Need help with NYT Connections: Sports Edition for January 15, 2026? Puzzle #479 has four groups of four. Start with the spoiler-light hints below, then open the category names and answers when you’re ready.
Spoiler-light hints for January 15
The game asks players to group sports terms that share a common thread. These hints follow the puzzle’s color order, from the least difficult group to the trickiest:
- Yellow: NO
- Green: Italian
- Blue: Scrap
- Purple: Sounds like a Yankee
For a little more guidance without revealing the words, think of stopping an attempt, four Italian top-flight football clubs, a brawl, and famous Yankees whose names have been changed at the first letter.
Category names
Stop here if you want to solve the groups yourself. The four categories are:
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- Variety puzzles/game books assorted
- Reject a shot
- Serie A teams
- Benches-clearing brawl
- Yankees greats, with the first letter changed
Full answers for Connections Sports Edition #479
Spoilers below. The 16 words form these four groups:
- Reject a shot: BLOCK, DENY, STUFF, SWAT
- Serie A teams: BOLOGNA, COMO, JUVENTUS, ROMA
- Benches-clearing brawl: BROUHAHA, FIGHT, FRACAS, RHUBARB
- Yankees greats, with the first letter changed: FUDGE, METER, TERRA, WORD
How the purple group works
The purple set is a wordplay category: each entry changes the first letter of a famous Yankees great’s name. That makes the connection less direct than the other groups, which point to a blocked shot, Italian football clubs, or synonyms for a brawl.
Rank #2
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About the puzzle
Connections: Sports Edition is a collaboration between The New York Times and The Athletic. This edition’s four categories use 16 words, with four words assigned to each group.
Quick Recap
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