Here are the clues and answers for the March 12 NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, #535.
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, CNET editor-in-chief, journalist and pop culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She has been a journalist since 1989 and works for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and NBC News Digital. She is part of Generation X in terms of date of birth, words and deeds. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a challenging game, with some very unusual categories. Blue is kind of fun, actually. If you’re having trouble solving today’s riddle but still want to solve it, read on for tips and answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the Times-owned subscription sports journalism site. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it online for free.
Learn more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle exits beta
Tips for Connections Groups: Sports Today’s Edition
Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes weird) purple group.
Yellow group index: City of Brotherly Love.
Green group index: NBA star.
Blue group index: Grr! Meow! Roar!
Purple group index: Think about the alphabet.
Connections Group Answers: Today’s Sports Edition
Yellow group: Philadelphia teams.
Green group: Associated with Larry Bird.
Blue group: Sports figures with animal names.
Purple group: sports personalities whose first names sound like two letters.
Learn more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are the answers from today’s Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle completed by March 12, 2026.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETYellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is Philadelphia teams. The four answers are 76ers, Flyers, Penn and Temple.
Green words in today’s Connections
The theme is associated with Larry Bird. The four answers are the Celtics, French Lick, Pacers and Sycamores.
Blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is sports characters with animal names. The four answers are Bear Bryant, Cat Osterman, Catfish Hunter and Tiger Woods.
Purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is that of sports personalities whose first names sound like two letters. The four answers are Casey Stengel (KC), CeeDee Lamb (CD), Katie Ledecky (KT) and Vijay Singh (VJ).