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 includes a fun mix of topics, especially if you’re from the City of Brotherly Love. If you’re struggling with it 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: Defensive move in hoops.

Green group hint: Alma mater.

Blue group hint: Go Birds.

Purple group hint: Not five, not seven.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Try to stop a basketball shot.

Green group: Locations of college football playoff teams.

Blue group: First names of Philadelphia Eagles.

Purple group: ____ six.

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 try to stop a basketball shot. The four answers are challenge, close out, contest and defend.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is locations of college football playoff teams. The four answers are Athens, Bloomington, Eugene and Oxford.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of Philadelphia Eagles. The four answers are Cooper, Dallas, Jalen and Saquon.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ six. The four answers are kick, New Year’s, original and pick.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

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.

Happy New Year! 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.

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 to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Word on either side of «___-eat-___»
Answer: DOG

4A clue: Word on either side of «___, all ___!»
Answer: MINE

5A clue: Word on either side of «___ say ___»
Answer: NEVER

6A clue: First-string squad
Answer: ATEAM

7A clue: Causes injury to
Answer: HARMS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Someone who might be swimming with the fishes
Answer: DIVER

2D clue: An hour past midnight
Answer: ONEAM

3D clue: Hand sanitizer targets
Answer: GERMS

4D clue: Like a crossword clue about crossword clues
Answer: META

5D clue: «I’ll pass, thanks»
Answer: NAH

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

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 could be tough, but it’s a fun topic. Some of the answers are long and difficult to unscramble, so 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: Not your average joe.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: For Starbucks’ lovers.

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:

• SORT, BOLT, GENT, ROTS, VALE, SCAR, MEAT, TEAM, LACE, BITER, BOTS, LOTS, SOOT

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:

• BOLD, NUTTY, BITTER, SMOOTH, STRONG, AROMATIC, VELVETY

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is COFFEE. To find it, start with the C that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind across.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.