NYT Connections · Sports Edition · #651
NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#651) — July 6, 2026
Say WAVE and WAIVE out loud — they sound the same but are not interchangeable here. Lock in the group where spelling is everything before you touch anything else.
Traps & Misdirects for July 6, 2026
The decoys built into this puzzle — and why each one bites.
WAIVE Decoy
You're probably hearing WAVE when you read this — same sound, different spelling. Here it's a specific roster transaction, not the San Diego soccer club.
WAVE Decoy
You're probably thinking of the ocean or a hand gesture, but this is a legitimate San Diego sports franchise — don't let the homophone WAIVE pull it into the wrong group.
TRUST Decoy
You're probably reading it as the noun meaning confidence or reliance — but the puzzle is using it as a truncated surname, with its final letter removed.
FREES Decoy
You're probably reading it as a verb meaning to liberate — but here it's a player's last name with one letter missing from the end.
Sports Connections Word Clues for July 6, 2026
Spoiler-free meaning for every name in the grid.
AARON
Hank Aaron — finished with 755 career home runs, holding the MLB all-time record for decades.
ADAM
Reads as a first name — here it's Tyler Adams' last name with the final S stripped off.
AZTECS
San Diego State University's athletic teams — college, not pro, but very much part of the city's sports identity.
CUT
The bluntest way to end a player's time on a roster — no trade, no waivers, just gone.
FREES
Reads as a verb meaning to liberate — add one letter back to get Brendan Freese, a USMNT defender.
PADRES
San Diego's MLB franchise, named after the Spanish word for fathers.
RELEASE
A formal transaction that frees a player from their contract obligations.
RICHARD
Looks like a first name — it's actually Chris Richards' surname with the final S removed.
RUTH
Babe Ruth — the original home run king, with 714 career blasts.
SAN DIEGO FC
The newest San Diego entry — an MLS expansion club.
SOSA
Sammy Sosa — famous for the 1998 home run chase with Mark McGwire; finished with 609.
THOME
Jim Thome — the quietest member of this club, with 612 home runs across a long career.
TRADE
The only method here that sends a player to a specific other team in exchange for something.
TRUST
Reads as the noun meaning confidence — restore the missing final letter to get Reggie Trusty's surname.
WAIVE
Sounds identical to WAVE but means to place a player on waivers — a roster move, not a San Diego team.
WAVE
San Diego Wave FC — the NWSL women's soccer club, not the roster transaction spelled differently.
Sports Connections Hints for July 6, 2026
Reveal exactly what you need — a hint, the group name, or a single word.
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Sports Connections Answers for July 6, 2026
Full spoilers — all four groups revealed.
Yellow group
Move on from a player
- CUT
- RELEASE
- TRADE
- WAIVE
CUT, RELEASE, TRADE and WAIVE are all ways a sports team parts with a player. WAIVE is the sneakiest — it sounds exactly like WAVE, the San Diego women's soccer team sitting one category over.
Green group
San diego teams
- WAVE
- SAN DIEGO FC
- PADRES
- AZTECS
WAVE, SAN DIEGO FC, PADRES and AZTECS are all San Diego sports teams. WAVE refers to San Diego Wave FC, the NWSL women's soccer club — easy to confuse with WAIVE next door.
Blue group
Members of the 600-hr club
- AARON
- RUTH
- THOME
- SOSA
AARON, RUTH, THOME and SOSA are all members of baseball's 600 home run club. Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are the most famous names here, but Jim Thome quietly reached 612 career home runs — a fact that surprises many casual fans.
Purple group
Usmnt players, with the last letter removed
- TRUST
- RICHARD
- ADAM
- FREES
TRUST, RICHARD, ADAM and FREES are USMNT player surnames with their final letter removed. Add the missing letter back and you get TRUSTY (Reggie Trusty), RICHARDS (Chris Richards), ADAMS (Tyler Adams) and FREESE (Brendan Freese). The trap is that TRUST, RICHARD, ADAM and FREES all read as ordinary English words or first names, hiding the truncation entirely.