Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for April 25 #579

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

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition could trip you up, unless you know your video games. 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: Not on top.

Green group hint: Hoops teams.

Blue group hint: Great netminders.

Purple group hint: Good group for gamers.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: In the lowest position.

Green group: NBA teams, on scoreboards.

Blue group: Hall of Fame hockey goaltenders.

Purple group: Baseball video games.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is in the lowest position. The four answers are bottom, cellar, last and worst.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA teams, on scoreboards. The four answers are DEN, OKC, SAC and WAS.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is  Hall of Fame hockey goaltenders. The four answers are Brodeur, Fuhr, Parent and Roy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is baseball video games. The four answers are Backyard, High Heat, Slugfest and The Show.

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.