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Connections: Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for Aug. 17, 2026, puzzle No. 693

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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. 693’s difficulty: 2 out of 5

Connections: Sports Edition hints for Aug. 17, 2026

 

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

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Yellow: DEFER

Green: DRIVEN

Blue: POCKET

Purple: SHELL

Connections: Sports Edition answers for Aug. 17, 2026

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

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Yellow

Words heard during a coin toss: HEADS, TAILS, RECEIVE, DEFER

Green

Determined: DOGGED, DRIVEN, INTENT, TENACIOUS

Blue

_____ pass, in basketball: BOUNCE, CHEST, OUTLET, POCKET

Purple

Raiders in the Hall of Fame: BRANCH, CASPER, GUY, SHELL

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!

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Women’s Super League: Lucy Bronze explains why she decided to stay at Chelsea

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Although there has been no international tournament for Bronze this summer, there has not been any let-up in her busy schedule.

A girls’ soccer school in Devon, a wedding in Alicante, a trip to the men’s World Cup final in New Jersey and an eye-opening trip to Colombia’s capital Bogota have occupied much of her time.

“I did a whole day with refugees there,” she said of the Bogota visit. “These kids just make the most of everything.

“We had to get permission to be on the streets and there was a girl there who plays on this team with all the boys on this terrible little pitch in the middle of the city with all sorts going on around.

“I was able to give her [Chelsea defender] Naomi Girma’s shirt – one of the captains of the USA. I showed her pictures of Naomi wearing it and said that her parents were also refugees. It was amazing.”

While happy to make a small difference on her trip, Bronze wanted to do more, saying: “I felt like I didn’t give enough.”

She intends to be back in South America next summer, provided England navigate two rounds of qualification play-offs in the autumn to book their place at the Women’s World Cup, which Brazil will host.

On the losing side in the final against Spain in 2023, the 34-year-old ascended to third on the all-time appearances list for the Lionesses this year.

Making sure that she and England make that World Cup trip is a huge priority this season.

“Everybody knows that playing for England means the world to me,” Bronze said.

“Every experience I’ve had at the World Cup has just been phenomenal – it’s been the best moments of my career.

“I just want to win it with England.”

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Tottenham accept offer from Juventus for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario

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Guglielmo Vicario waves to fans

A move to Juventus would see the 29-year-old return to Italy, where he spent his entire club career before joining Spurs in 2023. Clive Rose/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur have accepted an offer from Juventus for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Juve’s offer for the 29-year-old is for a loan with the option to make the move to Serie A permanent and while a deal is not yet done, all parties expect it to go through.

The Atheltic reported on Sunday that the Italian club were not proceeding with a move for Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa following talks between the clubs, and turned their attention to other targets.

A move to Juventus would see Vicario return to Italy, where he spent his entire club career before joining Spurs in 2023 from Empoli for a fee of around €20million (£17.2m, $21.9m).

The 29-year-old has served as Tottenham’s first-choice goalkeeper since his arrival, replacing former club captain Hugo Lloris, and has made 117 appearances for the club in all competitions, keeping 29 clean sheets. He started the 1-0 victory in the Europa League final in May last year, making a crucial save from a Luke Shaw header in stoppage time to ensure his side won their first trophy in 17 years.

Last season, Vicario played 43 games for Spurs but struggled with errors at times and did not appear after March 22 following surgery for a hernia. Antonin Kinsky started in Vicario’s absence and held on to the No 1 spot even when Vicario returned to the squad for the final two games of the campaign.

Vicario began his career with his Udinese and made his first senior appearance while on loan at fourth-tier side Fontanafredda in 2014. He was loaned to fellow Serie D club Venezia in 2015, helping the club achieve promotion and signing on a permanent basis the following year.

A move to Cagliari followed in 2019, along with loan spells at Perugia and Empoli, before joined the latter pemanently in 2022.

Vicario has been capped five times at senior level by Italy and was part of the squad for nation’s run to the last 16 at the 2024 European Championships, though he was an unused substitute in all four games.

Connections: Sports Edition Logo

Connections: Sports Edition Logo

Connections: Sports Edition

Spot the pattern. Connect the terms

Find the hidden link between sports terms

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Transfer news live updates: Barcelona reach Rodri agreement, Martinez’s Juventus move is off, and more

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The transfer window for clubs in Europe’s major leagues opened on various dates in June and July, although in reality deals were being negotiated in advance ready to be completed and registered when allowed.

Due to a Bank Holiday in the United Kingdom on August 31, the ‘summer’ transfer window for English clubs will actually close on September 1 at 11pm BST, which is 6pm ET and 3pm PT for readers Stateside.

That deadline applies to players signing for clubs in England. For players leaving them, different times can apply — more on that shortly.

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