which The New York Times owns. You can play it there for free online if you don’t want to pay for the sub. It’s not a bad puzzle. Just tricky sometimes.
Hints
Here’s the breakdown, easiest to hardest.
Fore!
That’s the yellow hint. Simple enough.Start your engines.
Green category. Feel the rumble.New York baseball.
Blue. Local knowledge helps here.The Arch City.
Purple. You need to know Columbus. Not the guy from history class. The Ohio city.
The Answers
Let’s get this over with.
Yellow: Found on the green
Golf equipment, specifically things you see right near the cup.
* Ball marker
* Flagstick
* Hole
* Putter
Green: Parts of a NASCAR team
Who runs the race from inside and out.
* Crew chief
* Driver
* Pit crew
* Spotter
Blue: Mets managers
Four guys who’ve worn the hat.
* Hodges
* Manuel
* Showalter
* Valentine
Purple: Teams in Columbus
Local squads in Ohio.
* Blue Jackets (Hockey)
* Buckeyes (College athletics, loosely)
* Clippers (G League)
* Crew (Soccer)
Wait. Buckeyes? Isn’t that Ohio State? Sure. But the puzzle counts them as a Columbus entity. It’s a loose definition, really.
Mind-Bending Past Categories
Difficulty varies wildly. My husband nails F1 trivia instantly. I’m useless with motorsports but know every Minnesota team roster. You know what I mean? It depends on your sports diet.
Still, some categories just wreck people. These four stood out.
- Serie A Clubs: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, and Roma. If you don’t watch European soccer, good luck.
- WNBA MVPs: Catchings, Delle Donne, and Fowles plus Stewart. Heavy hitters from history.
- Premier League nicknames: Bees, Cherries, and Foxes with Hammers. Abstract unless you’re a fan.
- Homophones of NBA names: Barns, Connect, Heart, and Hero. Sound-alikes are the worst. Who knew ‘Connect’ sounds like Kyrie Irving?
Sports knowledge is uneven. Some days you ace it. Others, you just guess and pray.
