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Today’s blue category in Connections: Sports Edition reminded me of one of the most helpless, over-the-top laughing sessions I ever had. Years ago, my husband and his best friend were playing some primitive, old-school football video game, where you could choose your team’s name, and the game would assign you a mascot. I don’t know which game it was, but let’s just say it was not Madden, or anything near that well-designed.
Anyway, one of the players ended up with this enormous bee for their mascot. Head, antenna, mandibles, thorax, the whole shebang. Something about a tiny insect being blown up it human size and jumping around like Mary Lou Retton on the sidelines just made all of us laugh and laugh until we thought our sides would split. When one of us would pull ourselves together, we’d look at the screen again, see the bobbing bee, and completely lose it once again. So when I spotted a mascot category in today’s Connections: Sports Edition, I had to smile, even though I literally have no idea who these particular mascots are.
For now, Connections: Sports Edition is in beta, which means the Times is testing it out to see if it’s popular before adding it to the site’s Games app. You can play it daily for the next few weeks for free — and then we’ll have to see if it sticks around.
Read more: NYT Has a Connections Game for Sports Fans. I Tried It
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: Think Lindsey Vonn.
Green group hint: Stylish shoes.
Blue group hint: Crunch the Wolf is another one.
Purple group hint: Sounds like a sport’s happening.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Skiing equipment.
Green group: Logos of athletic brands.
Blue group: NBA mascots.
Purple group: Sports onomatopoeias.
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 puzzle for Dec. 13, 2024. NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is skiing equipment. The four answers are boots, goggles, poles and skis.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is logos of athletic brands. The four answers are Jumpman, puma, swoosh and three stripes.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is NBA mascots. The four answers are Benny, Burnie, Chuck and Rumble.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is sports onomatopoeias. The four answers are bloop, clank, doink and swish.
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for Dec. 13, #81
