Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for Dec. 16 #449

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Today's Connections: Sports Edition this is a difficult question. If you can't solve today's puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for the hints and answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, a subscription sports journalism site owned by The Times. It's not on the NYT Games app, but it's on The Athletic's own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Puzzle Sports Edition out of beta

Tips for Today's Groups Connections: Sports Edition

Here are four grouping clues in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, from the simplest yellow grouping to the challenging (and sometimes bizarre) purple grouping.

Yellow group hint: Oh!

Green group hint: block or protect.

Blue group hint: Not Mark, Luke or John.

Purple group hint: Birmingham Stallions.

Answers to Today's Connections Groups: Sports Edition

Yellow group: Verbs that cause harm.

Green group: Protects.

Blue group: Baseball Matts.

Purple group: Original USFL teams.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the most popular letters used in English words

What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers?

Yellow words in today's connections

The topic is verbs that cause harm. Four answers: fracture, sprain and rupture.

Green words in today's connections

The topic is being protected. Four answers: blankets, covers, guards and tags.

Blue words in today's connections

The theme is Matts baseball. Four answers: Carpenter, Chapman, Holliday and Olson.

Purple words in today's connections

The theme is the original USFL teams. Four answers: Bandits, Express, Generals and Wranglers.

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