Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for October 29, No. 36

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections tipsas well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Did you enjoy the New York Times Connections Puzzle? Now there is a new version of the game that focuses on sports-related words. It’s called plain Connections: Sports Editionand we have hints and the answers.

For now, the game is in beta, meaning the Times is testing it to see if it’s popular before adding it to the site’s Games app. You’ll be able to play it for free daily for the next few weeks – and then we’ll have to see if it sticks.

How to play Connections: Sports Edition

The rules are almost the same as the regular game. You are given 16 words and asked to divide them into four groups that are connected in some way. The main difference is that all words and categories are sport-related in some way. Sometimes the categories seem obvious, but the game tries to mislead you by using sports-related words that fit into more than one group. And the four groups of words have different levels of difficulty. Yellow is the easiest and purple the hardest, but you won’t know which color group which is until you have solved the puzzle.

You don’t have to be a sports obsessive to solve Connections: Sports Edition, but it helps if you know about a lot of different sports and athletes. The words can include player names, team names, or sports-related activities.

Tips for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Move quickly.

Green group hint: Knuckle sandwich.

Blue group hint: Fine, rub it in.

Purple group hint: sky color.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Running event.

Green group: Synonyms for hit.

Blue group: Teams that will never win a World Series.

Purple group: Blue ____.

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is running event. The four answers are sprint, heat, race and relay.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is synonymous with hit. The four answers are belt, smash, sock and slap.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is that teams should never win a World Series. The four answers are Brewers, Padres, Rays and Rockies.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL teams with blue ____. The four answers are Devils, Jackets, Jays and line.