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

*Connections: Sports Edition* marks the newest offshoot of the well-loved [New York Times word game](https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections) aimed at testing the wits of sports fans.

In a manner akin to the original *Connections*, the goal is to uncover “shared themes within words.” Similar to *Wordle*, the game resets each day at midnight, with every fresh puzzle offering increased difficulty. If you find yourself at a standstill, we have tips and hints ready to assist—and if you seek today’s answer, simply scroll to the bottom of this article.

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

This daily word game from the *New York Times* is crafted in partnership with *The Athletic*, the media outlet’s sports-oriented platform. Accessible on both web browsers and mobile devices, the game invites players to categorize four words that share a specific theme.

Each puzzle features 16 words, grouped into four categories. These categories may encompass book titles, sports terminology, country names, and more. While some words may appear to belong to multiple groups, only one solution is correct for each set.

When players successfully recognize a group of four, those words are eliminated from the playing field. However, errors are counted against the player, and they have a limit of four incorrect attempts before the game concludes.

To enhance accessibility, players can shuffle the board to more easily identify connections. Each group is color-coded by level of difficulty: yellow (the simplest), followed by green, blue, and purple. Much like *Wordle*, players can share their results with friends on social platforms.

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

Looking for a hint? Here are some gentle nudges for today’s categories:

– **Yellow:** Yank
– **Green:** “Halyard” not included
– **Blue:** Aces
– **Purple:** The Canadian prime minister is not on this list

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

Still having trouble? Here are today’s puzzle categories:

– **Yellow:** *Remove from the Game*
– **Green:** *Parts of a Sailboat*
– **Blue:** *Cy Young Award Winners*
– **Purple:** *Famous Justins*

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

If you’re ready for the answers, here’s today’s puzzle solution:

– **Remove from the Game:** BENCH, PULL, REPLACE, SUB
– **Parts of a Sailboat:** HULL, JIB, MAST, RUDDER
– **Cy Young Award Winners:** COLE, SALE, SKUBAL, SNELL
– **Famous Justins:** HERBERT, JEFFERSON, MORNEAU, VERLANDER

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Don’t fret if you didn’t crack it this time—there’s always tomorrow! Another *Connections* puzzle will be ready for you, and we’ll be here with additional hints and strategies to assist.

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### Seeking More Games?

For puzzle enthusiasts, explore [Mashable’s games hub](https://games.mashable.com/) for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crosswords, and beyond. Additionally, if you’re engaged in *NYT Strands*, [we’ve got hints and answers for today’s puzzle](https://mashable.com/article/strands-nyt-hint-december-5).

Missed yesterday’s *Connections*? [Check out the solution here](https://mashable.com/article/nyt-connections-hint-answer-today-december-5).

Happy puzzling!