Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 5, #224

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Connections: Sports Edition always stumps me when there's a category of last names. I end up grouping them together without even knowing which sport the athletes play -- sometimes it works out, sometimes I'm tripped up. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn't show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

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: Also Cubbies, or Twinkies.

Green group hint: You gotta be strong.

Blue group hint: Names of players.

Purple group hint: Keep ____.

Yellow group: MLB teams, familiarly.

Green group: Weightlifting terms.

Blue group: US women's soccer players.

Purple group: Score ____

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

The theme is MLB teams, familiarly. The four answers are D-Backs, Jays, Sox and Yanks.

The theme is weightlifting terms. The four answers are barbell, clean, jerk and snatch.

The theme is US women's soccer players. The four answers are Coffey, Fox, Rodman and Sonnett.

The theme is score ____. The four answers are board, bug, card and keeper.