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Today's Connections: Sports Edition is a mixed bag. I enjoyed the blue group, which matches up people with the same first name. If you're struggling with today's puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn't appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic's own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Strike!

Green group hint: Fire it in there!

Blue group hint: Like Springsteen.

Purple group hint: Great force.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Found in a bowling alley.

Green group: Baseball pitches.

Blue group: Famous Bruces.

Purple group: Power ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is found in a bowling alley. The four answers are bowling ball, bumper, gutter and pin.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is baseball pitches. The four answers are changeup, cutter, slider and slurve.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is famous Bruces. The four answers are Bowen, Lee, Smith and Sutter.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is power ____. The four answers are forward, hitter, lifter and play.