The New York Times’ The Athletic has released Connections: Sports Edition puzzle number 520 for February 25, 2026, offering sports fans their daily dose of word-grouping challenges. The puzzle, which features 16 sports-related words that players must sort into four categories of four, has been rated at a moderate difficulty level of 2.5 out of 5 stars, according to the game’s creator.
Mark Cooper, managing editor for college sports at The Athletic and the creator of Connections: Sports Edition, designed today’s puzzle to test players’ knowledge across multiple sports categories. The game requires participants to identify common threads between seemingly disparate terms, ranging from baseball slang to iconic sporting events.
Understanding Connections: Sports Edition Categories
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle features four distinct categories arranged by difficulty level. The yellow category, considered the most straightforward, focuses on baseball terminology with words that describe hitting a ball hard: BELT, BLISTER, HAMMER, and TATTOO. These terms represent common slang used by commentators and players to describe powerful contact with the baseball.
The green category challenges players to identify sports teams that share orange and black color schemes. The solution includes the BENGALS, FLYERS, GIANTS, and OKLAHOMA STATE, demonstrating how different sports organizations across professional football, hockey, baseball, and college athletics have adopted this distinctive color combination.
Montreal and Derby-Themed Challenges
The blue category, rated as challenging, connects terms associated with the Canadian city of Montreal. Players must link the 1976 OLYMPICS, CANADIENS, EXPOS, and YOUPPI!, representing the city’s hosting of the Summer Games, its NHL franchise, its former MLB team, and the iconic mascot shared by Montreal’s sports teams, according to the puzzle answers.
Meanwhile, the purple category presents the trickiest challenge, requiring players to complete the phrase “_____ Derby.” The solution includes HOME RUN, KENTUCKY, MERSEYSIDE, and ROLLER, demonstrating how the word “derby” appears in various sporting contexts from baseball’s home run competitions to horse racing’s most famous event.
How to Play Connections: Sports Edition
Connections: Sports Edition represents The Athletic’s first-ever daily game, designed specifically for sports enthusiasts. Players must group 16 words into four categories of four based on shared characteristics, with each puzzle offering exactly one correct solution. The game allows participants up to four mistakes before ending, requiring careful consideration before submitting answers.
Additionally, the color-coded difficulty system helps players strategize their approach. Yellow categories typically feature the most obvious connections, while purple groups often involve wordplay or less apparent relationships. However, experienced players know that what appears straightforward can sometimes be deliberately misleading.
Growing Popularity of Sports Puzzles
The game has become a daily ritual for sports fans seeking to test their knowledge across multiple athletic disciplines. Cooper, who also serves as managing editor for breaking news at The Athletic, creates each puzzle to appeal to both casual fans and dedicated sports enthusiasts. In contrast to traditional sports trivia, Connections: Sports Edition emphasizes pattern recognition and lateral thinking.
The puzzle resets at midnight in each player’s local time zone, ensuring fresh challenges are available daily. Players are encouraged to share their scores and discuss strategies, fostering a community of sports puzzle enthusiasts who compete to solve the board with minimal errors.
Tomorrow’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle will become available at midnight, continuing the daily tradition of sports-themed word challenges. Players can access the game through The Athletic’s website and track their solving streaks over time.
