The Friday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #767, serving up a mix of regional loyalties, football history, and names that reward a second look.
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 #767:
BUDDY | JOE COOL | BUCKS | BO
BREWERS | 49ERS | MATT | STAFFORD
16 | WISCONSIN | NOTRE DAME | WARNER
GOFF | NOLAN | BULGER | PACKERS
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Look for a geographic connection across different sports.
Green Category Clue: Think about careers linked by a shared uniform.
Blue Category Hint: A single career can leave clues in several different forms.
Purple Category Teaser: Try extending the short entries into full names.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Wisconsin Teams): BREWERS, BUCKS, PACKERS, WISCONSIN
BREWERS, PACKERS, WISCONSIN, and BUCKS form WISCONSIN TEAMS.
The group crosses baseball, football, basketball, and college athletics. NOTRE DAME offers another college connection elsewhere in the grid, so geography supplies the useful boundary.
Green (Rams QBs, Past And Present): BULGER, GOFF, STAFFORD, WARNER
STAFFORD, WARNER, BULGER, and GOFF belong together as RAMS QBS, PAST AND PRESENT.
The franchise connection holds across its St. Louis and Los Angeles eras. MATT can tempt you toward Matthew Stafford, but it belongs in the purple group as quarterback Matt Ryan.
Blue (Associated With Joe Montana): 16, 49ERS, JOE COOL, NOTRE DAME
NOTRE DAME, 49ERS, JOE COOL, and 16 are ASSOCIATED WITH JOE MONTANA.
These clues cover Montana's college, his San Francisco team, a nickname, and his jersey number with the 49ers. The change in clue format makes this harder to spot than a straightforward list of surnames.
Purple (_____ Ryan): BO, BUDDY, MATT, NOLAN
BO, NOLAN, BUDDY, and MATT complete the pattern _____ RYAN.
The completed names are basketball coach Bo Ryan, baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, football coach Buddy Ryan, and quarterback Matt Ryan. Bo Ryan's Wisconsin coaching connection also gives BO a tempting link to the yellow territory.
The Verdict
Yellow offers the clearest foothold, while green rewards recognition of a franchise's quarterback history. Blue raises the difficulty by asking you to connect a school, a team, a nickname, and a number to one person.
Purple is the streak-deciding group because its names cross sports and coaching roles. The sharpest trap is BO beside WISCONSIN, a real coaching connection that competes with the shared-surname trick.
Reset and Repeat
Today's useful lesson is to test what a short name can become before locking it to a team or sport. Come back tomorrow for another grid and a fresh reason to rethink an obvious connection.
For now, puzzle #767 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.