The New York Times Connections: Sports Edition for September 22, 2026, puzzle number 729, offers a mix of winter recreation, collegiate football history, and professional baseball trivia. Today’s board requires players to identify legendary mascots and specific athletes who led one of the most storied programs in college sports.
Hints for Today’s Connections
If you are looking for a bit of help before seeing the final answers, these progressive hints can point you in the right direction.
Broad Group Hints
- Yellow: Items you would find at a mountain resort or on a snowy hill.
- Green: These are the costumed characters that roam Major League stadiums.
- Blue: A specific list of players who all held the same leadership role at Notre Dame.
- Purple: Words that frequently follow a specific professional sport to form common terms or titles.
Stronger Clues
- Yellow: Focus on ways to slide down a hill in the winter.
- Green: Wally and Mr. Met are the most recognizable examples here.
- Blue: These are all last names of modern-era quarterbacks for the Fighting Irish.
- Purple: Think of items fans collect, wear, or use to look up statistics in the MLB.
SPOILER WARNING: The full solutions for today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition follow below. Do not read further if you want to keep solving the puzzle on your own.
Connections: Sports Edition Answers for September 22, #729
Yellow: Equipment for snow activities
SKI, SLED, SNOWBOARD, TUBE
This category covers the standard gear used for downhill winter recreation. While “Tube” and “Sled” are often casual, “Ski” and “Snowboard” represent the primary Olympic disciplines on the slopes.
Green: MLB mascots
BLOOPER, MR. MET, SLIDER, WALLY
These are the official names of Major League Baseball mascots. Blooper represents the Atlanta Braves, Mr. Met is the iconic head of the New York Mets, Slider belongs to the Cleveland Guardians, and Wally the Green Monster resides at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox.
Blue: Notre Dame QBs
BOOK, CLAUSEN, QUINN, REES
This category features prominent quarterbacks who played for the University of Notre Dame. Specifically, it references Ian Book, Jimmy Clausen, Brady Quinn, and Tommy Rees, the latter of whom also served as the program’s offensive coordinator.
Purple: Baseball ____
BAT, CAP, CARDS, REFERENCE
Each of these words follows the word “Baseball.” While Bat, Cap, and Cards are physical items associated with the game, “Baseball Reference” is a specific nod to the popular statistical database used by fans and analysts to track player history and metrics.
