The Tuesday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #701, serving up a grid that crosses pro football, international competition, club history, and a surname-driven finish.
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 #701:
BENGAL | DART | LONDON | LIKELY
PARIS | PORTO | BURNS | MILAN
AJAX | HOLLAND | RAVEN | TURIN
JUVENTUS | BROWN | REAL MADRID | STEELER
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about labels for individual competitors that come from the side they represent.
Green Category Clue: Shift from athletes to places, then ask which locations share a major-event résumé in the modern era.
Blue Category Hint: Club history matters more than geography here, and the relevant achievement comes on the continental stage.
Purple Category Teaser: Treat each entry as part of a person's name rather than a standalone clue, then focus on one professional roster.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (An Afc North Player): BENGAL, BROWN, RAVEN, STEELER
BROWN, STEELER, BENGAL, and RAVEN each describe AN AFC NORTH PLAYER through that player's team identity.
The singular forms make the set feel like a collection of loose mascots or surnames, which helps conceal the shared divisional link.
Green (European Cities To Host Olympics, Since 2000): LONDON, MILAN, PARIS, TURIN
MILAN, LONDON, TURIN, and PARIS are EUROPEAN CITIES TO HOST OLYMPICS, SINCE 2000.
MILAN is the sharpest red herring because its name also belongs to a decorated soccer club, while TURIN points naturally toward JUVENTUS.
Blue (Champions League Winners): AJAX, JUVENTUS, PORTO, REAL MADRID
AJAX, PORTO, JUVENTUS, and REAL MADRID are CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNERS.
PORTO doubles as a European city, creating a clean pull toward the host-city set, while JUVENTUS has an equally strong geographic association with TURIN.
Purple (New York Giants): BURNS, DART, HOLLAND, LIKELY
DART, LIKELY, BURNS, and HOLLAND form NEW YORK GIANTS, with each entry functioning as a player surname tied to the team.
The trick is grammatical as much as sporting: four ordinary-looking standalone words become names when read through a single roster.
The Verdict
The yellow set is the cleanest opening because its four singular team identities share an immediate divisional frame.
The real trap sits between the place and club groups: MILAN resembles a club answer, PORTO is also a city, and TURIN pairs directly with JUVENTUS.
The purple set is the decisive late test because its entries do not announce their roster connection until the surname reading clicks.
Reset and Repeat
Today's best turn was the shift from ordinary words to roster surnames. Reset the board, keep that change of perspective handy, and come back tomorrow for another grid.
For now, puzzle #701 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.
