Thu Jun 26 10:20:00 UTC 2025: ## “Connections: Sports Edition” Goes Live, Puzzle Answers Revealed

**New York, NY -** The Athletic’s “Connections: Sports Edition,” a word association puzzle game, has officially launched after a beta period, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, February 9th. The game, which challenges players to find connections between seemingly disparate words, is a testament to its growing popularity among sports fans, signaling The Athletic’s commitment to its continued publication. While not featured in the NYT Games app, the puzzle can be found on The Athletic’s own app or played for free online.

Yesterday’s puzzle (#275), June 25, 2025, presented a particularly tricky challenge for players, with some connections less obvious than others.

Here’s a breakdown of the solutions:

* **Theme: Showing Approval:** applaud, cheer, clap, give a hand
* **Theme: Accessories for a Football Referee:** bean bag, coin, flag, whistle
* **Theme: Teams Russell Wilson has played for:** Broncos, Seahawks, Steelers, Wisconsin
* **Theme: Previous teams of the last four NBA draft No. 1 picks:** Duke, JL Bourg, Mets 92, Oklahoma State

Players are advised to consider multiple meanings of words and not to jump to the most obvious connections. The game often uses names (both first and last) that also happen to be common words to throw players off.

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