The Thursday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #696, serving up a grid that moves through European football, American sporting history, phrase-building, and arena music.
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 #696:
FULL | MOON | HOWL | PITCH
FULHAM | BAGWELL | CHELSEA DAGGER | CRYSTAL PALACE
OLAJUWON | TOTTENHAM | LITHIUM | SILENT
SHOUT | HARD | ARSENAL | BIGGIO
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about teams linked by one major European capital.
Green Category Clue: Focus on celebrated athletes tied to the same American city across different sports and eras.
Blue Category Hint: Read some entries as the first half of familiar two-word expressions.
Purple Category Teaser: Arena music is more useful than standings for this group.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (London Soccer Clubs): ARSENAL, CRYSTAL PALACE, FULHAM, TOTTENHAM
ARSENAL, TOTTENHAM, CRYSTAL PALACE, and FULHAM are LONDON SOCCER CLUBS.
CHELSEA DAGGER supplies the sharp red herring because Chelsea is also the name of a London club, but the complete entry belongs with the music titles.
Green (Houston Sports Stars, Historically): BAGWELL, BIGGIO, MOON, OLAJUWON
MOON, BAGWELL, OLAJUWON, and BIGGIO are HOUSTON SPORTS STARS, HISTORICALLY, pointing to Warren Moon, Jeff Bagwell, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Craig Biggio.
MOON also tempts a pairing with HOWL through the familiar image of a wolf calling toward the moon.
Blue (Can Come Before "count"): FULL, HARD, PITCH, SILENT
FULL, HARD, PITCH, and SILENT CAN COME BEFORE "COUNT," producing full count, hard count, pitch count, and silent count.
PITCH carries extra sports camouflage because it can describe a playing surface or a thrown ball, while SILENT and SHOUT create an enticing opposition elsewhere in the grid.
Purple (Nhl Goal Songs): CHELSEA DAGGER, HOWL, LITHIUM, SHOUT
CHELSEA DAGGER, LITHIUM, HOWL, and SHOUT are NHL GOAL SONGS, linking four music titles heard in hockey celebrations.
The trick is recognizing the entries as song titles rather than sorting them by their ordinary meanings or verbal energy.
The Verdict
The London set is the cleanest opening group because all four names carry a clear geographic bond.
The real trap sits between MOON and HOWL, alongside the SILENT and SHOUT opposition, while CHELSEA DAGGER brushes against the London theme.
The goal-song group is the streak-decider, since it demands a switch from sports names and phrases to arena soundtrack knowledge.
Reset and Repeat
The best final click comes from hearing the arena soundtrack behind those four titles instead of reading them literally. Reset the board and come back tomorrow for another grid.
For now, puzzle #696 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
