Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 8, #288
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 8, No. 288
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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition might be tough. It helps to know your colleges, and their athletic alumni. Read on for hints and the answers.
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 continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it 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: Take your base!
Green group hint: Alma mater.
Blue group hint: Led the team to the big win.
Purple group hint: Cardinal.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Nail a batter with a pitch.
Green group: Sun Belt conference schools.
Blue group: QBs to win multiple Super Bowls.
Purple group: Stanford alumni.
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 July 8, 2025.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is nail a batter with a pitch. The four answers are bean, drill, hit and plunk.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is Sun Belt conference schools. The four answers are James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion and Troy.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is QBs to win multiple Super Bowls. The four answers are Elway, Manning, Starr and Staubach.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is Stanford alumni. The four answers are Ledecky, Luck, McCaffrey and Ogwumike.
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.
