Connections #449: Tips and Answers for December 16 Sports Edition

Key Highlights

• Game Overview: Connections: Sports Edition is a daily word challenge from the NYT in collaboration with The Athletic.
• Gameplay: Players group four related words from a selection of 16, with only one correct grouping for each set.
• Color Coding: Connections are color-coded to indicate difficulty, ranging from yellow (easiest) to purple (hardest).
• Sharing Results: Similar to Wordle, players can share their results via social media platforms.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will be easier if you know your defunct football.

As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight, and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and requires players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong, and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #449 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Injury verbs – FRACTURE, PULL, STRAIN, TEAR

• Defends – BLANKETS, COVERS, GUARDS, MARKS

• Baseball Matts – CARPENTER, CHAPMAN, HOLLIDAY, OLSON

• Teams in the original USFL – BANDITS, EXPRESS, GENERALS, WRANGLERS

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

<em>If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!</em><em> Check out our games hub</em> for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.