You're reading an archived Sports Connections puzzle from Jul 15, 2026 — the daily hints refresh every midnight.

Today's puzzle hints & answers →
Connections sportSports Connections Wordle Spelling Bee Browse all →
NYT Connections Sports Edition · #660

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#660) — July 15, 2026

By ·

Earlier Jul 14 This puzzle Jul 15 Later Jul 16

“Say each word out loud and listen for something hiding at the start — at least four entries here have a creature tucked inside them.CROWD and BULLPEN are in today's puzzle, and both are common sports terms — but that is exactly the bait. Neither belongs to a sports-jargon group.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for July 15, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

1

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 BREAKUPPass breakup — when a defender bats or deflects the ball away from the receiver.
2 BULLPENThe baseball warm-up area is the bait; the puzzle only cares that BULL leads the word.
3 CROWDScreaming fans fill your head first — but strip away the D and you have a CROW.
4 FENCERCompetes with a foil, épée or sabre — one of the original modern Olympic sports.
5 GYMNASTThe plain-vanilla member of the group — no hidden meaning, just flips and balance beams.
6 INTERFERENCEPass interference — the penalty called when a defender illegally disrupts a receiver.
7 LAMBEAUThe legendary Packers stadium starts with LAMB — LAMB + EAU gives you Lambeau.
8 LIONEL MESSIThe soccer superstar's first name opens with LION — the animal is in the first four letters.
9 PROTECTIONPass protection — the offensive line's job of keeping the quarterback upright and unharmed.
10 ROWERPowers a shell across flat water — a Summer Games staple since 1900.
11 RUNNERTrack and field's most iconic figure — sprints, middle distance, marathons all count.
12 RUSHERLooks like a sprinter; a pass rusher is actually a defender who charges the quarterback.
13 SOLDIERSoldier Field — the lakefront stadium where the Chicago Bears play.
14 UNITEDReads like a plain adjective; it's actually the first word of the United Center, home of the Bulls and Blackhawks.
15 WINTRUSTWintrust Arena — the South Side home of the Chicago Sky and DePaul basketball.
16 WRIGLEYWrigley Field — the ivy-covered North Side ballpark of the Chicago Cubs.
2

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint Every four years, these four people stand on a podium in July or August.
See Group A SUMMER OLYMPIC ATHLETE
See WordRUNNER
See WordFENCER
See WordROWER
See WordGYMNAST
See Hint Add one more word to each and you have an address a Chicago fan knows by heart.
See Group CHICAGO SPORTING VENUES
See WordSOLDIER
See WordUNITED
See WordWRIGLEY
See WordWINTRUST
See Hint A quarterback's nightmare, broken down into four parts.
See Group CAN BE PRECEDED BY "PASS"
See WordINTERFERENCE
See WordRUSHER
See WordBREAKUP
See WordPROTECTION
See Hint Zoom in on the first few letters of each entry and something wild appears.
See Group STARTS WITH AN ANIMAL
See WordLIONEL MESSI
See WordCROWD
See WordLAMBEAU
See WordBULLPEN
3

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 RUSHER Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading this as someone who runs fast — maybe an Olympic sprinter type — but the puzzle is using it as a football defensive term, not an athletics one.
2 CROWD Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly picturing a stadium full of fans, which is the bait — but the puzzle is using this word for what it literally starts with, not what it means.
3 BULLPEN Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the baseball warm-up area — that reading is the trap — but the puzzle cares about the letters at the front of this word, not its meaning.
4 SOLDIER Tap to see why this word traps.
You're likely reading this as a military figure, but here it refers to a specific Chicago sports location — nothing to do with the armed forces.

NYT Sports Connections answers for July 15, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y A SUMMER OLYMPIC ATHLETE · Yellow · easiest
  • RUNNER
  • FENCER
  • ROWER
  • GYMNAST

RUNNER, FENCER, ROWER and GYMNAST are all types of Summer Olympic athletes. Every one of these disciplines has been part of the modern Summer Games since the late 1800s or early 1900s, making this the most historically rooted group in the puzzle.

G CHICAGO SPORTING VENUES · Green · easy
  • SOLDIER
  • UNITED
  • WRIGLEY
  • WINTRUST

SOLDIER (Field), UNITED (Center), WRIGLEY (Field) and WINTRUST (Arena) are all Chicago sporting venues. UNITED is the sneakiest — on its own it reads as a generic adjective, but it anchors the United Center, home of the Bulls and Blackhawks.

B CAN BE PRECEDED BY "PASS" · Blue · medium
  • INTERFERENCE
  • RUSHER
  • BREAKUP
  • PROTECTION

INTERFERENCE, RUSHER, BREAKUP and PROTECTION all follow the word PASS to form standard American football terms — pass interference, pass rusher, pass breakup and pass protection. RUSHER is the trap here: it looks like it belongs with Olympic runners, but it's a defensive football role.

P STARTS WITH AN ANIMAL · Purple · hardest
  • LIONEL MESSI
  • CROWD
  • LAMBEAU
  • BULLPEN

LIONEL MESSI, CROWD, LAMBEAU and BULLPEN all begin with a hidden animal name: LION, CROW, LAMB and BULL respectively. CROWD is the most disorienting — it is such a natural sports word that almost no one looks past its meaning to the bird hiding at the front.

Try another puzzle

Two more NazoKai hints, ready when you are.

Connections

Today's group hints & answers

Open

Wordle

Today's hint ladder & answer

Open