Save $151.99: As of April 6, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are down to just $248 at Amazon. The 38% discount on their $399.99 list price puts them just $5 away from their record-low price of $243.

Opens in a new window

Credit: Sony

Sony WH-1000XM5

$248
at Amazon

$399.99
Save $151.99

Get Deal

Just because Amazon's Big Spring Sale ended last week doesn't mean you missed your opportunity to snag a great headphones deal ahead of Prime Day.

Prime example (no pun intended): the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are on sale at Amazon for $248, putting them just $5 away from their Spring Sale price (and lowest price ever) of $243. This deal also slashes $151.99 off their $399.99 price tag — and makes them a whopping $210 cheaper than the $458 WH-1000XM6 headphones.

Of course, the XM6 headphones are priced higher because they're newer. That said, I tested the XM5 and XM6 headphones head to head, and found that unless folding ear cups are a non-negotiable for you or the XM6s had a stellar sale, the XM5s remained the better value headphones. The noise-cancellation felt about on par with the newer headphones, and while the XM6s have slightly better sound and a better design, I wouldn't say it's the difference of $210.

The Sony XM5s hold up — that's why we still consider them one of the best in Sony's lineup.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition is for people who love college basketball.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Stats

• Green: Running a set

• Blue: Winners

• Purple: Perfect season

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Basketball Stats, In Singular Form

• Green: Basketball Offenses

• Blue: Championship-Winning Men's College Basketball Coaches

• Purple: Men's College Basketball Teams to Complete Undefeated Season

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #558 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Basketball Stats, In Singular Form – BLOCK, MINUTE, STEAL, TURNOVER

• Basketball Offenses – MOTION, PICK AND ROLL, PRINCETON, TRIANGLE

• Championship-Winning Men's College Basketball Coaches – DREW, FISHER, SELF, WOODEN

• Men's College Basketball Teams to Complete Undefeated Season – INDIANA, NORTH CAROLINA, SAN FRANCISCO, UCLA

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

Hurdle Word 1 hint

A spigot.

Hurdle Word 1 answer

SPOUT

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A leg exercise.

Hurdle Word 2 Answer

LUNGE

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Fire.

Hurdle Word 3 answer

FLAME

Hurdle Word 4 hint

To smash into.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

CRASH

Final Hurdle hint

Gleam

Hurdle Word 5 answer

SHINE

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.