Looking for the main Connections? Go elsewhere.
Today we tackle the spin-off. The Connections: Sports Edition dropped June 7. Puzzle number 622. If you know sports, you’re fine. If not, keep scrolling.
It’s by The Athletic. Not the NYT Games app.
You play it online or on their app. No subscription wall for this one, oddly. It used to be in beta. Now it’s just… here.
Here’s the breakdown. Four groups. Four colors. Try not to spoil it for yourself by reading ahead. I said try.
Hints
Start yellow. End purple. Usually.
- Yellow : Run. Grab the ball.
- Green : Big names. Basketball centers. The legends.
- Blue : Tennis. Paris courts. Men’s winners.
- Purple : Politics? Or just scandal? Think Richard Nixon.
Answers
Did you solve it?
Yellow. Football receiving routes.
Curl, drag, fade, out. Simple patterns.
Green. Hall of Fame centers. First names only.
Bill, Hakeem, Kareem, Wilt. The heavy hitters.
Blue. French Open champs. Singles. Men.
Borg, Courier, Laver, Nadal. Red clay specialists.
Purple. ____ Gate.
Bounty, Deflate, Spy, Tail. Sounds like a watergate sequel, really.
The Hard Stuff
Difficulty is subjective. Obviously.
My husband eats F1 trivia for breakfast. My best friend lives for hockey. I only care if the Vikings show up. That makes the categories weird. Sometimes easy, sometimes brutal.
Some past categories still sting though.
- Serie A Clubs. Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Rome. You need to follow European soccer closely.
- WNBA MVPs. Catchings, Delle Donne, Lacy, Stewart. Niche. I mean, respectfully so.
- Premier League Nicknames. Bees, Cherries, Foxers, Hammers. Who thinks about that at 3 AM?
Who knew team mascots could be a puzzle category?
It works though. Sort of.
