Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 28, #96

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.


Connections: Sports Edition wasn’t terribly tough today. If you’re used to reading team abbreviations on scorecards or standings, you probably aced the blue category. Read on for hints and answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle.

For now, the game 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 now 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: Pull it in

Green group hint: Grappler vocabulary

Blue group hint: Like MIN or SEA

Purple group hint: Not small.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Catch

Green group: Wrestling terms

Blue group: NFL teams, on scoreboards.

Purple group: Big ____

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

completed-nyt-mini-crossword-puzzle-for-dec-28-2024.png

The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for Dec. 28, 2024.

NYT/Screenshot by CNET

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is catch. The four answers are grab, nab, snag and snatch.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is wrestling terms. The four answers are fall, pin, reversal and takedown.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL teams, on scoreboards. The four answers are CAR, DEN, JAX and WAS.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Big ____. The four answers are 12, Dance, Fly and league.

Gael Cooper
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