The Altice-Disney carriage dispute “has got a lot of people focused on it because it will potentially come to a conclusion this weekend one way or another.” The Yankees will most likely be playing in the Wild Card game Tuesday on ESPN, and that game "conceivably will be shut out" if the two sides "don't get to an agreement.” CNBC’s David Faber: “We have been through these disputes so many times in the past and almost always content does eventually win out.” He added, “This is a very important dispute. Watch very closely.” CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger is “brilliant to make this a battleground,” as he can use the Yankees game as leverage in the N.Y. market. Cramer: “This is a day to try it” (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 9/29).

MLB for the third year in a row will "end the regular season" on Sunday with "all games scheduled to start at roughly the same time." The goal has been to "create a spellbinding 3 1/2-hour-or-so block of games" for TV audiences. However, there is "not much sizzle this time, in fact mostly fizzle." It is "possible nothing of significance could be on the line Sunday." Regardless, MLB Network will have "eight hours of live studio coverage" starting at 1:00pm ET. Once play begins, the net "plans to cut in and out of games of note" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/29). 

"NHL China Games All Access," a 30-minute behind-the-scenes TV special from NHL Original Productions, will premiere this weekend in Canada and on Tuesday in the U.S. The special chronicles the Kings’ and Canucks’ trip to Beijing and Shanghai for the first-ever NHL preseason games played in China. It premieres Sunday in Canada on Sportsnet on at 9:00pm ET and in the U.S. on NHL Network Tuesday at 6:30pm. ET. It also will air on NBCSN Thursday at 6:00pm and on TVA Sports Friday at 7:30pm. See the trailer on NHL.com (THE DAILY).

High-end cooler manufacturer Orca has partnered with Pro Football HOFer Brett Favre, and the Nashville-based company "plans to launch a line of NFL-licensed coolers in December." Orca CEO Cliff Walker in a release said Favre is "rugged, loves the outdoors, and of course is a football legend, which goes along perfectly with our new launch into the sports licensing world." Orca, a competitor of Yeti, expects $50M in sales this year, "up nearly 70 percent from 2016" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/29).

ESPN has dispatched veteran reporter Mark Schwarz to Dover Int'l Speedway to cover NASCAR’s part in the U.S. anthem protests, after comments from two team owners turned the national spotlight on the sport this week. Schwarz’ dispatches from Dover, site of this weekend’s playoff races for the Monster Energy and Xfinity series, will likely appear on “SportsCenter” and digital platforms, ESPN PR said.

This week’s "Unidos por los Nuestro" disaster relief effort raised more than $1M for the American Red Cross to assist victims of the Mexican earthquakes and Hurricanes Maria, Irma and Harvey. On Tuesday and Wednesday, seven sports networks ran a programming road block with more than 10 hours of Liga MX games plus shoulder programming. The participating networks were Azteca America, beIN Sports, ESPN Deportes, ESPN News, Watch ESPN, Fox Deportes, FS2, Fox Sports Go, Fusion, UniMás, UDN, Univision Deportes App, Univision Deportes Radio and Univision Now.

Commentators and analysts from Azteca America, beIN Sports, ESPN, Fox, Fusion TV, UniMás, and Univision Deportes Network on set at Univision Deportes studios in Miami.

TaxSlayer bought naming rights to the 12,000-seat Quad City Civic Center in Moline, Ill., as part of a 10-year, $3.3M deal. The arena’s name will change from iWireless Center to TaxSlayer Center on Sunday. The deal was brokered by Impression Sports & Entertainment, owned by Fox Sports sales unit Home Team Sports (John Ourand, Staff Writer).

MLB has renamed the World Series MVP Award in honor of Baseball HOFer Willie Mays (MLB).

The Sparks "most likely will stay in the locker room again" during the national anthem for Friday night's WNBA Finals Game Three as the series heads to Staples Center. The team "isn't sure what type of reception it will get from its fans" (AP, 9/28).

“Obviously, there’s a lot going on in college basketball right now and it’s crazy. One thing that hopefully comes out of this is it cleans things up” -- Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, on college basketball’s recent scandal (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 9/29).

"I'm not saying don't spend money but you can be smart about it. ... This is a weird reality that we live in, and it's not really reality" -- Braves P Jason Motte, on what advice he would give to young players about saving money and not over-spending early in their careers (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/29).

The NFL has not engaged in any settlement discussions with Ezekiel Elliott's attorneys, league source said. Case hits appeals court Monday.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 29, 2017

OK, PERSONAL NEWS time: After 9 great years as Puck Daddy editor, this is my last day at @YahooSports. Thanks for supporting our silly blog. pic.twitter.com/YBBaFgRGPA

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 29, 2017

South Carolina confirms it is not the subject of an FBI investigation, per release. Lamont Evans worked for Gamecocks prior to Ok State.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 29, 2017

There was a time earlier this week when Trump had tweeted 24 times on the NFL and 4 on Puerto Rico. What will history think of that? https://t.co/6ZMPsoN126

— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) September 29, 2017

Saturday

USA Basketball hosts the inaugural Women In The Game conference at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif. 

The Mavericks will unveil their renovated state-of-the-art locker room at American Airlines Center.

Grambling State and Clark Atlanta Univ. play at Soldier Field in the Chicago Football Classic. 

Take a behind-the-scenes look at NBC Sports' NASCAR production from the most recent race weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

200,000 -- Sheets of paper the Florida State marching band's 400 members typically used in a year, prior to the band "going green this fall" by "getting rid of printed sheet music and drill charts in favor of smartphones" (SI.com, 9/27).