The New York Times’ Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for October 31st, 2024, tested players with a mix of baseball, college sports, Babe Ruth trivia, and… angels? The puzzle, published by The Athletic, is available through their app or online for free, separate from the main NYT Games platform.
Today’s Categories and Solutions
Here’s a breakdown of the four categories and their solutions. The difficulty level varied, with some groups relying on niche sports knowledge.
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Yellow Group: Places in the Ballpark
- Words: Bullpen, Dugout, Mound, Plate
- These terms all represent physical locations within a baseball stadium.
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Green Group: Big East Teams
- Words: Bluejays, Hoyas, Musketeers, Red Storm
- All four are nicknames of college sports teams in the Big East conference.
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Blue Group: Associated with Babe Ruth
- Words: 3, Curse, Red Sox, Yankees
- This group combines Ruth’s jersey number with the infamous “Curse of the Bambino” affecting the Red Sox and his primary team, the Yankees.
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Purple Group: Angel ____
- Words: City, McCoughtry, Reese, Stadium
- This was the most obscure grouping, linking the Los Angeles Angels (City Stadium), a former WNBA player Angel McCoughtry, a candy brand (Reese’s), and Angel Stadium.
Difficulty and Trends in Connections
The Connections puzzles, including the Sports Edition, often lean into specific sports or cultural references. Some categories, like the Series A clubs or WNBA MVPs from earlier puzzles, can be extremely challenging for those unfamiliar with the subject matter.
The puzzle’s difficulty hinges on how specialized the knowledge is. If you know F1 or hockey, some categories will be trivial. If not, they can be nearly impossible.
The puzzle’s designers sometimes deliberately mislead players, as seen by the initial candy brand misdirection. This suggests a consistent strategy of mixing easy and obscure categories to keep players engaged. The Sports Edition continues this trend.
Ultimately, today’s puzzle combined common baseball terms with deep-cut sports trivia and a bizarre angel-themed grouping, making it a moderate test for dedicated Connections players.
