April 19, 2026 NYT Connections Sports Edition #573 Hints and Answers

Puzzle #573 of NYT Connections Sports Edition is live for April 19, 2026, and today’s board leans heavily on baseball — though you’ll also need knowledge of English football and a bit of gridiron vocabulary to sweep all four categories. Here’s everything you need, from gentle hints to the full solution.

What Is NYT Connections Sports Edition?

Connections Sports Edition is a daily word puzzle produced by the New York Times in partnership with The Athletic. Like the original Connections, the goal is to sort 16 words into four groups of four, each sharing a hidden sports-related theme. The twist: every category, every answer, and every misdirection is rooted in the world of sports — from player positions and team nicknames to coaching names and franchise history.

The game resets at midnight each day and can be played on any web browser or mobile device.

How to Play

You are given 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four.
Each group shares a common sports theme — but the connection isn’t always obvious.
Select four words and tap “Submit” to check your grouping.
A wrong guess counts as a mistake; four mistakes ends the game.
Groups are color-coded by difficulty: 🟨 Yellow (easiest) → 🟩 Green → 🟦 Blue → 🟪 Purple (hardest).
You can shuffle the board at any time to spot connections you might have missed.

Category Hints — No Answers Yet

Not ready for the full reveal? These vague clues hint at the theme of each category without giving anything away.

🟨 Yellow — Think about baseball teams that play on the East Coast of the United States. Specifically, the eastern division of the American League.

🟩 Green — These words all come before a second word to form the name of a football position. They’re the first half of the title, not the full thing.

🟦 Blue — Four men currently or recently managing clubs in England’s top football division. Americans might call it soccer, but the puzzle definitely doesn’t.

🟪 Purple — The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t always been the Dodgers. This category traces the many names the franchise has carried over the decades.

Category Names — Still No Words

If the hints above weren’t quite enough, here are the official category names for today’s puzzle:

🟨 AL EAST TEAMS

🟩 FIRST WORDS OF FOOTBALL POSITIONS

🟦 PREMIER LEAGUE MANAGERS

🟪 NICKNAMES FOR THE DODGERS FRANCHISE, OVER TIME

Full Answers — Connections Sports Edition #573

Here are all four complete groupings for April 19, 2026:

🟨 AL EAST TEAMS BLUE JAYS, ORIOLES, RAYS, YANKEES

🟩 FIRST WORDS OF FOOTBALL POSITIONS DEFENSIVE, RUNNING, TIGHT, WIDE

🟦 PREMIER LEAGUE MANAGERS EMERY, GUARDIOLA, MOYES, SLOT

🟪 NICKNAMES FOR THE DODGERS FRANCHISE, OVER TIME BRIDEGROOMS, DODGERS, ROBINS, SUPERBAS

What Made Today Tricky

The 🟨 Yellow category — AL East Teams — seems easy at first glance, but RAYS and ORIOLES are the kind of words that could theoretically fit sports categories involving wildlife or colors. Players who tried to group bird names or animal names together might have tripped here, since ORIOLES and BLUE JAYS are both birds, and RAYS could fit a marine theme.

The 🟩 Green category is clever because none of the words are football positions on their own — DEFENSIVE, RUNNING, TIGHT, and WIDE only become positions when paired with BACK, END, or RECEIVER. Players unfamiliar with American football terminology may have found these four words puzzling without that context.

The 🟦 Blue category featuring Premier League managers — EMERY, GUARDIOLA, MOYES, and SLOT — is a genuine challenge for those outside European football. SLOT in particular could easily be mistaken for an unrelated word, and MOYES has moved around enough clubs that players might not immediately place him in the Premier League context.

The 🟪 Purple category is the deepest trivia cut in today’s puzzle. BRIDEGROOMS, ROBINS, and SUPERBAS are all historical nicknames of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers franchise, spanning the 1880s through the early 1900s. Most casual fans know DODGERS but have never heard of SUPERBAS or BRIDEGROOMS, making this the category most likely to cost a mistake.

Tips for Today’s Puzzle

Start with AL East. If you follow baseball, BLUE JAYS, ORIOLES, RAYS, and YANKEES should lock in immediately. Clearing the yellow category early removes four words and makes the rest of the board less cluttered.
Think compound for football positions. DEFENSIVE, RUNNING, TIGHT, and WIDE don’t describe positions by themselves. Ask yourself: what word follows each of these in football? That’s your grouping logic.
Know your Premier League managers. GUARDIOLA (Manchester City), SLOT (Liverpool), EMERY (Aston Villa), and MOYES are all Premier League figures. If European football isn’t your strong suit, eliminate the other categories first and treat this as your process-of-elimination group.
Don’t let DODGERS mislead you. If you see DODGERS on the board, it obviously fits the Dodgers franchise category — but that doesn’t mean all the other words in that group are equally obvious. BRIDEGROOMS, ROBINS, and SUPERBAS are the hidden history of a franchise that has been around since the 1880s.

More Daily Puzzle Help

Looking for answers to other puzzles? Check out these recent guides:

Shahid Maqsood

Shahid Maqsood is a digital entrepreneur and SEO specialist focused on building engaging web experiences. He is the creator of DotWordle, combining creativity with smart, user-friendly design.