NY Times Crossword: Words Apart

An okay puzzle today, at least more clever than the latest offerings from the times. Thing is, once the theme is figured out, the puzzle almost solves itself because it appropriates material from other answers, such that "loyal" and "ties" come together to eventually form "divided loyalties." Quibbles: leans more than normal on sports figures (not my bag, but I guess at least tolerable), and uses the word "appal" as a variation of "appall" which strikes me as a stretcher. All in all, not too bad. An improvement, at least.