Sports
Connections: Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 4, 2026, puzzle No. 588
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.
Today’s difficulty
Game No. 588’s difficulty: 3 out of 5
Connections: Sports Edition hints for May 4, 2026
Scroll below for one answer in each of the four categories.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yellow: DIAMOND
Green: TEMPO
Blue: RACK
Purple: NETS
Connections: Sports Edition answers for May 4, 2026
Scroll below for the full answers to each of the four categories.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yellow
Fields of play, familiarly: DIAMOND, GRIDIRON, HARDWOOD, RINK
Green
Toronto pro teams: BLUE JAYS, MAPLE LEAFS, RAPTORS, TEMPO
Blue
Terms used in billiards: BREAK, ENGLISH, RACK, SCRATCH
Purple
Coached by John Calipari: MINUTEMEN, NETS, RAZORBACKS, WILDCATS
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!
>
Alexander Zverev beat Learner Tien on the final day of the Laver Cup to lead Team Europe to their sixth title.
US Open champion Zverev recovered from a disappointing defeat by Team World’s Alex de Minaur on day two and eased to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over Tien at London’s O2 Arena.
After Carlos Alcaraz’s heroics kept Europe in contention after that loss on day two, Flavio Cobolli and Jakub Mensik beat De Minaur and Taylor Fritz in the doubles to extend their lead before Zverev’s triumph.
Both wins took Europe’s tally to the required 13 needed to win, which meant that Alcaraz was not required to play again.
“I haven’t won a Laver Cup match in two years, so I’m happy I did it today,” said Zverev.
“Massive credit to the entire Team World. They pushed us all the way again, they were champions last year. We have a great team chemistry, it was a team effort.
“Winning as a team, there’s no better feeling in sports. We don’t have enough of it in tennis.”
The USA’s Tien, 20, was making his Team World debut and held his nerve in the first set to force a tiebreak, but world number two Zverev took control in the second and closed out the victory in one hour and 49 minutes.
Zverev has been part of all six of Team Europe’s Laver Cup wins, and has the most singles wins at the event with eight.
>
Tom Banton delivers on all of his potential by crashing a brilliant first international century as England wrap up their summer with an ODI series win over Sri Lanka.
MATCH REPORT: England win series as Banton delivers on potential
Available to UK users only.
>
The Ducks kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive with a critical win on the road.
>
Laver Cup: Alexander Zverev beats Learner Tien to seal victory for Team Europe
Box Office: ‘Avengers Endgame: Encore’ Opens $86M WW Ahead Of ‘Doomsday’
England vs Sri Lanka highlights, third ODI: Hosts win by 223 runs
-
movies4 months agoSearch For Canadian TV Actor Stewart McLean Now Homicide Investigation
-
Fashion9 years agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Fashion9 years ago
According to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Fashion9 years ago
Model Jocelyn Chew’s Instagram is the best vacation you’ve ever had
-
Fashion9 years ago
Emily Ratajkowski channels back-to-school style
-
Fashion9 years ago
9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
-
Anime4 months agoRurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc Manga Takes 1-Issue Break – News
-
Anime3 months agoHIDIVE to Stream English Dubs for The World Is Dancing, The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World, The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie Anime – News