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How well do you know your shoes? That knowledge will help you solve today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 201, for Saturday, April 12.
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.
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 is still the toughest NYT puzzle for me every day. Sometimes, the topics feel like a bit of a reach as far as sports go, and today’s yellow group is a good example. The purple group is a good reminder that some athletes have names that are also regular words, so they can trick you. 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
Social media trends Viral content 2025 Trending hashtags Social media updates Trending memes and videos 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: Think Nike.
Green group hint: En garde!
Blue group hint: Wonderboy in The Natural.
Purple group hint: Hoopster stars.
Social media trends Viral content 2025 Trending hashtags Social media updates Trending memes and videos Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Parts of a sneaker.
Green group: Fencing terms.
Blue group: Baseball bat materials.
Purple group: Last four WNBA finals MVPs.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
Social media trends Viral content 2025 Trending hashtags Social media updates Trending memes and videos What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle for Saturday, April 12, 2025.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is parts of a sneaker. The four answers are eyelet, laces, sole and tongue.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is fencing terms. The four answers are epee, foil, piste and sabre.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is baseball bat materials. The four answers are aluminum, ash, birch and maple.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is last four WNBA MVPs. The four answers are Copper, Gray, Jones and Wilson.
Social media trends Viral content 2025 Trending hashtags Social media updates Trending memes and videos Quick tips for Connections: Sports Edition
#1: Don’t grab for the easiest group. For each word, think about other sports categories it might fit in – is this a word that can be used in football, or to describe scoring options?
#2: Second meanings are important. The puzzle loves to use last names and even college names that mean other things, to fool you into thinking they are words, not names.
#3: And the opposite is also true. Words like HURTS might seem like a regular word, but it’s also the last name of at least one pro athlete.
