The NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for October 3, 2026, is number 740. This edition challenges players to bridge the gap between professional baseball history and collegiate rivalries, with a specific focus on the athletic landscape of Ohio and the record books of the American League.
Hints for Today’s Sports Connections
If you are looking to solve the puzzle without seeing the final groups just yet, use these progressive hints to guide your strategy:
- Broad Hint: One group focuses on the terminology of the fairway, while another looks at the specific professional and collegiate culture of a major Ohio city.
- Yellow Category Hint: These words are all related to the scoreboard during a round of golf.
- Green Category Hint: Focus on “The Queen City.” Every answer here is a team mascot from this location, though they are missing their plural “s.”
- Blue Category Hint: These four names belong to elite hitters and pitchers who have won the highest individual honor in the American League.
- Purple Category Hint: Think of verbs that mean to “toss” or “launch” an object, then look at the first few letters of each word.
Category Themes
- Yellow: Fore!
- Green: The Queen City
- Blue: Baseball legends
- Purple: Fire it in there!
SPOILER WARNING: The full solution for puzzle #740 follows below. Stop reading now if you want to keep playing independently.
NYT Connections Sports Edition Answers for October 3, 2026
Yellow: Golf scoring terms
ALBATROSS, BIRDIE, BOGEY, EAGLE
These are standard terms used to describe a golfer’s score relative to par on any given hole, ranging from one-over (Bogey) to three-under (Albatross).
Green: Cincinnati teams, minus the “s”
BEARCAT, BENGAL, MUSKETEER, RED
This group combines professional and collegiate sports from Cincinnati. The Bearcats represent the University of Cincinnati, and the Musketeers represent Xavier University. The Bengals (NFL) and Reds (MLB) represent the city’s major professional franchises.
Blue: American League MVPs
BLUE, JUDGE, KILLEBREW, TROUT
These are all last names of players who have won the American League MVP award. Vida Blue won the award in 1971, Harmon Killebrew in 1969, Aaron Judge in 2022, and Mike Trout is a three-time winner (2014, 2016, 2019).
Purple: Starts with a synonym for throw
HEAVEN, HURLEY, LOBSTER, SLINGSHOT
Each word begins with a verb associated with throwing: Heaven, Hurley, Lobster, and Slingshot. Hurley also serves as a sports-adjacent term, referencing the stick used in the game of hurling.
