IN: Tara Ann VanDerveer (born June 26, 1953) is an American basketball coach who has been the head women's basketball coach at Stanford University since 1985. Designated the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball, VanDerveer led the Stanford Cardinal to two NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships: in 1990 and 1992. She stepped away from the Stanford program for a year to serve as the U.S. national team head coach at the 1996 Olympic Games. VanDerveer is the 1990 Naismith National Coach of the Year and a ten-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

VanDerveer was born on June 26, 1953, to Dunbar and Rita VanDerveer, who named their first child "Tara" after the plantation in Gone with the Wind. She was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, a part of Greater Boston, but grew up in a small town in West Hill, near Schenectady, New York. Her parents were interested in a well-rounded education. Her father was studying for a doctorate at the school now known as the University at Albany. He took the family to Chautauqua in the summer, where she immersed in arts as well as sports. At the age of ten, her parents bought her a flute, and arranged for lessons. Two years later, one of the premier flutists in the world was staying in Chautauqua, and her father arranged for lessons with this distinguished teacher. Although she learned to play, she did not enjoy the experience, and gave up the flute in ninth grade. The love of music stayed with her though, and in later years she would take up the piano.  There were no sports teams for girls when she was in high school, but she played a number of sports including basketball, in rec leagues and pickup. When she was younger, she played with both boys and girls. As she entered her high school years, the girls dropped out for other interests, so she was more apt to play with boys. To help make sure she would be chosen, she bought the best basketball she could afford, so if the boys wanted to play with her basketball, they would have to pick her.  Her father wasn't completely supportive of her basketball interest, calling her in from the neighbor's basketball hoop, telling her, "Basketball won't take you anywhere. Come in and do your algebra." Tara was equally certain that algebra wasn't going to take her anywhere. Her family moved to Niagara Falls in her sophomore year in high school. The house in West Hill had a gravel driveway, making a basketball hoop impractical, but when her parents got her a hoop for Christmas when they were in Niagara Falls. By then, she thought she was too old for basketball, although she would take it up again after she transferred to Buffalo Seminary, an all-girls college preparatory school, in her junior year. She ended up earning a place in the Buffalo Seminary's Athletic Hall of Fame.

What are some other interesting aspects of this article?

OUT: The house in West Hill had a gravel driveway, making a basketball hoop impractical, but when her parents got her a hoop for Christmas when they were in Niagara Falls.


IN: Epstein was born to a secular Jewish family in New York City and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. He attended Brookline High School (a 1991 graduate), and played baseball for the Brookline High School Warriors, but dreamed of working for the Red Sox. Epstein attended Yale University where he lived at Jonathan Edwards College. He served as sports editor of the Yale Daily News.

On October 12, 2011, Epstein agreed to a five-year contract worth $18.5 million with the Chicago Cubs. On October 19, 2011, it was reported that Epstein's official title with the Cubs would be President and that San Diego Padres general manager Jed Hoyer would take the GM position with the Cubs.  On October 23, 2011, he took out a full-page ad in The Boston Globe, thanking Red Sox fans and the team's owners for their support. Two days later, the Cubs officially introduced Epstein as president of baseball operations. While the Red Sox were already a winning team when Epstein was hired in Boston, the Cubs were coming off a fifth-place finish in the National League Central and had a depleted farm system. The Cubs finished in last place in the National League Central for the first three years of Epstein's presidency, as the focus was to acquire young talent rather than maximize short-term competitiveness. After a three-year, top-to-bottom rebuild, the Cubs clinched a playoff berth in 2015; their first since 2008. They advanced to the National League Championship Series, where they were swept by the New York Mets.  Epstein re-signed with the club on September 28, 2016, with a five-year contract estimated to be worth up to $25million. The Cubs finished the 2016 season with a 103-58 record, the best in the MLB and their best since the 1910 season. In the playoffs, they defeated the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS. The Cubs proceeded to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, winning their first pennant since the 1945 season and sending them to the World Series. The Cubs then won their first World Series championship since 1908, when they defeated the Cleveland Indians in 7 games, breaking the so-called "Curse of the Billy Goat".

did he play with chicago cubs?

OUT: On October 12, 2011, Epstein agreed to a five-year contract worth $18.5 million with the Chicago Cubs.


IN: Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 - June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor and singer. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their long association in their first TV series, the ABC game show Who Do You Trust?, running from 1957 to 1962. Then afterwards, McMahon would make his famous thirty-year mark as Carson's sidekick, announcer and second banana on NBC's highly successfully The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1962 to 1992.

McMahon hoped to become a United States Marine Corps fighter pilot. Prior to the US entry into World War II, however, both the Army and Navy required two years of college for their pilots program. McMahon enrolled into classes at Boston College and studied there from 1940 to 1941. On The Howard Stern Show in 2001, McMahon stated that after Pearl Harbor was attacked, the college requirement was not lifted and he still had to finish his two years of college before applying for Marine Corps flight training.  After completing the college requirement, McMahon was able to enlist as he previously wished. His primary flight training was in Dallas, followed by fighter training in Pensacola, where he also earned his carrier landing qualifications. He was a Marine Corps flight instructor in F4U Corsairs for two years, finally being ordered to the Pacific fleet in 1945. However, his orders were canceled after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forcing Japan's surrender unconditionally.  As an officer in the reserves, McMahon was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. This time, he flew the OE-1 (the original Marine designation for the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog), an unarmed single-engine spotter plane. He functioned as an artillery spotter for the Marine batteries on the ground and as a forward controller for the Navy and Marine fighter bombers. He flew a total of 85 combat missions, earning six Air Medals. After the war, he stayed with the Marines as a reserve officer, retiring in 1966 as a colonel. In 1982, McMahon received a state commission as a brigadier general in the California Air National Guard, an honorary award to recognize his support for the National Guard and Reserves.

Did he do anything for the military after retirement?

OUT:
In 1982, McMahon received a state commission as a brigadier general in the California Air National Guard,