Today’s NYT Connections: Tips for the Sports Edition, Answers for November 19, No. 57

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.

Did you enjoy the New York Times Connections Puzzle? Now there is a new version of the game that focuses on sports-related words. It’s called plain Connections: Sports Editionand we have hints and the answers.

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

Read more: NYT has a Connections game for sports fans. I tried it

How to play Connections: Sports Edition

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

But you don’t have to be a sports obsessive to tackle Connections: Sports Edition, although it helps to know about a few different sports and athletes. The words can include player names, team names, or sports-related activities.

Tips 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 difficult (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Protect.

Green group hint: Who is number 1?

Blue group hint: Yogi Berra was one.

Purple group hint: Top signal callers.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Defend.

Green group: Ways to show status in different sports.

Blue group: Hall of Fame catchers.

Purple group: NFL QBs drafted No. 1.

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 defense. The four answers are blanket, cover, guard and shield.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is ways to show your skills in different sports. The four answers are rankings, rankings, standings and table.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame catchers. The four answers are Bench, Fisk, Mauer and Piazza.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL QBs Drafted No. 1. The four answers are Couch, Luck, Newton and Palmer.