Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for Sept. 18 #360

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 isn’t all that sports-themed. Some of the categories could be in the regular Connections puzzle. If you’re struggling 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 show up in the NYT Games app but appears 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: Deal me in.

Green group hint: You can count on me.

Blue group hint: Like Microsoft co-founder Paul.

Purple group hint: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Card suits.

Green group: Dependable.

Blue group: ____ Allen.

Purple group: Sports terms … or words in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

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 card suits. The four answers are club, diamond, heart and spade.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is dependable. The four answers are consistent, reliable, steady and unfailing.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ Allen. The four answers are Dick, Josh, Phog and Ray.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports terms … or words in the NATO phonetic alphabet. The four answers are golf, uniform, victor and Yankee.

Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories

The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.

That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.

#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.

#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.

#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.

#4: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.