NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints for May 4, Sunday: Check Out Best Tips to Play

The New York Times’ daily brain teaser, “Connections,” is attracting more word puzzle enthusiasts. The challenge for May 4, 2025, features clever wordplay for the Connection: Sports Edition, leaving many players puzzled, particularly when hints related to barbeque offerings appeared. Before we provide clues and categories, let’s quickly explain how to play this engaging word game.

How to Play NYT Connections  

For newcomers, NYT Connections challenges players to organise 16 seemingly random words into four groups of four, based on shared themes or categories. The objective is to identify which words are linked by a common connection, whether it's literal, idiomatic, or cultural. Each group is colour-coded by difficulty: Yellow is the simplest, Green is moderate, Blue is more challenging, and Purple is the most difficult. Players have four incorrect guesses before the game concludes, encouraging thoughtful answers rather than random guesses.

Tips for Playing NYT Connections

NYT Connections is a word game that pushes your brain to think critically. As you prepare to guess, remember that you have only four opportunities to make mistakes. Think creatively—if the answers appear straightforward, something might be amiss. Look deeper and analyse to uncover the connection.

NYT Connections: Sports Edition hints for May 4, 2025

Players can follow these hints and guess to find the right word for today’s crossword, ranked from the Yellow to the Purple groups.

• Yellow group: Take the bases.
• Green group: Golden State.
• Blue group: Same first name.
• Purple group: Hockey teams.

NYT Connections: Sports Edition categories for May 4, 2025

Did you try your best to solve the crossword? Now, check if you were right with the categories.

• Yellow group: A base runner’s actions.
• Green group: California college teams.
• Blue group: Reggies.
• Purple group: First words of NHL (National Hockey League) team names.

NYT Connections: Sports Edition answers for May 4, 2025

Here are the — drumrolls, please — the answers for today’s puzzle.

• A base runner’s actions: lead, slide, steal, and tag.
• California college teams: Bears, Bruins, Cardinal, and Trojans.
• Reggies: Bush, Jackson, Miller, and White.
• First words of NHL team names: blue, golden, maple, and red.

Read more: iPhone 17 to Get 12GB RAM, Big Bump Over iPhone 16: What It Means For Users