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NYT Connections Sports Edition · #651

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#651) — July 6, 2026

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“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.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for July 6, 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 AARONHank Aaron — finished with 755 career home runs, holding the MLB all-time record for decades.
2 ADAMReads as a first name — here it's Tyler Adams' last name with the final S stripped off.
3 AZTECSSan Diego State University's athletic teams — college, not pro, but very much part of the city's sports identity.
4 CUTThe bluntest way to end a player's time on a roster — no trade, no waivers, just gone.
5 FREESReads as a verb meaning to liberate — add one letter back to get Brendan Freese, a USMNT defender.
6 PADRESSan Diego's MLB franchise, named after the Spanish word for fathers.
7 RELEASEA formal transaction that frees a player from their contract obligations.
8 RICHARDLooks like a first name — it's actually Chris Richards' surname with the final S removed.
9 RUTHBabe Ruth — the original home run king, with 714 career blasts.
10 SAN DIEGO FCThe newest San Diego entry — an MLS expansion club.
11 SOSASammy Sosa — famous for the 1998 home run chase with Mark McGwire; finished with 609.
12 THOMEJim Thome — the quietest member of this club, with 612 home runs across a long career.
13 TRADEThe only method here that sends a player to a specific other team in exchange for something.
14 TRUSTReads as the noun meaning confidence — restore the missing final letter to get Reggie Trusty's surname.
15 WAIVESounds identical to WAVE but means to place a player on waivers — a roster move, not a San Diego team.
16 WAVESan Diego Wave FC — the NWSL women's soccer club, not the roster transaction spelled differently.
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 What a front office does when a player is no longer wanted.
See Group MOVE ON FROM A PLAYER
See WordCUT
See WordRELEASE
See WordTRADE
See WordWAIVE
See Hint Franchises that call America's Finest City home.
See Group SAN DIEGO TEAMS
See WordWAVE
See WordSAN DIEGO FC
See WordPADRES
See WordAZTECS
See Hint These sluggers all cleared the same massive home run milestone.
See Group MEMBERS OF THE 600-HR CLUB
See WordAARON
See WordRUTH
See WordTHOME
See WordSOSA
See Hint Each word is one letter short of a USMNT jersey name.
See Group USMNT PLAYERS, WITH THE LAST LETTER REMOVED
See WordTRUST
See WordRICHARD
See WordADAM
See WordFREES
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 WAIVE Tap to see why this word traps.
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.
2 WAVE Tap to see why this word traps.
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.
3 TRUST Tap to see why this word traps.
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.
4 FREES Tap to see why this word traps.
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.

NYT Sports Connections answers for July 6, 2026

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

Y MOVE ON FROM A PLAYER · Yellow · easiest
  • 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.

G SAN DIEGO TEAMS · Green · easy
  • 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.

B MEMBERS OF THE 600-HR CLUB · Blue · medium
  • 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.

P USMNT PLAYERS, WITH THE LAST LETTER REMOVED · Purple · hardest
  • 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.

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