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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallNeed a nudge before the answers? Start with the four spoiler-light hints below, then reveal the category names and word lists only when you’re ready. The February 18, 2026 guide identifies this puzzle as Connections Sports Edition #513.
Hints for Connections Sports Edition #513
Use these clues from least to most revealing. They point toward each group without giving away its words.
- Yellow: “I don’t care if I never get back.”
- Green: “Get that gold medal.”
- Blue: “Hoops superstar.”
- Purple: “Not front, but…”
Category names
Ready to reveal the themes? These are the category labels published for the puzzle.
- Yellow: Heard in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
- Green: Olympic snowboarding events
- Blue: Vince Carter, informally
- Purple: ___back
Answers for February 18
The published guide’s answer lists need a caution: it prints five words for both the snowboarding and Vince Carter categories, even though the New York Times defines Connections as four groups of four. The guide also calls its answer section #512, although its headline and opening identify the puzzle as #513. No official archived answer board is established here, so the lists below are reproduced as published, not presented as a verified four-word key.
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#1 Best Overall
| Category | Words listed by Parade |
|---|---|
| Heard in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” | CRACKER JACK, HOME TEAM, OLD BALL GAME, PEANUTS |
| Olympic snowboarding events | BIG AIR, GIANT, SLALOM, HALFPIPE, SLOPESTYLE |
| Vince Carter, informally | AIR CANADA, HALF-MAN, HALF-AMAZING, VC, VINSANITY |
| ___back | DIAMOND, DROP, QUARTER, RAZOR |
How Sports Edition Connections works
The New York Times Help Center says players receive 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four that share something in common. Sports Edition is the sports version brought to solvers by The Athletic and follows the same rules. It is listed on nytimes.com/games, nytimes.com/theathletic, The Athletic App, and the NYT News App. The Help Center currently says Sports Edition does not have an archive, so availability information may change.
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