NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle #478 is dated Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Its four categories are Indianapolis Teams, Basketball Games, CFL Teams, and Homophones of Super Bowl MVPs. If you want to solve it yourself first, use the graduated hints below before opening the answer key.
How Connections: Sports Edition works
Connections: Sports Edition is a sports-focused game created through a partnership between The New York Times and The Athletic. Each daily board has 16 words to sort into four groups of four, with each group linked by a shared thread. The NYT instruction is to “group sports terms that share a common thread.”
Hints for January 14, 2026
These clues progress from the category themes to their intended connections:
- Yellow: Home of the 500.
- Green: Hoops.
- Blue: Great White North.
- Purple: Sounds like a star’s name.
Answers for Connections #478
Spoilers below. The category names and complete word groups follow.
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- Variety puzzles/game books assorted
Indianapolis Teams
BUTLER, COLTS, FEVER, PACERS.
Basketball Games
21, AROUND THE WORLD, HORSE, KNOCKOUT.
CFL Teams
ALOUETTES, ELKS, ROUGHRIDERS, STAMPEDERS.
Homophones of Super Bowl MVPs
BREEZE, CUP, FOALS, SWAN.
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