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 is both fun and tough. The purple category was kind of brilliant, actually. 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: NFL terms.

Green group hint: Maple leaf flag.

Blue group hint: Ducks from Eugene.

Purple group hint: Fore!

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Deliver the ball to a teammate

Green group: Canadian teams, minus the S

Blue group: Oregon alumni

Purple group: Golf clubs minus the first letter

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 deliver the ball to a teammate. The four answers are dish, distribute, give and pass.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Canadian teams, minus the S.  The four answers are Canuck, Flame, Raptor and Whitecap.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Oregon alumni. The four answers are Herbert, Ionescu, Nix and Pritchard.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is golf clubs minus the first letter. The four answers are edge (wedge), river (driver), ron (iron) and utter (putter).

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a real tough one. Do you still send letters? If you do, you might have a leg up on the green category. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Not far away.

Green group hint: Drop it in the post.

Blue group hint: Pull and closed are other options.

Purple group hint: Vital for journalists.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Conveniently located.

Green group: Needs for sending a letter.

Blue group: Words on a door.

Purple group: First Amendment freedoms.

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

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is conveniently located. The four answers are accessible, close, handy and nearby.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is needs for sending a letter. The four answers are address, envelope, name and stamp.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is words on a door. The four answers are exit, open, push and welcome.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is First Amendment freedoms. The four answers are assembly, petition, press and speech.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a tough one. Some very long words are involved. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Think again!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Look at yesterday’s Strands theme.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• SPOT, TOPS, PETS, STEP, RIGHT, LIGHT, THING, THINGS, GIST, RITE, TIRE, FEEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• FEELINGS, INTUITION, CREATIVITY, SPONTANEITY

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is RIGHTBRAIN. To find it, look for the R that’s four letters to the right on the bottom row and wind up.