Looking for the main game answers? Head elsewhere. This is the sports one. The NYT Connections: Sports Edition from The Athletic. Owned by the Times but lives in their own app. Not on the NYT Games board. Play it online if you want, free of charge.

Today’s puzzle was brutal. Really? Yes.

Here is how you got stuck and how to get unstuck.

Hints

Yellow. Easy. Get the rain gear. Umbrellas.

Green. Place names. H-town or Space City should click.

Blue. Going West. Specifically to the Golden State.

Purple. Hard. Bizarre maybe. Just think about gold again. Or rules.

The Answers

Yellow
Seen during a rain delay.
– Grounds crew
– Lightning
– Poncho
– Tarp

Green
Teams from Houston.
– Astros
– Dash
– Dynamo
– Rockets

Blue
First-round picks for the Warriors.
– Curry
– Looney
– Moody
– Wiseman

Purple
Words that precede “rule.”
– Infield fly
– Run
– Tuck
– Unwritten

“Unwritten rule” always trips people up.

The infield fly rule makes sense. Run rule does too. Tuck? Maybe. It happens in swimming sometimes.

There you have it. Four groups solved. Did you see the Houston hint coming? Probably not.