At a Glance
- Today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle features four themed word groups.
- The blue category hinges on famous “Jeffs,” including Bagwell, Kent, Saturday, and Van Gundy.
- Purple group ties to “Rockets,” spotlighting Clemens, Houston, Richard, and Toledo.
- Why it matters: Puzzle buffs rely on daily hints to keep streaks alive in the Athletic-run spin-off.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition delivered a tricky grid that had solvers scratching their heads, especially over the quirky blue category. Published by The Athletic-the subscription sports site owned by The Times-the puzzle sits outside the NYT Games app but is free to play online or through The Athletic’s own app.
How the difficulty stacked up
The yellow clue offered the gentlest entry point.
- Yellow hint: Leading the pack.
- Yellow theme: In No. 1 position.
- Yellow answers: first, front, lead, pole.
Next up, the green category leaned into football knowledge.
- Green hint: Football division.
- Green theme: AFC East teams.
- Green answers: Buffalo, Miami, New England, New York.
The curveball categories
Blue required pop-culture recognition of shared first names.
- Blue hint: Like Bridges or Goldblum.
- Blue theme: Jeffs.
- Blue answers: Bagwell, Kent, Saturday, Van Gundy.
Purple pushed players toward space-age or high-velocity thinking.
- Purple hint: Blast off.
- Purple theme: Rockets.
- Purple answers: Clemens, Houston, Richard, Toledo.
All answers combined to complete the January 17, 2026 grid, giving daily puzzle fans another day of bragging rights-or another reason to brush up on sports trivia before tomorrow’s challenge.
