Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 219, for Wednesday, April 30.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won “Headline Writer of the Year” award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
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Connections: Sports Edition could be a breeze today, if Chicago is your kind of town, and if you’re a fan of shoes. That purple category, though… Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it 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: Not the starter.
Green group hint: Footwear.
Blue group hint: Windy City legends.
Purple group hint: Mix up a football word.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Second string.
Green group: Sneaker brands.
Blue group: Chicago sports greats.
Purple group: Anagrams of NFL teams.
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 April 30, 2025, #219.
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is second string. The four answers are backup, fill-in, reserve and sub.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is sneaker brands. The four answers are New Balance, Nike, Puma and Reebok.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Chicago sports greats. The four answers are Banks, Jordan, Mikita and Payton.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is anagrams of NFL teams. The four answers are Jest (Jets), Mars (Rams), Repacks (Packers) and Sabre (Bears).
