Stuck?
That’s okay. Today’s puzzle is the Sports Edition, running parallel to the regular game. It comes from The Athletic. They’re owned by the Times but live in their own app, or you can play free on the web. No need to hunt for it in the main NYT Games folder. It won’t be there.
World Cup watchers got a special nod today. If you’re staring at a grid of names feeling entirely lost, scroll down. Hints are first. Answers come later, obviously. Don’t spoil your fun.
Hints
Here is the lay of the land. Easiest to hardest, assuming you pay attention to sports.
Yellow: Hoosier schools.
Green: Fore!
Blue: Gridiron guides.
Purple: Stopping the scoring.
The Answers
Did you solve it before looking? If not, here are the groups that tied everything together.
Yellow group
These are Indiana colleges.
Butler
Indiana
Notre Dame
Purdue
Green group
Golf equipment brands.
Callaway
Ping
PXG
Titleist
Blue group
First-year NFL head coaches.
Brady
Hafley
Minter
Monken
Purple group
This was the trapdoor. USMNT World Cup goalkeepers from various eras.
Freese
Friedel
Howard
Meola
The “I Have No Clue” Moments
Connections varies in difficulty like the weather in spring. Chaotic. One day your husband nabs Formula 1 clues instantly, the next day he’s stuck on which horse wore which colors. I ace Minnesota trivia. My friends hate me for it.
Some categories hit differently than others. These past ones felt genuinely brutal.
- Serie A Clubs: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Rome.
- WNBA MVPs: Catchings, Delle Donne, Bowles, Stewart.
- Premier League Nicknames: Bees, Cherries, foxes, Hammers.
- Homophones of NBA names: Barns, Connect, Heart, hero.
Wait, was “Heart” a homophone for an NBA player? Or “Hero”? That last one always leaves you questioning your life choices.
Who knew sorting college towns from soccer nets would be this much work. 🏀⚽
