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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. The purple category requires you to twist the spelling of certain team names. 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.
Read more: 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: “You stink!”
Green group hint: 1996 movie.
Blue group hint: Sunshine state.
Purple group hint: Football teams, with a twist.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Heckle.
Green group: Characters in “Space Jam.”
Blue group: Florida college teams.
Purple group: NFL teams, with the first letter changed.
Read more: 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 Feb. 23, 2026.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is heckle. The four answers are boo, hiss, hoot and jeer.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is characters in “Space Jam.” The four answers are Bugs, Jordan, Lola and Tweety.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Florida college teams. The four answers are Bulls, Gators, Owls and Seminoles.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is NFL teams, with the first letter changed. The four answers are bolts (Colts), crowns (Browns), hackers (Packers) and paints (Saints).