The Thursday edition of NYT Connections Sports Edition arrives with puzzle #773, serving up a grid that stretches from international competition to club identities and the people behind the results. The challenge is spotting when a familiar-looking entry needs a different sporting context.
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 #773:
SPACE COWBOYS | MAURICE | MVP | JOKER
FRENCH ALPS | MUD HENS | LOS ANGELES | UTAH
NUGGETS | CHIHUAHUAS | MUSE | ST. LOUIS
BRISBANE | SERBIA | BRUNETTE | TIDES
A seemingly random collection that somehow connects into four perfect categories.
Strategic Hints (No Spoilers Yet)
Yellow Category Nudge: Think about the planning that happens long before an international sporting spectacle begins.
Green Category Clue: Look beyond the biggest leagues, where sporting identities can get especially colorful.
Blue Category Hint: Try viewing different kinds of sporting clues through the career of a single athlete.
Purple Category Teaser: Shift your attention from the competitors to the people directing the action.
The Full Solutions
Last chance to solve independently: answers below
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Yellow (Future Olympic Hosts): BRISBANE, FRENCH ALPS, LOS ANGELES, UTAH
LOS ANGELES, FRENCH ALPS, BRISBANE, and UTAH form FUTURE OLYMPIC HOSTS. The category brings together locations named at different geographic scales.
Green (Triple-A Baseball Teams): CHIHUAHUAS, MUD HENS, SPACE COWBOYS, TIDES
SPACE COWBOYS, TIDES, MUD HENS, and CHIHUAHUAS are the TRIPLE-A BASEBALL TEAMS. Their shared league level supplies the precise connection.
NUGGETS is the tempting extra team identity, but it belongs with the basketball clues. Recognizing team names gets you started; distinguishing their sports finishes the job.
Blue (Associated With Nikola Jokić): JOKER, MVP, NUGGETS, SERBIA
SERBIA, NUGGETS, JOKER, and MVP are all ASSOCIATED WITH NIKOLA JOKIĆ. They point to his country, team, nickname, and an individual honor.
Purple (NHL Head Coaches): BRUNETTE, MAURICE, MUSE, ST. LOUIS
MAURICE, ST. LOUIS, BRUNETTE, and MUSE identify NHL HEAD COACHES. The trick is reading each entry as a surname.
ST. LOUIS offers the sharpest disguise because it also reads as a city, inviting comparison with LOS ANGELES and BRISBANE. BRUNETTE and MUSE add another layer by looking like ordinary vocabulary.
The Verdict
Yellow looks like the cleanest opening once the host connection clicks, while blue rewards recognizing one athlete across several kinds of clue. Green demands a narrower distinction, especially with NUGGETS offering another team name.
Purple is my pick for the streak-deciding group. The real trap is committing ST. LOUIS to a geographic connection before testing whether it belongs beside MAURICE, BRUNETTE, and MUSE.
Reset and Repeat
Take today's surname disguise into tomorrow's grid: a place name or an everyday word can also identify someone in sport. Come back tomorrow for another chance to spot the connection before the surface meaning takes over.
For now, puzzle #773 is solved. See you at midnight for the next round.