Need help with today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle? You’ve come to the right place.

Welcome to Connections: Sports Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.

A quick public service announcement before we continue: The bottom of this article includes the answers — and hints — for the four categories. So if you want to solve the board hint-free, we recommend you play before continuing.

You can access today’s game here. And when you’re done, try out our limited-edition Connections: Soccer Edition for an extra challenge.

Today’s difficulty

Game No. 685’s difficulty: 1.5 out of 5

Connections: Sports Edition hints for Aug. 9, 2026

Scroll below for one answer in each of the four categories.

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Yellow: ICE SKATE

Green: TURF TOE

Blue: LANSDOWNE STREET

Purple: CITY GROUND

Connections: Sports Edition answers for Aug. 9, 2026

Scroll below for the full answers to each of the four categories.

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Yellow

Equipment that comes in pairs: ICE SKATE, SHIN GUARD, SKI POLE, SOCCER CLEAT

Green

Injuries: HIP POINTER, SHIN SPLINTS, TENNIS ELBOW, TURF TOE

Blue

Fenway Park sights: CITGO SIGN, GREEN MONSTER, LANSDOWNE STREET, PESKY’S POLE

Purple

Premier League venues: CITY GROUND, OLD TRAFFORD, STADIUM OF LIGHT, STAMFORD BRIDGE

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

Connections: Sports Edition is The Athletic’s first-ever game, a daily puzzle designed for players to find connections between 16 words on the game board.

The game’s objective is to group words or objects into four groups of four based on commonalities within each group as quickly as possible. Find the groups without making four mistakes. Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories!

Category examples:
Sports ____ : Fan, Car, Bar, Radio
U.S. Summer Olympians: Biles, Phelps, Ledecky, Lyles

Each category group is assigned a color, revealed as you solve, ranging from straightforward (yellow) to medium (green) to challenging (blue) to tricky (purple).

Who creates the puzzles for Connections: Sports Edition?

That’s me! My name is Mark Cooper, and I create Connections: Sports Edition and work as a managing editor for college sports here at The Athletic. I was previously The Athletic’s managing editor for breaking news.

The next puzzle will be available at midnight in your time zone. Thanks for playing — and share your scores in the comments!

Betfred Super League side Huddersfield Giants have announced they are to leave the town and move to Dewsbury for the 2027 season onwards.

The Giants’ intention is to move into Dewsbury’s Flair Stadium, subject to RFL board approval, investing a projected £10m-plus in developing the ground.

The investment will deliver a transformational upgrade of the venue, including the construction of a new stand that will increase capacity from 5,000 to around 8,000 spectators, creating a viewing area on all four sides of the pitch.

The redevelopment will also feature refurbishment of the fan concourses, significant upgrades to existing and new hospitality suites, new bars and food areas, both male and female player dressing rooms, and press facilities elevating the stadium to Super League standards.

An agreement has been reached following extensive and amicable negotiations with Betfred Championship team, Dewsbury Rams, and a strong partnership between the two clubs has been forged. The Flair will continue to host the Rams in the newly-upgraded and dual-branded facility.

This comes following a period of uncertainty for the Giants after seeking a permanent location in the Huddersfield area.

Owner of the club, Ken Davy OBE, has explored several alternative sites, including The Shay Stadium in Halifax.

Speaking of the decision, Davy said: “It’s no secret that as a club, we have fought to find a home in Huddersfield. We had to move from Fartown, from Leeds Road, and now from the Accu Stadium. But the Huddersfield Giants will not retreat. We will not compromise or quietly shuffle into the shadows.

“While we remain the Huddersfield Giants, I am proud to announce that our stage for the 2027 season and beyond is Dewsbury.

“The Flair Stadium is the perfect location for us, it will have the right capacity and facilities for the Giants and its fans to thrive while we continue the search for our permanent home. Our one giant future starts now.

“My overriding aim is to create a purpose-built stadium within Huddersfield for the Giants to call home. My commitment on that has not wavered. However, that was not feasible for the 2027 season.”

Ralph Rimmer OBE, executive chairman of the Huddersfield Giants, added: “The Giants’ future is bright, and we are excited to lead the club into this new era.

“For fans, the matchday experience will be our focus. A smaller, more intimate ground means the crowd is closer to the action, letting the atmosphere grow and support the team out on the pitch.

“The Flair Stadium offers everything that supporters need from parking and accessibility to corporate hospitality and function rooms.

“We can’t wait to welcome you for the 2027 season and beyond to be a part of the Giant future we have in store.”

Jackson: Dewsbury not yet Super Lsague ready

Huddersfield Giants non-executive director Rebecca Jackson:

“[Dewsbury flair stadium] is not quite Super League ready yet, so we definitely need to bring it up to standard.

“We’ll be spending around £10m – a huge investment – to ensure that it can actually be the place where the Huddersfield Giants can play, and really have the atmosphere for both the fans and our partners – and that means building a new stand too, which is very exciting.

“This is just a medium-term plan. We are still looking to build our own stadium within Huddersfield, which has been something that we’ve worked on for a really long time.

“We’ve just unfortunately not been able to secure a site quite yet with the local authorities, but a lot of discussion has been happening.

“We’re hoping that this is going to be able to be a bit of a stop gap for us – a medium-term solution – to then be able to get back into Huddersfield long term.”

Sky Sports will show every game of the Super League live this season, including two matches each round exclusively live. The remaining five matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports+.

Killian Phillips was on target again to keep St Mirren on top of the Premiership for a second Saturday night.

Phillips followed up his opening-day double at Falkirk with the only goal from the spot as the Paisley side beat visitors St Johnstone.

Goalkeeper Jacob Chapman was the other Buddies hero, saving a spot-kick from Jamie Gullan in the 48th minute.

His opposite number, Toby Steward, had a far less positive influence on proceedings when he conceded the 73rd-minute penalty that settled matters.

The Perth side’s goalkeeper was unaware of the impending presence of Samuel Ramos as he prepared to pick up Declan John’s forward pass and brought down the midfielder when he ran into his path.

Phillips sent Steward the wrong way with the shortest of run-ups to make it two wins from two for Craig McLeish’s side.

Both sides had started their Premiership campaigns with victories and there was little to separate them in the first half.

The only real chance fell for Ramos, who headed Chris Mochrie’s cross straight at Steward. The goalkeeper pushed the ball up in the air and the visitors survived the resultant goalmouth scramble.

Simo Valakari’s side squandered their first serious opportunity, which came after a VAR intervention when referee Ross Hardie ruled Alex Gogic had handled while competing for a throw-in into the box. Chapman dived to his left to stop Gullan’s penalty.

The home side soon lost Marcus Fraser to injury with Liam Donnelly coming on at centre-back.

Gullan looked to make amends when he set up Matty Foulds but the left-back shot just wide on the run.

A double substitution almost paid instant dividends for McLeish as Luke Thomas set up Jake Young to bear down on goal from the left flank. The striker appeared to be held by Cheick Diabate as he shot wide of the far post.

St Mirren got their breakthrough after more attacking play down the left flank and they soon survived a scare when Diabate headed off the post following a corner.

The hosts had a series of shots blocked as they tried to put the game out of sight in the closing stages but they were soon caught on the break and Ruari Paton set up Gullan. The former Hibernian striker lacked conviction though and was foiled by a combination of Steward and Ryan Carr.

St Johnstone kept the pressure on during stoppage time but Young forced a save on the break at the other end and the home side saw out the remaining moments in the opposition half.

What the result means and next fixtures…