Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for Feb. 5, #135

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 is a tough one — there’s one of those tricky homophone categories. Read on for hints and answers. And you should know that Connections: Sports Edition is coming out of beta on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will be continuing to publish it. It won’t show up in the NYT Games app but will appear in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online. 

Read more: NYT Has a Connections Game for Sports Fans. I Tried It

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: Not positive

Green group hint: Hang ten

Blue group hint: Empire State academia

Purple group hint:  Sounds like a pro

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Downturn

Green group: Surfing terms

Blue group: New York colleges

Purple group: Homophones of NBA player names

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 downturn. The four answers are decline, plunge, skid and slump.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is surfing terms. The four answers are barrel, crest, swell and wave.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is New York colleges. The four answers are Colgate, Columbia, St. John’s and Syracuse.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is homophones of NBA player names. The four answers are barns, connect, heart and hero.