Buzzapp Master 
Football and baseball topics are among the answers for today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 157, for Feb. 27.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won “Headline Writer of the Year” award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism. Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Do you know how NFL draft prospects are evaluated? If not, Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groupsHere are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Behind the plate
Green group hint: Put me in, Coach.
Blue group hint: Prepping for the pros
Purple group hint: Sports sanction
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groupsYellow group: A catcher’s equipment
Green group: Backups
Blue group: NFL draft tests and evaluations
Purple group: Results of a penalty
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers? The completed NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 27, 2025, #157.
NYT/Screenshot by CNETThe yellow words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is a catcher’s equipment. The four answers are chest protector, glove, mask and shin guards.
The green words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is backups. The four answers are bench, depth, reserves and substitutes.
The blue words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is NFL draft tests and evaluations. The four answers are 40-yard dash, interview, three-cone drill and vertical jump.
The purple words in today’s ConnectionsThe theme is results of a penalty. The four answers are free throw, loss of yards, power play and yellow card.
Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categoriesThe Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.
That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.
#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.
#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.
#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.
#4: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings