NYT Connections Sports Edition · #654

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#654) — July 9, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·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.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for July 9, 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 →

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 ASSOCIATIONThe A in FIFA — the word that ties the full name together as an organised governing body.

2 BADMINTONA racket sport played with a shuttlecock — the only one in this group where the projectile has feathers.

3 CLEARLooks like a simple adjective; in lacrosse it is the act of moving the ball from the defensive end to the offensive end.

4 CRADLEThe technique of rocking the lacrosse stick back and forth to keep the ball secured in the pocket while running.

5 CREASEThe circular area surrounding the goal in lacrosse — offensive players cannot enter it to score.

6 FÉDÉRATIONThe F in FIFA — French for 'federation', reflecting the organisation's Paris founding in 1904.

7 FOOTBALLThe second F in FIFA — refers to soccer, not American football, which is the central trap of this puzzle.

8 HIGGINSTee Higgins, wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals — a common surname with no obvious animal or object double meaning.

9 INTERNATIONALEThe first I in FIFA — French for 'international', signalling the body's worldwide scope.

10 LAMBCeeDee Lamb, star wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys — his surname also means a baby sheep.

11 OLAVEChris Olave, wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints — the least misleading surname of the four.

12 PADELA paddle sport played in an enclosed glass-walled court, hugely popular in Spain and Latin America.

13 RIDESounds equestrian, but in lacrosse it describes the offensive team pressuring the defense to prevent a clear.

14 SQUASHAlso a vegetable and a drink, but here it is the fast-paced racket sport played inside four walls.

15 TENNISThe most globally recognised racket sport, played on clay, grass or hard court.

16 WADDLEJaylen Waddle, wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins — his surname also describes how a duck moves.

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

Each one needs a net and something to swing.

See Group

RACKET/PADDLE SPORTS

See Word

TENNIS

See Word

BADMINTON

See Word

PADEL

See Word

SQUASH

See Hint

These last names catch passes on Sundays.

See Group

NFL WIDE RECEIVERS

See Word

WADDLE

See Word

LAMB

See Word

OLAVE

See Word

HIGGINS

See Hint

You need a mesh pocket on a stick to use these.

See Group

LACROSSE TERMS

See Word

CRADLE

See Word

CLEAR

See Word

RIDE

See Word

CREASE

See Hint

Spell out a global governing body, word by word.

See Group

FIFA

See Word

FÉDÉRATION

See Word

INTERNATIONALE

See Word

FOOTBALL

See Word

ASSOCIATION

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 FOOTBALL Tap to see why this word traps.

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.

2 SQUASH Tap to see why this word traps.

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.

3 CRADLE Tap to see why this word traps.

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.

4 RIDE Tap to see why this word traps.

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.

NYT Sports Connections answers for July 9, 2026

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

Y RACKET/PADDLE SPORTS · Yellow · easiest

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.

G NFL WIDE RECEIVERS · Green · easy

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.

B LACROSSE TERMS · Blue · medium

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.

P FIFA · Purple · hardest

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.

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