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Today's Connections: Sports Edition grid looked like the most random collection of letters and symbols I've seen in a while. It was a stumper, for sure. If you're struggling with it but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn't appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic's own app. Or you can play it for 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: Hoops roles.
Green group hint: Baseball vocab.
Blue group hint: College hoops leaders.
Purple group hint: Turn on the TV.
Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Basketball positions, abbreviated.
Green group: Baseball defensive terms.
Blue group: Big Ten men's basketball coaches.
Purple group: ESPN ____.
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 Jan. 26, 2026.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today's Connections
The theme is basketball positions, abbreviated. The four answers are C, PF, PG and SG.
The green words in today's Connections
The theme is baseball defensive terms. The four answers are cutoff, pitchout, relay and shift.
The blue words in today's Connections
The theme is Big Ten men's basketball coaches. The four answers are Gard, Izzo, May and Painter.
The purple words in today's Connections
The theme is ESPN ____. The four answers are +, 2, ews and U.
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