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.

Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. The yellow and green aren’t too difficult, but then you’re faced with eight names, and you’ve got to determine their connections. 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: Smart, skilled.

Green group hint: Let’s make a …

Blue group hint: Name similar to Mark.

Purple group hint:  First-year-hoopsters.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Shrewd.

Green group: Transaction.

Blue group: Famous athletes named Marcus.

Purple group: WNBA rookies.

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 shrewd. The four answers are canny, clever, crafty and savvy.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is transaction. The four answers are deal, swap, trade and transfer.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is famous athletes named Marcus. The four answers are Allen, Rashford, Smart and Stroman.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is WNBA rookies. The four answers are Bueckers, Citron, Iriafen and Rivers.

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

How well do you know your standard cake recipe ingredients? Today’s NYT Mini Crossword could be tricky if you don’t, but the three ingredients called for are pretty standard for baking, so you should be able to wing it. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: One of three primary ingredients in sponge cake
Answer: EGGS

5A clue: Sponge cake ingredient #2
Answer: FLOUR

7A clue: Lower body exercise with one foot stretched forward and one back
Answer: LUNGE

8A clue: First-stringers
Answer: ATEAM

9A clue: Towel cloth material
Answer: TERRY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Key just above D
Answer: EFLAT

2D clue: Butt muscle, informally
Answer: GLUTE

3D clue: One who’s completely toast
Answer: GONER

4D clue: Sponge cake ingredient #3
Answer: SUGAR

6D clue: ___ Martin (brand of cognac)
Answer: REMY

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

My phone pings constantly from where it’s plugged in across the room. But I’ve got my Galaxy Watch 4 on my wrist, so I can check to see who’s pinging me, which app the notifications are from and whether it’s important enough to merit my standing up and walking the dozen or so steps to unplug my phone and look, or just respond on my smartwatch (or swipe the notification away).

Smartwatches are becoming an essential tech item, but most people don’t need the latest and greatest version to get what they need. One of the best ways to buy a thoughtful tech gift without spending too much money? Choose a previous version of a current device, especially if the earlier model would work for you. So if you’re searching for a cool gift for someone (or yourself), might I suggest my favorite smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4? Thanks to a screaming deal at Walmart, the 40mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is only $99 right now.

Why I love the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Sure, it’s not the latest model of the Samsung Watch. That would be the Galaxy Watch 7 or Galaxy Watch Ultra. But it still has all the main features, including ECG, blood pressure monitoring, sleep monitoring, Google integration for most things and Samsung Health.

I’m not a fitness fanatic, so I don’t need all the latest tracking features or even the improved battery life and bigger screen size of the Watch 7, which has a list price of $300, but is going for just $209 right now if you want the upgrade. The Galaxy Watch 4 has the fitness tracking I need without being overly complex. (Though it has advanced workout tracking for six modes including running, rowing and swimming, if you like those auto-detected tracking features.) For everyday use, I can check my notifications and respond, take hands-free calls, track sleep and skip between songs when listening in Spotify. Oh, and check the time.

If you’re looking for a wearable, it’s the one I’d recommend checking out before looking into the latest version of the Galaxy Watch series. One caveat: Some people have complained lately that their battery is depleting quickly. Samsung has advice on how to run a diagnostic on your watch and fix the issue.

Impulse Buys Under $25 That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts

+17 More

See all photos

Why the Galaxy Watch 4 makes a fun gift

The Galaxy Watch 4 isn’t going to be a gift you give to the tech enthusiast in your family or an Apple fan, but it’s perfect for anyone who wants a smartwatch but doesn’t want all the bells and whistles, or someone who doesn’t know what they want in a smartwatch. For more, here are our other favorite smartwatches. If you’re looking to gift someone a new phone, CNET has rounded up the best deals on the Samsung Galaxy S25.

If this isn’t right for the person you’re shopping for right now, check out our editors’ picks for the best gifts for grads and the best gifts for Father’s Day for more ideas.