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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is tricky. Remember that many athletes’ surnames look like common words, so if you’re having trouble sorting the answers, think about whether a particular word could be someone’s last name. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
 NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints 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 tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Football division.
Green group hint: They catch the pigskin.
Blue group hint: College hoopsters.
Purple group hint: Where’s the glass slipper?
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: NFC East teams.
Green group: Hall of Fame wide receivers.
Blue group: Stars in this year’s men’s NCAA tournament.
Purple group: Notable NCAA tournament Cinderellas.
Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 19, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is NFC East teams. The four answers are Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles and Giants.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is Hall of Fame wide receivers. The four answers are Bruce, Monk, Moss and Rice.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is stars in this year’s men’s NCAA tournament. The four answers are Acuff, Boozer, Dybantsa and Peat.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is notable NCAA tournament Cinderellas. The four answers are Patriots, Peacocks, Ramblers and Rams.
Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories
The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.
That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing.
#1: Serie A Clubs. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.
#2: WNBA MVPs. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.
#3: Premier League team nicknames. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.
#4: Homophones of NBA player names. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.
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