Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Notes and Answers for October 21, #28

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Did you like the New York Times Connections puzzle? Now there’s a new version of the game that focuses on sports-related words. It’s simply called Connections: Sports Edition and we have clues and answers.

Currently, the game is in beta, meaning the Times is testing it to see if it’s popular before adding it to the site’s gaming app. You’ll be able to play it for free every day for the next few weeks – and then we’ll have to see if it sticks.

Read more: NYT has a new connection game for sports fans. I tried

How to play Connections: Sports Edition

The rules are largely the same as the regular game. You are given 16 words and asked to divide them into four groups that are somehow connected. The main difference is that all words and categories are related to sports. Sometimes the categories seem obvious, but the game tries to trick you by using sports-related words that fit into more than one group. The four word groups have different levels of difficulty. Yellow is the easiest and purple is the hardest, but you won’t know which color group belongs to which color group until you solve the puzzle.

You don’t have to be a sports fan to solve Connections: Sports Edition, but it helps to know a little about a number of different sports and athletes. The words can include player names, team names, or sports-related activities.

Notes for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Note on the yellow group: Hanging on the alley.

Note from the green group: Three per inning.

Note on the blue group: Not small, but…

Note on the purple group: Think about oxygen

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Bowling terms

Green group: Types of Baseball Outs

Blue group: “Big” Baseball Nicknames

Purple group: Air ____

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the most popular letters used in English words

What are today’s answers to Connections: Sports Edition?

The yellow words in today’s Connections: Sports Edition

The topic is bowling terms. The four answers are Frame, Gutter, Spare and Split.

The green words in today’s Connections: Sports Edition

The topic is types of baseball outs. The four answers are Fly, Ground, Pop and Strike.

The blue words in today’s Connections: Sports Edition

The topic is “big” baseball nicknames. The four answers are Hurt, Mac, Papi and Unit

The purple words in today’s Connections: Sports Edition

The topic is air ____. The four answers are Ball, Bud, Force and Hockey.