The Tuesday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #764, serving up a grid that spans digital competition, sporting geography, and names that reward a closer look. Recognition gives you a foothold, but reading each entry in full can send you down the wrong path.
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 #764:
NFL BLITZ | CALEB WILLIAMS | CALEB WILSON | BERNABÉU
PARC DES PRINCES | FENWAY FRANK | TECMO BOWL | ST. JAMES' PARK
PUNCH-OUT | PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG | DODGER DOG | CHASE UTLEY
CONNOR BEDARD | ELLAND ROAD | NBA JAM | ANGEL REESE
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about the ways fans compete without stepping onto a playing surface.
Green Category Clue: A shared connection off the field matters more than a shared sport.
Blue Category Hint: Picture the surroundings of a match rather than the action itself.
Purple Category Teaser: Try reading only part of each entry before deciding what it represents.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
---
---
---
---
---
Yellow (Classic Sports Video Games): NBA JAM, NFL BLITZ, PUNCH-OUT, TECMO BOWL
PUNCH-OUT, TECMO BOWL, NBA JAM, and NFL BLITZ are the classic sports video games. The connection is straightforward: these are titles you play.
Green (Famous Chicago Athletes): CALEB WILLIAMS, CALEB WILSON, CONNOR BEDARD, PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG
CALEB WILLIAMS, PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG, CONNOR BEDARD, and CALEB WILSON form the famous Chicago athletes group. The city connection holds the set together.
ANGEL REESE is the tempting extra athlete name here. Today's answer uses ANGEL for a different connection, so recognizing a person is only the beginning of the sorting job.
Blue (European Soccer Venues): BERNABÉU, ELLAND ROAD, PARC DES PRINCES, ST. JAMES' PARK
BERNABÉU, PARC DES PRINCES, ST. JAMES' PARK, and ELLAND ROAD are the European soccer venues. The complete entries name the venues, which matters when the purple group also brings stadium names into play.
Purple (Starts With An MLB Stadium Name): ANGEL REESE, CHASE UTLEY, DODGER DOG, FENWAY FRANK
FENWAY FRANK, DODGER DOG, CHASE UTLEY, and ANGEL REESE begin with stadium-name fragments: Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, Chase Field, and Angel Stadium. The trick crosses food and athlete names, asking you to stop reading after the opening word.
The Verdict
Yellow offers the clearest first foothold if you recognize the game titles. Blue rewards venue knowledge, with a connection that stays consistent across all its entries.
The real trap sits between green and purple: ANGEL REESE invites an athlete-based reading, while CHASE UTLEY reinforces that approach. Purple is the streak-deciding group because it requires you to pull those names apart.
Reset and Repeat
Take today's opening-word trick into tomorrow's grid: when a full name resists a clean connection, inspect its pieces. Come back tomorrow for another round of hints and answers.
For now, puzzle #764 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.