Another puzzle lands today. This one belongs to The Athletic, meaning you won’t find it hiding in the NYT Games app. It lives in their own app or, if you prefer keeping things casual, just online. And for free. Which is nice.
This Sports Edition from June 16, #631, has teeth. It’s tougher than your average weekday shuffle. If you’re stuck staring at the grid wondering why certain words refuse to click together, stop guessing. Look at the hints first.
Here is the breakdown from easiest yellow to the stubborn purple group that usually causes headaches.
Hints to Get You Unstuck
- Yellow (Easy): Think Raleigh. 🏙️
- Green (Medium): Sports cinema. 🎬
- Blue (Hard): Basketball economics. 🏀💸
- Purple (Hardest): Not minimum. 📈
The Answers
Ready to see how you did? Or just ready to close the tab?
The Yellow Group
These words share a common thread: North Carolina athletes. 🐐
* Blue Devil
* Hornet
* Hurricane
* Tar Heel
It’s all about team mascots. Or at least the ones with geographical loyalty.
The Green Group
Baseball films. Not just any sports movies, but specifically ones centered on the diamond. 🎥
* 42
* Bull Durham
* Eight Men Out
* Major League
Don’t overthink it. Bull Durham doesn’t actually happen in Durham. That’s beside the point.
The Blue Group
This one requires NBA contract knowledge. Terms you hear in draft analysis and free agency news cycles. 💰
* 10-day
* midlevel exception
* supermax
* two-way
Basketball economics are dense. These four fit the category perfectly.
The Purple Group
The tricky one. The theme is “Max ____.” ⚾🏁
* Fried (Tyler, pitcher)
* Scherzer (Max, pitcher)
* Verstappen (Max, driver)
* Strus (Max, basketball player)
See? Max Fried and Max Scherzer are baseball. Max Verstappen is Formula 1. Max Strus is the NBA. Different sports. Same name prefix. It’s a classic misdirection trap. Did you spot Max Strus hiding among the baseball stars? Probably not. Nobody does the first time around.
