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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition thrilled me, as a Minnesota football fan. You might recognize some surnames relating to my favorite, hapless team. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle 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 appear in the NYT Games app, but it does 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: Baseball player.
Green group hint: Punchy cinema.
Blue group hint: Skol!
Purple group hint: Hoopsters.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: An NL West player.
Green group: Boxing movies.
Blue group: Vikings career passing leaders.
Purple group: Nicknames of 1990s NBA All-Stars.
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. 19, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is an NL West player. The four answers are Dodger, Giant, Padre and Rockie.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is boxing movies. The four answers are Cinderella Man, Million Dollar Baby, The Fighter and The Hurricane.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Vikings career passing leaders. The four answers are Cousins, Culpepper, Kramer and Tarkenton.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is nicknames of 1990s NBA All-Stars The four answers are Grandmama, Penny, Sir Charles and The Dream.
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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.
