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Today's Connections: Sports Edition features one of those categories where you need to look carefully at words that appear to be regular nouns but are really last names. 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: Proceed with ease.

Green group hint: Groups of schools.

Blue group hint: Hoops stars.

Purple group hint: Think street.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Move smoothly.

Green group: First words of college conferences.

Blue group: Basketball Hall of Famers.

Purple group: Road ____.

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 move smoothly. The four answers are coast, fly, glide and soar.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is first words of college conferences. The four answers are Atlantic, Big, Mountain and Southeastern.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is Basketball Hall of Famers. The four answers are English, Hill, Pierce and West.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is road ____. The four answers are game, grader, race and trip.

Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories

The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.

That said, it's hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing.

#1: Serie A Clubs. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.

#2: WNBA MVPs. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.

#3: Premier League team nicknames. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.

#4: Homophones of NBA player names. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.