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Connections: Sports Edition hit me hard today. I’m a Minnesotan by birth and by sports loyalties, and I saw a number of my teams (Skol!) scattered throughout the puzzle, including one beloved green, yellow and gold team that got unfairly yanked out of town years ago. Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will be continuing to publish it. It won’t show up in the NYT Games app but will appear in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online. Read on for hints and the answers to today’s puzzle.
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: Plan
Green group hint: Land of 10,000 lakes
Blue group hint: Going to games isn’t free
Purple group hint: Cleveland Barons is one.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Strategy
Green group: Current Minnesota teams
Blue group: Things one buys at a sporting event
Purple group: Former NHL teams
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 Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb.12, 2025, #142. NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is strategy. The four answers are gambit, manuever, move and tactic.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is current Minnesota teams. The four answers are Golden Gophers, Lynx, Vikings and Wild.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is things one buys at a sporting event. The four answers are food, program, souvenir and ticket.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is former NHL teams. The four answers are Coyotes, Golden Seals, North Stars and Whalers.
Quick tips for Connections: Sports Edition
#1: Don’t grab for the easiest group. For each word, think about other sports categories it might fit in – is this a word that can be used in football, or to describe scoring options?
#2: Second meanings are important. The puzzle loves to use last names and even college names that mean other things, to fool you into thinking they are words, not names.
#3: And the opposite is also true. Words like HURTS might seem like a regular word, but it’s also the last name of at least one pro athlete.
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for Feb. 12, #142
