The Monday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #672, serving up a grid that spans American football, hockey, Cincinnati sports history, and German soccer.
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 #672:
BEARS | BLACKHAWKS | BENGALS | BERLIN
BEARCATS | BAYERN | BRONCOS | BLUES
BLUE JACKETS | BILLS | BURROW | BORUSSIA
BIG RED MACHINE | BRUINS | BAYER | BUCCANEERS
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Sort through the professional football identities, then pay close attention to their first letter.
Green Category Clue: Move from the gridiron to the ice and apply the same alphabetical lens.
Blue Category Hint: Think of one sports city and the teams, stars, and celebrated eras tied to it.
Purple Category Teaser: Look beyond North American sports and ask where these terms appear inside full club names.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Nfl Teams Whose Nicknames Start With B): BEARS, BILLS, BRONCOS, BUCCANEERS
BEARS, BILLS, BRONCOS, and BUCCANEERS are NFL team nicknames beginning with B.
BENGALS creates the sharp red herring because it also fits that description, but the verified solution reserves it for the Cincinnati set.
Green (Nhl Teams Whose Nicknames Start With B): BLACKHAWKS, BLUE JACKETS, BLUES, BRUINS
BLUES, BLUE JACKETS, BLACKHAWKS, and BRUINS are NHL team nicknames beginning with B.
The shared color language in BLUES and BLUE JACKETS makes that pair conspicuous, but the complete connection is league plus initial.
Blue (Associated With Cincinnati): BEARCATS, BENGALS, BIG RED MACHINE, BURROW
BURROW, BEARCATS, BENGALS, and BIG RED MACHINE are all associated with Cincinnati sports.
BENGALS is the pivotal crossover because it strongly invites the NFL group, while BEARCATS can also tug the eye toward BEARS through their shared opening.
Purple (Words In The Names Of Bundesliga Clubs): BAYER, BAYERN, BERLIN, BORUSSIA
BAYERN, BAYER, BORUSSIA, and BERLIN are words found in the names of Bundesliga clubs.
The trick expands the fragments into names such as Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, and Union Berlin.
The Verdict
The NHL set is the cleanest first solve because its four team identities lock together without borrowing from another answer.
The real trap sits between the NFL and Cincinnati groups, with BENGALS appearing to fit the NFL pattern and BEARCATS echoing BEARS.
The Bundesliga group decides the finish, since recognizing the club-name fragments resolves the remaining B-heavy grid.
Reset and Repeat
Today's standout move was separating BENGALS from the tempting NFL quartet, a reminder that a valid connection is not always the intended one. Reset the board and come back tomorrow for another round of sporting misdirection.
For now, puzzle #672 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
