Sports this 'n' that

 72 hours after losing the NBA Eastern Conference finals to Indiana, the Knicks dismissed head coach Tom Thibodeau Tuesday, despite the fact that the team has made the playoffs in 4 of the last 5 seasons, including back to back post-season runs.

Former agent-turned-team president Leon Rose made the call on Tuesday to remove Thibodeau, but this has all the stink of the team's petulent owner, James Dolan, who has replaced the late George Steinbrenner as the most out of touch owner in NYC. Dolan has stayed in the shadows, and let Rose take the heat for firing Thibodeau, but one shan't be surprised if it gets out that Dolan gave Rose his marching orders after all.

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During the series, WWE announcers Michael Cole & Pat McAfee had a friendly bet on Knicks-Pacers, which culminated Monday with Cole, having lost the bet, donning a Pacers singlet for the broadcast of Monday Night Raw. Otherwise, it was business as usual. McAfee, the former Indianapolis Colts punter-turned-radio host & ESPN college analyst when not on Raw, is based in Indianapolis.

Cole, however, got some unexpected heat for wearing the Pacers' colors, since their next opponent is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Raw emanated from the Thunder's home arena.

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WWE will have not one, but two PLE's Saturday on Peacock, an ambitious effort to say the least, in Los Angeles.

First is Worlds Collide, which will see a mix of main roster & NXT talent matched up with wrestlers from Mexico's AAA promotion, which was recently acquired by WWE's parent, TKO Holdings. The annual Money in The Bank event follows after a between cards program.

Two wrestlers will appear on both cards.

Chad Gable (Chad Betts) will challenge Vikingo for the AAA Mega Championship, which Vikingo just won last weekend, at Worlds Collide. Later, Betts assumes the identity of fraudulent luchador El Grande Americano for the men's Money in The Bank match. Billed as hailing from the "Gulf of America", El Grande is a clear case of WWE pandering to president Trump and his base of idiots.

Former NXT women's champion Stephanie Vaquer will team with Lola Vice at Worlds Collide, then compete in the women's Money in The Bank match. The Chilean-born Vaquer was just promoted from NXT days ago.

Let's take a closer look at Money in The Bank:

Women: You have a past MITB winner among 3 former main roster champions in the field, in what amounts to a tournament of champions. The field:

Vaquer: If they have the proverbial rocket strapped to her back after her promotion, she's a possible winner.

Roxanne Perez: 2-time NXT champion is the youngest in the field at 23. 

Alexa Bliss has won MITB in the past, and cashed in her contract the same night.

Giulia was called up along with Perez last month, and was recently reassigned to Smackdown.

Rhea Ripley is a women's grand slam champion, having copped the NXT, NXT UK, WWE, & WWE World women's titles, in addition to a tag team title.

Naomi is another former champ, but it's been 8 years since she last held singles gold.

While I personally prefer that storylines be kept out of this match, and, trust me, air traffic control will be on full alert as all 6 of these ladies can and will fly around the ring, we're likely going to see some soap opera when it's not needed.

Men: Again, a past MITB winner is in the field, and this lineup also has some international flavor, with 2 luchadores, plus the counterfeit.

El Grande Americano: Made a wardrobe error Monday, as Gable never changed his boots, and alert online sleuths took notice. His dual ID may be peaking.

Seth Rollins: The 2014 winner now fronts a new stable under Paul Heyman's management, but is 100 times as annoying as ever.

Solo Sikoa: The leader of Bloodline 2.0 needs to upgrade his wardrobe from the 90's.Being in the Bloodline has destroyed what credibility he had in NXT.

Andrade: Like Rollins a former NXT champion, Andrade could be a sleeper.

LA Knight: Former US champ is looking for an upgrade, and has had his issues with Sikoa.

Penta (formerly Pentagon, Jr.) is targeting El Grande, who has cheated his way past legit luchas in the course of his storyline.

Money in The Bank is supposed to be about elevating newer talent, not adding to the resumes of past champions that don't need the briefcase (i.e. Randy Orton, John Cena). Here's to hoping they get it right this time, but I doubt it.