Here are the hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 214, for April 25.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won “Headline Writer of the Year” award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
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There are some funny names for basketball errors, and a few of them are in today’s Connections: Sports Edition. And yes, the NFL draft is still going on, so there’s one of those categories, too. Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday on 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: On your mark, get set…
Green group hint: Whoops in hoops.
Blue group hint: Picked first.
Purple group hint: Opposite of “go.”
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Track and field events.
Green group: Basketball violations.
Blue group: Previous No. 1 NFL draft picks.
Purple group: ____ stop.
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 April 25, 2025, #214.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is track and field events. The four answers are 100 meters, decathlon, pole vault and steeplechase.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is basketball violations. The four answers are 5-second, backcourt, goaltending and traveling.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is previous No. 1 NFL draft picks. The four answers are Burrow, Fisher, Long and Luck.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ____ stop. The four answers are back, jump, pit and short.
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.
Gael Cooper
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