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The March 10, 2026, Connections: Sports Edition puzzle is reported as No. 533. Its four groups connect AL Central baseball teams, football terms ending in “back,” Derrick Henry references and New Orleans Pelicans players. Spoilers follow.
Hints for the March 10 puzzle
- Play ball! Think of teams in one American League division.
- Not front. Look for football terms that can precede “back.”
- Certain NFL player. These words point to a specific NFL running back.
- They play at Smoothie King Center. Identify players from the home team.
These are the published category nudges; the full group labels and answers are below. Parade’s March 10 answer page presents the hints before the solutions.
Answers and categories
| Category | Answers | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| An AL Central player | GUARDIAN, ROYAL, TIGER, TWIN | Each refers to a team in Major League Baseball’s American League Central division. |
| Words appearing before “back” in football | CORNER, DEFENSIVE, FULL, RUNNING | Each forms a football term ending in “back”: cornerback, defensive back, fullback and running back. |
| Associated with Derrick Henry | HEISMAN, KING, RAVENS, TITANS | The words refer to the Heisman Trophy, Henry’s “King” nickname, and the Ravens and Titans, NFL teams associated with his career. |
| They play at Smoothie King Center | BEY, FEARS, MURPHY, QUEEN | These are surnames of New Orleans Pelicans players. |
The board’s sixteen words are QUEEN, BEY, ROYAL, KING, TWIN, DEFENSIVE, TIGER, HEISMAN, FULL, GUARDIAN, CORNER, TITANS, RAVENS, FEARS, RUNNING and MURPHY. The date-specific Word Finder board report lists these tiles, while CNET, Mashable and Parade report the same groupings.
Why the groups can be tricky
Separate baseball identities from football positions
GUARDIAN, ROYAL, TIGER and TWIN are singular forms referring to the Guardians, Royals, Tigers and Twins. Meanwhile, CORNER, DEFENSIVE, FULL and RUNNING all complete familiar football compounds with “back.” The football connection is about the words that come before “back,” not a set of players.
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KING and ROYAL look like a natural pair, but they belong to different groups in the reported solution. KING is associated with Derrick Henry; ROYAL points to the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central group. The category relationships, rather than the surface resemblance between words, separate them.
Use the sports references to identify the last two groups
HEISMAN, KING, RAVENS and TITANS converge on Derrick Henry through an award, nickname and NFL team connections. BEY, FEARS, MURPHY and QUEEN are Pelicans surnames; Smoothie King Center is the clue to the New Orleans team.
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What is Connections: Sports Edition?
Connections: Sports Edition is a sports-themed word-grouping puzzle. CNET reports that The Athletic publishes it and that it is available in The Athletic app and free online, rather than in the NYT Games app. App and web availability can change, so check The Athletic’s current listings before relying on those access details. No primary NYT or Athletic page for this specific puzzle was identified; the dated solution is corroborated by multiple secondary answer reports.
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