NYT Connections Sports Edition · #722

Today's NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers - September 15, 2026 (#722)

By Sneha Rajput·Updated 12:20 AM ET

“When a phrase feels like it belongs somewhere obvious, check whether the puzzle is using the whole phrase as a proper name rather than a description.CRYSTAL PALACE appeared in Connections #696 (Aug 20, 2026) as part of a group of London soccer clubs.”

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Sports Connections hints for today's puzzle

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 BAT FLIPThe dramatic release of the bat after a big hit — a flashpoint in baseball's unwritten-rules debates.

2 COOL PAPA BELLJames Bell, Negro Leagues legend so fast that Satchel Paige claimed he could flip a light switch and be in bed before the room went dark.

3 CRYSTAL PALACESouth London club named after the Victorian exhibition hall — their nickname is the Eagles.

4 CURTAIN CALLWhen the crowd demands the batter step back out of the dugout to take a bow — borrowed from the theatre.

5 DIZZY DEANJay Hanna Dean, Cardinals pitcher who won 30 games in 1934 and was as famous for his boastful personality as his fastball.

6 DUGOUT CELEBRATIONThe handshakes, high-fives and helmet-removals waiting at the end of the trot.

7 HOME RUN BAKERReads like a baseball action phrase, but it's the full nickname of Frank Baker, a Hall of Fame third baseman from the Deadball Era.

8 HOME RUN TROTThe leisurely lap around the bases — no need to sprint when the ball is already gone.

9 NOTTINGHAM FORESTEast Midlands club and two-time European Cup winners under Brian Clough in 1979 and 1980.

10 OPENING BELLSounds like it could pair with COOL PAPA BELL, but here it's the signal that round one has begun.

11 PIE TRAYNORHarold Traynor, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman of the 1920s–30s, widely considered one of the best at his position in the pre-war era.

12 PRESS CONFERENCEWhere fighters talk trash, sign contracts and sell the fight to the public.

13 QUEENS PARK RANGERSWest London club — Rangers sounds like a law-enforcement unit, but it's just part of the club's full name.

14 RING WALKThe fighter's entrance to the arena — often choreographed with music and lighting.

15 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAYThe Wednesday in the name is not a scheduling quirk — it traces back to the cricket club the team evolved from.

16 WEIGH-INThe official check that both fighters have made their weight class — often a tense, face-to-face moment.

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

The crowd goes wild and the batter soaks it in.

See Group

EVENTS AFTER A HOME RUN

See Word

BAT FLIP

See Word

HOME RUN TROT

See Word

DUGOUT CELEBRATION

See Word

CURTAIN CALL

See Hint

From the scale to the first clang, boxing's opening rituals.

See Group

PART OF THE RUN-UP TO A BOXING MATCH

See Word

WEIGH-IN

See Word

PRESS CONFERENCE

See Word

RING WALK

See Word

OPENING BELL

See Hint

Cooperstown honoured these men, and their nicknames did the heavy lifting.

See Group

BASEBALL HALL OF FAMERS

See Word

COOL PAPA BELL

See Word

PIE TRAYNOR

See Word

DIZZY DEAN

See Word

HOME RUN BAKER

See Hint

Saturday afternoons, terraces and a very specific shade of kit.

See Group

ENGLISH SOCCER CLUBS

See Word

CRYSTAL PALACE

See Word

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

See Word

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

See Word

QUEENS PARK RANGERS

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 HOME RUN BAKER Tap to see why this word traps.

You're almost certainly reading this as a description of someone who hits home runs — but it's actually the full nickname of a specific Hall of Famer, not a baseball action.

2 OPENING BELL Tap to see why this word traps.

You might instinctively pair this with COOL PAPA BELL because both end in BELL, but the puzzle is using it as a boxing term, not as part of any name.

3 COOL PAPA BELL Tap to see why this word traps.

The BELL at the end pulls your eye toward the boxing category, but this is a complete proper name belonging to a different sport entirely.

4 QUEENS PARK RANGERS Tap to see why this word traps.

Rangers reads like a law-enforcement or wilderness group, but here it's the full name of an English soccer club based in London.

Today's Sports Connections answers

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

Y EVENTS AFTER A HOME RUN · Yellow · easiest

BAT FLIP
HOME RUN TROT
DUGOUT CELEBRATION
CURTAIN CALL

BAT FLIP, HOME RUN TROT, DUGOUT CELEBRATION and CURTAIN CALL are all things that happen after a batter hits a home run. The CURTAIN CALL is the rarest — it only happens when the crowd refuses to stop cheering and the player has to reappear from the dugout.

G PART OF THE RUN-UP TO A BOXING MATCH · Green · easy

WEIGH-IN
PRESS CONFERENCE
RING WALK
OPENING BELL

WEIGH-IN, PRESS CONFERENCE, RING WALK and OPENING BELL are all part of the build-up and launch sequence of a boxing match. The group spans the days before fight night through the moment round one begins — the full ceremonial arc that surrounds the bout itself.

B BASEBALL HALL OF FAMERS · Blue · medium

COOL PAPA BELL
PIE TRAYNOR
DIZZY DEAN
HOME RUN BAKER

COOL PAPA BELL, PIE TRAYNOR, DIZZY DEAN and HOME RUN BAKER are all Baseball Hall of Famers known primarily by colourful nicknames. HOME RUN BAKER is the biggest trap — Frank Baker earned that nickname by hitting two crucial home runs in the 1911 World Series, long before the home run era made the feat routine.

P ENGLISH SOCCER CLUBS · Purple · hardest

CRYSTAL PALACE
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
QUEENS PARK RANGERS

CRYSTAL PALACE, SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY, NOTTINGHAM FOREST and QUEENS PARK RANGERS are all English soccer clubs. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY is the most disorienting — the day of the week in the name comes from the Wednesday Cricket Club, which the football club grew out of in the 19th century.

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How to play NYT Sports Connections

The rules, the difficulty scale, and when the next puzzle drops.

The goal

Connections gives you 16 words. Sort them into four groups of four, where every word in a group shares a hidden link — a theme, a category, or a piece of wordplay. You get four mistakes before the game ends.

The colour scale

Groups are graded by difficulty: yellow is the most straightforward, then green, then blue, with purple almost always the trickiest — usually built on wordplay or a homophone rather than a plain category.

When it resets

A new Connections drops at midnight in your local time zone. Yesterday's puzzle moves to the archive, where every past answer stays searchable.