NYT Connections · Sports Edition · #654
NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#654) — July 9, 2026
Start with the group you can lock in fastest, then use those confirmed words to break the trickier ones loose — one word you expect to see in an obvious sports group actually belongs somewhere else entirely.
Today's puzzle has LAMB and WADDLE, both carrying history as everyday English words that double as NFL surnames — if you do not follow the league, those two will feel like they belong anywhere but a receivers group.
Traps & Misdirects for July 9, 2026
The decoys built into this puzzle — and why each one bites.
FOOTBALL Decoy
You are almost certainly reading this as the American sport — that is the bait. Here the puzzle uses it as a single word inside a four-word international acronym, where it refers to soccer.
SQUASH Decoy
You might be picturing the vegetable or a cordial drink, but the puzzle is using it as a racket sport played in an enclosed court.
CRADLE Decoy
You are probably thinking of a baby's bed or a rocking motion — but here it is a ball-handling technique specific to one sport.
RIDE Decoy
Looks like it belongs with horses or vehicles, but the puzzle is using it as a defensive-pressure term from a sport played with a stick and a small rubber ball.
Sports Connections Word Clues for July 9, 2026
Spoiler-free meaning for every name in the grid.
ASSOCIATION
The A in FIFA — the word that ties the full name together as an organised governing body.
BADMINTON
A racket sport played with a shuttlecock — the only one in this group where the projectile has feathers.
CLEAR
Looks like a simple adjective; in lacrosse it is the act of moving the ball from the defensive end to the offensive end.
CRADLE
The technique of rocking the lacrosse stick back and forth to keep the ball secured in the pocket while running.
CREASE
The circular area surrounding the goal in lacrosse — offensive players cannot enter it to score.
FÉDÉRATION
The F in FIFA — French for 'federation', reflecting the organisation's Paris founding in 1904.
FOOTBALL
The second F in FIFA — refers to soccer, not American football, which is the central trap of this puzzle.
HIGGINS
Tee Higgins, wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals — a common surname with no obvious animal or object double meaning.
INTERNATIONALE
The first I in FIFA — French for 'international', signalling the body's worldwide scope.
LAMB
CeeDee Lamb, star wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys — his surname also means a baby sheep.
OLAVE
Chris Olave, wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints — the least misleading surname of the four.
PADEL
A paddle sport played in an enclosed glass-walled court, hugely popular in Spain and Latin America.
RIDE
Sounds equestrian, but in lacrosse it describes the offensive team pressuring the defense to prevent a clear.
SQUASH
Also a vegetable and a drink, but here it is the fast-paced racket sport played inside four walls.
TENNIS
The most globally recognised racket sport, played on clay, grass or hard court.
WADDLE
Jaylen Waddle, wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins — his surname also describes how a duck moves.
Sports Connections Hints for July 9, 2026
Reveal exactly what you need — a hint, the group name, or a single word.
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Sports Connections Answers for July 9, 2026
Full spoilers — all four groups revealed.
Yellow group
Racket/paddle sports
- TENNIS
- BADMINTON
- PADEL
- SQUASH
TENNIS, BADMINTON, PADEL and SQUASH are all sports played with a racket or paddle. SQUASH is the sneakiest — most solvers second-guess it because of the vegetable, but it is a fully fledged racket sport played in an enclosed court.
Green group
Nfl wide receivers
- WADDLE
- LAMB
- OLAVE
- HIGGINS
WADDLE, LAMB, OLAVE and HIGGINS are all current NFL wide receivers identified by surname. WADDLE and LAMB are the trickiest — both read naturally as everyday nouns (a duck's gait and a baby sheep) rather than athlete surnames.
Blue group
Lacrosse terms
- CRADLE
- CLEAR
- RIDE
- CREASE
CRADLE, CLEAR, RIDE and CREASE are all terms specific to lacrosse. CLEAR and RIDE are the hardest to place — both are generic English verbs that only reveal their lacrosse meaning when you know the sport.
Purple group
Fifa
- FÉDÉRATION
- INTERNATIONALE
- FOOTBALL
- ASSOCIATION
FÉDÉRATION, INTERNATIONALE, FOOTBALL and ASSOCIATION are the four words that make up the FIFA acronym — Fédération Internationale de Football Association. FOOTBALL is the killer trap here: solvers primed by the NFL context of the Green group will resist pulling it into an acronym about soccer.