**Connections: Sports Edition – A Fresh Challenge for Sports Aficionados**

*Connections: Sports Edition* marks the newest offshoot of the beloved [New York Times word game](https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections), crafted to challenge the knowledge of sports fans. Like its predecessor, *Connections* invites players to uncover “common threads among words.” In a manner akin to *Wordle*, *Connections* updates daily at midnight, with each successive puzzle becoming increasingly challenging. If you find yourself in a bind, we have hints and tactics at the ready—or you can jump to the end of this article for the solution to today’s puzzle.

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### **What is Connections: Sports Edition?**

This fresh daily word game from *The New York Times* is a partnership with *The Athletic*, the NYT’s sports-centric outlet. Accessible on both web and mobile platforms, *Connections: Sports Edition* challenges players to group four words linked by a shared theme.

Each puzzle features 16 words arranged into four categories. These groupings may include sports terminology as well as broader subjects like book titles or nationalities. Although some words might appear to belong to multiple categories, only one solution is accurate.

When players successfully group four words, those entries are eliminated from the board. Nonetheless, incorrect guesses are considered errors, and players can make up to four mistakes before the game concludes. To assist with the challenge, the board can be rearranged, and categories are color-coded based on difficulty: yellow (easiest), green, blue, and purple (most difficult). Similar to *Wordle*, players can share their outcomes on social media to compare with friends.

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### **Hints for Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Categories**

In need of a slight push without revealing the answers? Here are some helpful hints for today’s categories:

– **Yellow:** Actions aimed at obstructing scoring.
– **Green:** Gear utilized in England’s summer sport.
– **Blue:** Offensive players from Los Angeles or St. Louis.
– **Purple:** Athletes known by their father’s surname.

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### **Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Categories**

For those seeking more immediate assistance, here are today’s categories:

– **Yellow:** Stop a goal
– **Green:** Equipment for cricket
– **Blue:** Rams wide receivers (both past and current)
– **Purple:** Notable juniors

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### **Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Solution**

Prepared for the answers? This is your final opportunity to turn back before we disclose today’s solution. Drumroll, please!

– **Stop a goal:** BLOCK, PARRY, SAVE, STOP
– **Equipment for cricket:** BAIL, BALL, BAT, STUMP
– **Rams WRs (both past and current):** BRUCE, HOLT, KUPP, NACUA
– **Notable juniors:** BECKHAM, EARNHARDT, GRIFFEY, RIPKEN

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### **Didn’t Get It? Give It Another Go Tomorrow!**

No need to fret if you couldn’t solve today’s puzzle—there’s always another opportunity to hone your skills tomorrow. We’ll return with additional hints and solutions to assist you.

Searching for more puzzles? Visit *Mashable’s* [games hub](https://games.mashable.com/) for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crosswords, and much more.

If you’re also engaging with *NYT Strands*, [click here](https://mashable.com/article/strands-nyt-hint-december-29) for this day’s hints and solutions.

And if you’re interested in yesterday’s *Connections* puzzle, [check the solution here](https://mashable.com/article/nyt-connections-hint-answer-today-december-29).

Enjoy puzzling!