If you’re stuck on today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, we’ve got you covered. Below are the hints and complete answers for the February 7 edition, Puzzle No. 502, to help you crack the grid or double-check your guesses.

The Sports Edition of Connections offers a playful mix of categories today. While some groupings are fairly straightforward, the purple category adds a clever twist by hiding altered team names inside common words. If the puzzle has you scratching your head, the clues and solutions below should point you in the right direction.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the New York Times–owned sports journalism platform. Although it doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, players can access it through The Athletic app or play it online for free.

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Hints for Today’s Connections: Sports Edition Groups

Here are four hints for today’s puzzle categories, arranged from easiest to most challenging:

• Yellow group hint: Golden Gate
• Green group hint: It’s “Shotime!”
• Blue group hint: Same first name
• Purple group hint: Tweak a team name

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Answers for Today’s Connections: Sports Edition

Yellow Group: Bay Area Teams

Answers: 49ers, Giants, Sharks, Valkyries

Green Group: Associated With Shohei Ohtani

Answers: Decoy, Dodgers, Japan, Two-way

Blue Group: Coaching Mikes

Answers: Macdonald, McCarthy, Tomlin, Vrabel

Purple Group: MLB Teams With the Last Letter Changed

Answers:

• Angelo (Angels)
• Cuba (Cubs)
• Redo (Reds)
• Twine (Twins)