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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. But if you’re a shoe junkie, you might ace the blue category. 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: Baseball grouping.
Green group hint: You might do this to a door.
Blue group hint: Just do it.
Purple group hint: Not real coaches, but…
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: NL East teams.
Green group: Synonyms of slam, in basketball.
Blue group: Nike shoes.
Purple group: Actors who played football coaches.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Sept. 10, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is NL East teams. The four answers are Atlanta, Miami, New York and Philadelphia.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is synonyms of slam, in basketball. The four answers are drunk, flush, jam and stuff.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Nike shoes. The four answers are Blazer, Cortez, Pegasus and Shox.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is actors who played football coaches. The four answers are Pacino, Thornton, Washington and Winkler.
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.
