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Today's Connections: Sports Edition features a wide variety of topics. I live in Seattle now, so the blue group was a fun one for me to solve. If you're struggling with the 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: Create a plan.

Green group hint: Time to pedal.

Blue group hint: Tridents up!

Purple group hint: Hockey teams, hidden in words.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Develop (a play)

Green group: Bicycle brands

Blue group: Seattle Mariners

Purple group: Starts with an NHL team, in singular form

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 develop (a play).  The four answers are design, devise, draw up and scheme.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is bicycle brands. The four answers are Giant, Huffy, Mongoose and Schwinn.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is Seattle Mariners. The four answers are Arozarena, Kirby, Raleigh and Woo.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is starts with an NHL team, in singular form. The four answers are blueprint, DuckTales, kingpin and starter.

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.