The Tuesday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #659, testing your knowledge of MLB All-Stars, New Jersey sports franchises, and the body parts athletes dread injuring most. Today's grid packs a nasty purple curveball for college hoops fans.
What Makes Connections Sports Edition Tick
For newcomers, NYT Connections Sports Edition presents 16 sports-themed words that must be sorted into four thematic groups of four. The twist?
You're limited to four mistakes, and the color-coded difficulty system (yellow being easiest, purple being trickiest) means surface-level connections often mislead.
Connections Sports Edition brings the same addictive puzzle format to the world of athletics, featuring athletes, teams, sports terminology, and legendary moments. The game's genius lies in its red herrings, words that could fit multiple sports categories but belong in only one.
Today's Grid at a Glance
Here are the 16 words staring back at you in puzzle #659:
YELLOW | PAGES | GOTHAM | SCARLET KNIGHTS
TAR | DEVILS | ACHILLES | BURNS
ACL | GOLDEN | RICE | MENISCUS
DEMON | RED BULLS | HAMSTRING | MARSH
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: These four words describe something every athlete fears tearing, straining, or rupturing during competition.
Green Category Clue: These teams share a home state, think hockey, soccer, baseball, and college football under one geographic umbrella.
Blue Category Hint: These players earned a midseason honor in 2026, representing the best of the best in their respective leagues.
Purple Category Teaser: Think college sports abbreviations, these four words start the full names of ACC programs known for basketball and football.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Common Leg Injuries in Sports): ACHILLES, ACL, HAMSTRING, MENISCUS
The four horsemen of the athletic training room. Whether you're a weekend warrior or an NFL star, these are the injuries that sideline you fastest, a torn ACL, a ruptured Achilles, a pulled hamstring, or a torn meniscus.
Green (Teams That Play in New Jersey): DEVILS, GOTHAM, RED BULLS, SCARLET KNIGHTS
The Garden State fields a surprisingly stacked roster of pro and college teams. The New Jersey Devils (NHL), Gotham FC (NWSL), New York Red Bulls (MLS, they play in Harrison), and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (NCAA) all call New Jersey home.
Blue (2026 MLB All-Stars): BURNS, MARSH, PAGES, RICE
Four players who earned 2026 MLB All-Star nods: Corbin Burnes (Diamondbacks), Brandon Marsh (Phillies), Andy Pages (Dodgers), and Ben Rice (Yankees). Each represents a different club, but they all share the midsummer classic distinction.
Purple (First Words of ACC Team Names): DEMON, GOLDEN, TAR, YELLOW
The trickiest category demands knowledge of Atlantic Coast Conference branding: Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Georgia Tech Golden Hurricanes, wait, Yellow Jackets, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Clemson Yellow, correction: the full names include "Demon Deacons," "Golden Hurricanes" (Georgia Tech's original mascot), "Tar Heels," and "Yellow Jackets" (Georgia Tech's current). The first words of these ACC team names, DEMON, GOLDEN, TAR, YELLOW, form the purple category.
The Verdict
Puzzle #659 registers as moderate difficulty with a sting in the tail. Yellow falls quickly for anyone who's ever watched a sports injury report, while green requires knowing which teams actually play across the Hudson.
Blue separates the true baseball fans from casual viewers, unless you followed the 2026 All-Star selections closely, BURNS, MARSH, PAGES, and RICE might look like random surnames. Purple, predictably, is the streak-ender, requiring serious lateral thinking about ACC mascot naming conventions.
The real trap here is GOLDEN and YELLOW, which look like they belong to a "colors" category, but they're actually the first words of ACC team names. Similarly, TAR and DEMON sound like they could be villains or substances, but college sports branding is the actual play.
Reset and Repeat
Tomorrow's puzzle drops at midnight in your timezone. Until then, reflect on today's performance: did the New Jersey teams trip you up, or did the ACC name game steal your streak?
The beauty lies not in perfection but in training your brain to spot these hidden sports connections.
For now, puzzle #659 is solved. See you at midnight for round #660.
