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Today's Connections: Sports Edition features a fun mix of themes, especially if you're from the City of Brotherly Love. If you are struggling with this problem but still want to solve it, read the tips 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: Defensive move in rings.
Green group hint: Alma mater.
Blue group hint: Go Birds.
Purple group hint: Not five, not seven.
Answers to Today's Connections Groups: Sports Edition
Yellow group: Try to stop a basketball shot.
Green group: College Football Playoff Team Locations.
Blue group: Names of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Purple group: ____ six.
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 Connections: Sports Edition January 1, 2026 puzzle.
Yellow words in today's connections
Topic: Trying to stop a basketball shot. The four responses are: challenge, cover, compete and defend.
Green words in today's connections
The topic is the location of the College Football Playoff teams. Four answers: Athens, Bloomington, Eugene and Oxford.
Blue words in today's connections
The topic is the names of the Philadelphia Eagles. Four answers: Cooper, Dallas, Jalen and Saquon.
Purple words in today's connections
Topic ____ six. Four answers: cool, New Year's, original and selective.
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