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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun mix. When I saw “inside-the-park,” I figured that could only mean one category, but some of the others were trickier. If you’re stuck 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: Pedaling time.
Green group hint: It’s gone!
Blue group hint: Hoops teams.
Purple group hint: Football icons.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Bicycle parts.
Green group: Descriptors for types of home runs.
Blue group: Former WNBA team names.
Purple group: Items in NFL logos.
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 for Sept. 12, 2025.
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is bicycle parts. The four answers are brake, chain, handlebar and saddle.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is descriptors for types of home runs. The four answers are 3-run, inside-the-park, solo and walk-off.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is former WNBA team names. The four answers are Comets, Rockers, Shock and Sol.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is items in NFL logos. The four answers are diamonds, horseshoe, skull and star.
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.
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