new york knicks

Oct. 22 (UPI) — The top two candidates to become New York’s next mayor lashed out at one another Wednesday in their second and final general election debate two weeks before the election.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 67, is running as an independent after Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, 34, defeated him in the city’s Democratic Party primary.

In 2020, Mamdani, a Muslim, became the first Ugandan and South Asian man to serve in the state chamber. Cuomo was governor from 2011 until 2023, when he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations.

Also on stage was Guardian Angels founder and radio show host Curtis Sliwa, 71, who secured the Republican Party’s nomination and is vowing not to drop out of the race to close Cuomo’s gap.

During the 90-minute debate, they agreed on one issue: a federal crackdown by U.S. Immigration and Law Enforcement. But they disagreed how to best deal with President Donald Trump

Mamdani is polling as the favorite to win New York City’s mayoral election, which is scheduled for Nov. 4, but Cuomo has closed ground in recent polls, though Mamdani has a double-digit lead, according to CBS News. Early voting starts Saturday.

An AARP/Gotham Polling poll released on Monday shows Mamdani with 43.2%, followed by Cuomo at 28.9% and Sliwa at 19.4%. In a head-to-head race, Mamdani prevails 44.6% to 40.7% for Cuomo.

Trump would prefer Cuomo over Mamdani and has asked Sliwa to drop out.

“He has no respect for him,” Cuomo said about Trump, who has called his opponent a Communist. “He thinks he’s a kid and he’s going to knock him on his tuchus.”

Cuomo called Mamdani divisive and lacked experience. Mamdani responded that Cuomo was a “desperate man lashing out.”

Sliwa also noted Mamdani’s lack of experience, saying his resume could “fit on a cocktail napkin.” And he said that Cuomo has enough failures to “fill a library.”

Mandani’s experience was punctuated during an exchange on housing policy.

“The governor doesn’t build housing in New York City,” Cuomo said in response to a question.

“Not if it’s you,” Mamdani responded.

“I did things; you have never had a job,” Cuomo said, pointing toward Mamdani and drawing applause from the crowd. “There is no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for 8.5 million lives. You don’t know how to run a government.”

In describing his opponent’s limited experience, Cuomo said: “You don’t know how to handle an emergency, and you literally never proposed a bill on anything that you’re not talking about in your campaign.”

Mamdani said Cuomo was “creating his own facts.”

“We just had a former governor say in his own words that the city has been getting screwed by the state,” Mamdani said. “Who was leading the state? It was you, governor.”

Cuomo has referred to his opponent as “de Blasio lite” and “de Blasio 2.0.” Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, was the city’s mayor from 2014 until 2021 and has backed Mamdani.

Mamdani has not been endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Democrats of New York.

Mamdani’s opponents have accused him of promoting antisemitism.

“You’re the savior of the Jewish people? You won’t denounce ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ which means ‘Kill Jews,'” Cuomo said, noting that hundreds of rabbis had signed a letter criticizing him. “There’s unprecedented fear in New York.”

Mandani said: “I look forward to being a mayor for every single person that calls the city home. All 8.5 million New Yorkers, and that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns or opposition to the positions that I’ve shared about Israel and Palestine.”

He described his own Jewish family members, saying that members of the community were “scared.”

The debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College was moderated by Errol Lewis of NY1, Brian Lehrer of WNYC and Katie Honan of The City and aired live on Spectrum News’ NY1 and via streaming.

Cuomo favors city oversight of the New York City Transit’s budget, while Mamdani has advocated for revising how the city’s Department of Education approves contracts, WABC-TV reported.

Sliwa is running as a law-and-order candidate and on Wednesday morning said he is ending his conservative talk show on WABC Radio due to the station hosting Cuomo several times in recent weeks.

WABC Radio owner John Catsimatidis and program host Sid Rosenberg each have advocated for Sliwa to end his campaign in favor of Cuomo, according to WABC-TV.

After the debate, Cuomo went to the New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden with Mayor Eric Adams, who lost in the Democratic primary and dropped out as an independent.

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday just days after their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years, a person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press.

The Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers with a loss in Game 6 on Saturday night. They then decided to move on from Thibodeau, who led them to the postseason in four of his five seasons in New York.

The decision was made by team president Leon Rose with approval from owner Jim Dolan, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. The firing was first reported by ESPN.

It’s a strange decision by the Knicks, who had been one of the league’s worst franchises for most of the 2000s until Thibodeau was hired in 2020. He promptly led the Knicks to the playoffs in his first season, winning his second NBA Coach of the Year award, and they have been a solid contender in the East in recent seasons.

Their big breakthrough came in 2024-25, when they knocked off defending champion Boston in the second round to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000 — when Thibodeau was an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy.

After they were eliminated Saturday, captain Jalen Brunson expressed his support for Thibodeau, bristling at a question about whether he believed the coach was right for the team.

Three days later, Thibodeau was gone with a 226-174 record in New York. He has the fourth-most wins by a Knicks coach.

Legendary rocker and Indiana native John Mellencamp apologized Thursday “on behalf of most Hoosiers” for the “poor, poor sportsmanship” displayed during the Pacers’ home win over the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals two days earlier.

Although the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. did not call out any specific Indiana sports fan in the statement he posted to X hours before Game 5, Mellencamp seemed to have a particular person in mind — popular ESPN personality Pat McAfee.

“I was embarrassed when somebody, under whose direction I don’t know, called out some of the people who had made the trip from New York to support their team — and in turn, support our team,” the “Hurts So Good” singer wrote. “The audience booed these people. I’d say that was not Hoosier Hospitality. One could only say it’s poor, poor sportsmanship.”

Hours after Mellencamp posted his statement, McAfee reposted it on X and identified himself as the one who instigated Pacers fans to behave in such a manner.

“I am ‘somebody,’” McAfee wrote.

Mellencamp and McAfee were both on hand Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the Pacers defeated the Knicks 130-121 to take a 3-1 series lead. Addressing the crowd during a fourth-quarter timeout, McAfee called out celebrity Knicks fans Spike Lee, Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet — all of whom were in attendance that night — and encouraged Pacers fans to “send these sons of b— back to New York with their ears ringing!”

Stiller addressed the matter later that night on X, saying he assumed that McAfee was “playing around” and that all the fans he met at the arena were “awesome and incredibly cool.”

Mellencamp, however, was not happy with the shenanigans.

“I was not proud to be a Hoosier, and I’ve lived here my entire life,” the singer once known as Johnny Cougar wrote. “On behalf of most Hoosiers, I would like to apologize for our poor behavior. I’m sure the Pacers had nothing to do with this smackdown.”

Mellencamp’s use of the “smackdown” appears to be a thinly veiled reference to McAfee, who is a color commentator and occasional wrestler for WWE. “Friday Night SmackDown” is one of the organization’s signature TV shows.

It is unclear why Mellencamp opted to voice his displeasure so long after the incident occurred. Perhaps he plans to be in attendance Thursday night at Madison Square Garden as his Pacers attempt to seal their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2000.

One person who won’t be there is McAfee, despite a friendly invite from Stiller.