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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is pretty tricky. That purple category expects you to recognize sports-team names with one change, so try and spot terms you know hidden inside the words. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle 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: Raring to go.
Green group hint: Aces high.
Blue group hint: Robin Hood.
Purple group hint: Hockey teams, with a twist.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Full of energy.
Green group: Actions with a deck of playing cards.
Blue group: Archery terms.
Purple group: NHL teams, with the last letter changed.
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. 2, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is full of energy. The four answers are fresh, invigorated, rested and restored.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is actions with a deck of playing cards. The four answers are cut, deal, draw and shuffle.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is archery terms. The four answers are arrow, bullseye, nock and quiver.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is NHL teams, with the last letter changed. The four answers are Bluey (Blues), ducky (Ducks), start (Stars) and wilt (Wild).
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