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.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition grid started with a funny message: SUPER BOWL ORR BUST. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Bummer!
Green group hint: Add three letters.
Blue group hint: Noted hockey players.
Purple group hint: Not the moon, but …
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Disappointment.
Green group: Sports, with “-ing.”
Blue group: Hall of Fame NHL defensemen.
Purple group: ____ star(s)
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 25, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is disappointment. The four answers are bust, dud, failure and flop.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is sports, with “-ing.” The four answers are bowl, box, curl and surf.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Hall of Fame NHL defensemen. The four answers are Bourque, Coffey, Leetch and Orr.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ____ star(s). The four answers are all, Chicago, Dallas and super.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.