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Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 17, #147

Here are some hints — and the answers — for Connections: Sports Edition No. 147 for Monday, Feb. 17.

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Headshot of Gael Cooper
Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a 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's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
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NYT Connections: Sport Edition on a phone

Here are the answers for Connections: Sports Edition.

 James Martin/CNET

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.

Connections: Sports Edition has a couple tricky categories today, especially the blue and purple. But maybe you know NBA scorers really well, or have an encyclopedic knowledge of the rules of all sports, in which case, you'll ace this one. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It won't show up in the NYT Games app but will appear in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it 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: Destroy in a game.

Green group hint: Sports that share a similar piece of equipment.

Blue group hint: Two points isn't enough for these players.

Purple group hint: Don't start too early.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Defeat heavily.

Green group: Racket sports.

Blue group: NBA career 3-point leaders.

Purple group: Sports with false starts.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers?

completed NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 17, 2025, #147.

The completed NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle for Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.

 NYT/Screenshot by CNET

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is defeat heavily. The four answers are crush, flatten, pulverize and trounce.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is racket sports. The four answers are badminton, pickleball, squash and tennis.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is NBA career 3-point leaders. The four answers are Allen, Curry, Harden and Lillard.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is sports with false starts. The four answers are football, speed skating, swimming, and track and field.