In search of most recent regular responses to Connections? Click here for today’s connection tipsplus our daily answers and tips for the New York Times mini crossword, Wordle, and Strands puzzles.

Did you enjoy the New York Times Connections Puzzle? There is now a new version of the game focused on sports-related words. It is simply called Connections: sports editionand we have tips and answers.

For now, the game is in beta, meaning the Times is testing it to see if it’s popular before adding it to the site’s Games app. You can play it daily for free for the next few weeks – and then we’ll have to see if it sticks around.

Learn more: NYT has a connections game for sports fans. I tried it

How to play Connections: Sports Edition

The rules are pretty much the same as the normal game. You are given 16 words and asked to group them into four groups that are connected in some way. The main difference is that all words and categories have some sort of sports connection. Sometimes the categories seem obvious, but the game tries to trick you by using sports-related words that may fall into multiple groups. And the four groups of words have different difficulty levels. Yellow is the easiest and purple is the hardest, but you won’t know which color group belongs to which group until you solve the puzzle.

But you don’t have to be a sports fan to solve Connections: Sports Edition, although it helps to know a little more about a bunch of different sports and athletes. Words can include player names, team names, or sports-related activities.

Tips for Connections Groups: Sports Today’s Edition

Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes weird) purple group.

Yellow group index: Bend it like Beckham

Green group index: Harvard too

Blue group index: Best Picks

Purple group index: Light it up

Connections Group Answers: Today’s Sports Edition

Yellow group: Football positions

Green group: Schools with colorful nicknames

Blue group: Alma mater of the last 4 NFL No. 1 picks

Purple group: Power ____

Learn more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are the answers from today’s Connections: Sports Edition?

Yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is football positions. The four answers are goalkeeper, midfielder, sweeper and winger.

Green words in today’s Connections

The theme is schools with colorful nicknames. The four answers are Stanford, Syracuse, Tulane and Tulsa.

Blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is the alma mater of the last 4 NFL #1 picks. The four answers are Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and USC.

Purple words in today’s Connections

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