It’s June 13. Puzzle number 628. The Sports Edition of Connections dropped today.
And honestly? It was rough.
The clues are tiny. Some aren’t even real words. Just strings of letters waiting to trip you up. You think you see a pattern. Then you don’t. It’s that kind of day.
If you’re stuck staring at a grid that refuses to make sense, look down. I won’t tell if you do. But first, a quick clarification since this edition confuses people. This isn’t in the main NYT Games app. It lives over at The Athletic, owned by Times Company. You need their app or a free browser session to play. Not the standard fare.
Where to look
Before the chaos begins, here’s a quick map of today’s territory. Yellow is safe. Green is tricky. Blue is deceptive. Purple? Pure chaos.
- Yellow : Vital sports equipment. (Wait. Let me check my notes.) Actually, the answer key says Balls. Keep reading.
- Green : College nicknames? No. Big Ten school initialisms. Ah. Better.
- Blue : Not small? Wrong. The hint says that but the answer is “Big” baseball nicknames. Subtle difference.
- Purple : Hoops teams… if you mangle their names. Yes. This is where dreams go to die.
The Breakdown
Yellow group: Balls
The easiest lane. Four spheres of joy, basically.
Bocce.
Cue.
Golf.
Wiffle.
Nothing to think about. Just put the ball in the box. Move on.
Green group: Big Ten Initialisms
These aren’t names. They are abbreviations.
NU (Northwestern).
OSU (Ohio State).
UM (Minnesota… University of Minnesota, technically, but in puzzle land? UM works).
USC.
Wait. USC? Southern Cal isn’t Big Ten. Yet. The conference expanded. The puzzle is ahead of its time? Or just clever? Doesn’t matter. The answer holds.
Blue group: Baseball’s “Big” Boys
This one masqueraded as size adjectives. Hurt, Mac, Papi, Unit.
All players. All big names. Big Hurt. Big Mac. Papi? Maybe not called “Big” all the time, but he’s a giant in the lore. And the Unit. Kenny Lofton? No, that’s a different sport. Wait, checking facts. It refers to players known by “Big” [Name] or similar grand monikers. Hurt. Mac. Papi. Unit. Got it.
“The clue was deceptive,” my editor wrote. “But accurate enough.”
Purple group: The NBA Letter Rip
Here is why I hate Tuesdays. Or whatev days this runs on.
You have NBA teams. You delete the first letter. You delete the last letter.
What remains?
Pacers becomes acer.
Hawks becomes awk.
Heat becomes ea.
Knicks becomes nick.
Just… ea. Two letters. Is it worth the struggle? Yes. Because you are stubborn. Or maybe because you just really hate sports until you see this.
Harder is harder
Not every category breaks the internet. But some do. This edition can tilt based on what sport you actually follow. My husband lives for Formula 1 data. He eats F1 puzzles for breakfast. I know Minnesota sports inside out. If the puzzle is Vikings-heavy? I win. Easy.
But there were monsters before. Some groups that make no sense until they do. Like these three standouts from past runs.
1. Serie A Clubs
Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio,Roma.
If you follow European football, you’re home. If you don’t? You’re lost.
2. WNBA MVPs
Catchings.
Delle Donne.
Fowles.
Stewart.
Names of champions. Deep cuts for non-hoopsters.
3. Premier League Nicknames
Bees.
Cherries.
Foxes.
Hammers.
Sounds like a children’s book title list. Not a football one.
So there you have it. June 13’s sports puzzle is done.
Or is it?
Maybe awk stays in your head all day.
Maybe it haunts you.
What’s your take on ea? Does it look like a mistake? Or genius? I’ll never know. You keep solving.
