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.

Have you been enjoying the New York Times Connections puzzle? Now there's a new version of the game focusing on sports-related words. It's simply called Connections: Sports Edition, and we have hints and the answers.

For now, the game is in beta, which means the Times is testing it out to see if it's popular before adding it to the site's Games app. You can play it daily for the next few weeks for free — and then we'll have to see if it sticks around. 

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

How to play Connections: Sports Edition

The rules are pretty much the same as the regular game. You're given 16 words and asked to put them into four groups that are somehow connected. The main difference is that all the words and categories have some kind of sports tie-in. Sometimes the categories seem obvious, but the game attempts to trick you by using sports-related words that can fit into more than one group. And the four groups of words have different difficulty levels. Yellow is the easiest and purple the hardest, but you won't know which color group is which until you solve the puzzle.

But you don't have to be a sports obsessive to solve Connections: Sports Edition, though it helps to know a little bit about a bunch of different sports and athletes. The words might include player names, team names or sport-related activities.

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: Taking care of something or someone.

Green group hint: A certain color.

Blue group hint: Popular spaniel.

Purple group hint: Home of the Rock Hall.

Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Guardian

Green group: Shades of brown.

Blue group: Cavalier

Purple group: Nicknames for Cleveland.

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 guardian. The four answers are champion, defender, keeper and protector.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is shades of brown. The four answers are beige, chestnut, khaki and tan.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is cavalier. The four answers are arrogant, chesty, haughty and high-hat.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is nicknames for Cleveland. The four answers are Believeland, Cle, the 216 and the Land.