Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle was a toughie today. I don’t know basketball players well enough to solve the green group. And the purple group was another of those categories where the Times editors play with spelling, and it can be difficult to figure out. Read on for hints and the answers.

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group hint: Forget this!

Green group hint: Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

Blue group hint: Hoopster teams.

Purple group hint: Football teams with a twist.

Read more: We Need to Talk About That One Doggone Connections Puzzle

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Gives up.

Green group: Oklahoma teams.

Blue group: Tyrese Haliburton teams.

Purple group: NFL teams, with the second letter changed.

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is gives up.

The four answers are allows, concedes, surrenders and yields.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Oklahoma teams.

The four answers are Cowboys, Golden Hurricane, Sooners and Thunder.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Tyrese Haliburton teams.

The four answers are Cyclones, Kings, Pacers and USA.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL teams, with the second letter changed.

The four answers are boars (Bears), bulls (Bills), grants (Giants) and rims (Rams).

CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.

See full bio