Latest / Ground Signal FM / Ground Signal Deep Dive: Sports — September 7, 2026

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Ground Signal Deep Dive: Sports — September 7, 2026 · Ground Signal FM

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  Today on Ground Signal Sports, NFL Week 1 is
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  finally here. The games that matter and the injury
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  watch you need to know. Kimi Antonelli pulls
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  off one of the most stunning wins of the F1 season
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  at Monza. The U .S. Open quarterfinals are set.
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  Copa Libertadores quarterfinal first legs kick
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  off this week. And the NBA locks in its training
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  camp dates. Plus in the forward signal, three
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  matchups to watch in the next 72 hours. Let's
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  get into it. Football is back. After eight months
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  of offseason noise, trades, draft picks, coaching
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  changes, contract holdouts, the 2026 NFL season
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  opens this Wednesday, September 9, with the New
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  England Patriots visiting the Seattle Seahawks
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  at Lumen Field. Kickoff is set for 8 .20 p .m.
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  Eastern on NBC, the kickoff game slot that unofficially
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  declares the season open. It is the sports moment
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  the calendar has been building towards since
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  February. That game is not the biggest Week 1
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  matchup, but... it is the one that happens first.
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  The game everyone is watching plays out five
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  days later on Monday Night Football, the Broncos
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  hosting the Kansas City Chiefs at 8 .15 p .m.
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  Eastern on September 14. It is the kind of opener
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  the league saves for primetime. Also arriving
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  this week, Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand
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  Prix at Monza yesterday, September 6, in what
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  Formula One is calling one of the most remarkable
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  drives in recent memory. He started from 19th
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  on the grid and won. This is a lead story we'll
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  get into in full. Let's start with the NFL, because
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  the week that's coming is a proper opening statement
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  from the league. The kickoff game, Patriots at
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  Seahawks on Wednesday night, sets the tone. New
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  England is in a transitional moment, younger
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  roster, new look on offense. Seattle is a team
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  that believes it can compete in the NFC West
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  this season. Wednesday night belongs to them
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  at home. Sunday, September 13, is when the full
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  slate lands. Three games to circle immediately.
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  First, Bills at Texans, an early AFC test. Both
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  teams came into this season with playoff aspirations.
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  Houston had a strong 2025 and believe C .J. Stroud
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  is ready for another step. Buffalo, with Josh
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  Allen still operating at an elite level, doesn't
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  lose early season games quietly. Second, Ravens
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  at Colts. Baltimore opened training camp dealing
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  with a minor injury to wide receiver Zay Flowers,
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  a quad issue, but he returned to practice according
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  to the NFL's injury reports, so he should be
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  available week one. The Ravens are still a Super
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  Bowl contender. This is a chance to establish
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  that immediately. Third, commanders at Eagles.
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  NFC East, week one. Division games this early
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  carry outsized weight because they show up in
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  tiebreaker columns at the end of the season.
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  Washington has been building towards something.
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  Philadelphia does not give away home games in
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  September. Then the Monday night football closer,
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  Broncos at Chiefs, September 14. This is the
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  game with the injury subplot that matters most.
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  Patrick Mahomes has been recovering from a knee
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  injury and, according to NFL .com, was fully
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  cleared to participate in training camp. His
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  own words were that the knee feels great. Head
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  coach Andy Reid has not given a definitive game
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  day guarantee, saying only that Mahomes is making
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  progress. Game day clearance is the final piece.
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  Bo Nix, Denver's quarterback, is managing his
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  own ankle situation. Both starting quarterbacks
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  carrying question marks into the season opener
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  on Monday Night Football is a story of the league,
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  and its fans will be tracking every hour between
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  now and kickoff. The NFL is back at Signal 2,
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  multiple developing storylines with immediate
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  playoff implications. Ground Signal flagged Kimi
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  Antonelli's championship push as Signal 2 coming
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  into the Monza weekend. After yesterday's race,
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  it's Signal 3. Antonelli, the 20 -year -old Italian
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  driving for Mercedes, started 19th out of 20
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  cars on the Italian Grand Prix grid. He finished
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  first. According to the official Formula One
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  race result and a statement from the FIA, he
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  won ahead of George Russell in second and Max
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  Verstappen in third. What this means for the
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  championship, Antonelli now leads the driver's
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  standings with 267 points per the official F1
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  standings as of September 6th. George Russell
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  sits second. at 201 points. Lando Norris is third
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  at 171 points. Max Verstappen is fourth at 127
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  points. That gap from Antonelli to Russell, 66
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  points, is still closable. But a drive from 19th
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  to first, at Monza of all places, in front of
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  a home crowd that had been waiting for an Italian
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  winner on Italian soil, has changed the psychological
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  weight of this championship fight. Antonelli
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  doesn't just lead in points. He leads in momentum.
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  The next race is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in
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  Baku, September 24 through 26. Baku is a street
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  circuit where anything can happen. Safety cars,
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  crashes, late race drama. Norris and Russell
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  will both look at Baku as a reset opportunity.
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  Antonelli will look at it as a chance to extend.
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  Signal three on the F1 championship. A title
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  fight that was already tight is now tilting.
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  The 2026 U .S. Open at Flushing Meadows in New
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  York has reached the quarterfinal stage, with
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  the matches scheduled for Tuesday, September
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  8, and Wednesday, September 9. On the men's side,
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  Carlos Alcaraz advanced by sweeping Tommy Paul
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  in straight sets, according to the U .S. Open's
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  official news coverage. Francis Tiafoe beat Daniel
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  Medvedev 7 -6, 6 -4, 7 -6 in a tense three -setter,
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  also confirmed by the tournament. Alexander Zverev
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  also advanced into the quarterfinals. Novak Djokovic
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  was upset in round one earlier in the tournament,
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  so the draw is now open for the semifinal spots.
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  On the women's side, Irina Sabalenka defeated
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  Taylor Townsend 6 -4, 6 -3. Coco Gauff also advanced.
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  The quarterfinal matchups this week determine
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  the Saturday and Sunday semifinalists. For Tiafoe,
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  an American at the U .S. Open in New York, the
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  moment carries obvious weight. He has never won
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  a Grand Slam. He is in the quarterfinals on his
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  home court. Alcaraz arrives as the defending
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  champion. The pressure to repeat here is different
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  from any other major. He has handled it well
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  through four rounds. Watch the Tuesday and Wednesday
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  quarterfinal results closely. The semifinals
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  follow on September 12 and 13. The women's final
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  is September 14. The men's final closes the tournament
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  on September 15. Signal 2 on the U .S. Open.
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  Multiple compelling stories, major ranking implications,
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  and a home crowd hoping to see Tiafoe go deep.
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  South America's elite club tournament reaches
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  its quarterfinal stage this week. The first legs
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  are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, September
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  9. Four matchups confirmed by Conmeball, Flamengo
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  vs. Independiente, Del Valle. Palmeiras vs. Liga
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  de Quito. Fluminense vs. Platense. Estudiantes
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  vs. Corinthians. For context, Flamengo is the
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  defending champion, having won the Libertadores
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  in 2025. They advance to the quarterfinals after
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  a 3 -2 aggregate result over Cruzeiro in the
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  round of 16. Palmeiras, the other Brazilian giant
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  in the draw, has been building toward another
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  continental run since their 2021 title. The final
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  is scheduled for November 28 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
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  These first legs matter enormously because away
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  goals and early leads can swing the tie before
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  the return legs arrive in mid -September. Brazilian
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  clubs carry the weight of expectation. Argentine
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  clubs carry the weight of tactical discipline.
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  This quarterfinal round will be sharp, physical,
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  and decided on the smallest margins. Signal two
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  on the Libertadores quarterfinals. The premier
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  South American club competition is in its decisive
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  stretch. Brief but worth flagging, the NBA's
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  2026 -27 season has its training camp dates confirmed.
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  According to the NBA, teams participating in
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  international preseason games may begin reporting
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  as early as September 22. For most teams, veterans
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  can report from September 28. with full training
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  camps opening September 29. The regular season
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  is still weeks away, but training camp is where
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  off -season storylines get tested. Rosters built
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  over the summer meet the floor for the first
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  time. This is where injury reports start, rotation
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  decisions get made, and early season form takes
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  shape. Three things to watch in the next 72 hours.
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  1. Patriots at Seahawks, Wednesday, September
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  9, 8 .20 p .m. Eastern, NBC. This is the 2026
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  NFL kickoff game. It opens the season. It sets
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  the tone for everything that follows. Watch how
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  these two franchises look out of the gate. Two,
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  U .S. Open quarterfinals, Tuesday and Wednesday,
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  September 8 and 9, Flushing Meadows, New York.
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  Alcaraz defending, Tiafoe going deep at home.
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  Sabalenka and Goff on the women's side. The semifinal
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  picture gets clear by Wednesday night. Three.
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  Copa Libertadores quarterfinal first legs Tuesday
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  and Wednesday, September 9. Flamengo versus Independiente
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  del Valle. Palmeiras versus Liga de Quito. The
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  first legs determine who controls the tie heading
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  into the returns. Watch for Flamengo at home,
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  defending champions, home advantage in the first
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  leg, and the hunger that comes with being the
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  team everyone is trying to knock off. That's
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  Ground Signal Sports for September 7, 2026. NFL
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  Week 1 opens Wednesday. The season starts now.