Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for April 19 #573

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.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition gets a bit wild in the blue and purple categories. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here 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: Play ball!

Green group hint: Gridiron roles.

Blue group hint: Like Ted Lasso.

Purple group hint: LA team that came from Brooklyn.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: AL East teams.

Green group: First words of football positions.

Blue group: Premier League managers.

Purple group: Nicknames for the Dodgers franchise, over time.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is AL East teams. The four answers are Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays and Yankees.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is first words of football positions. The four answers are defensive, running, tight and wide.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Premier League managers. The four answers are Emery, Guardiola, Moyes and Slot.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is nicknames for the Dodgers franchise, over time. The four answers are Bridegrooms, Dodgers, Robins and Superbas.