Apprentice Nearly Pushes Out This Boss

On the final episode of “The Apprentice” on Thursday night, Donald Trump told winner Bill Rancic, “You’re hired.”

Rancic, of Chicago, had a choice of jobs -- general manager of the Trump Plaza in Chicago or general manager of the Ocean Trails Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.

He picked the Chicago job.

“I definitely breathed a sigh of relief,” Mike Vandergoes said with a laugh. He became Ocean Trails’ general manager only a month and a half ago. He had been the director of golf until getting a call from Trump telling him he was promoted.

The last thing Vandergoes wanted was a call from Trump saying, “You’re fired.”

Trivia time: Who won the first Long Beach Grand Prix?

No thanks: Jim Calhoun, coach of Connecticut’s national championship men’s basketball team, will throw out the first pitch Monday at Fenway Park before the Red Sox-Yankee game. He was also invited to throw out the first pitch at an upcoming game in Yankee Stadium but declined. Calhoun, a lifelong Red Sox fan, told the Hartford Courant, “No chance. Sixty years of torment is enough.”

Big difference: On the same day Phil Mickelson won the Masters, Bernie Shaw Jr., a 55-year-old maintenance supervisor, had eagles on three consecutive holes -- including a hole-in-one -- at Fort Mill Golf Club in South Carolina.

“I think I had a little better Sunday than Phil,” Shaw told the Charlotte Observer. “But I didn’t win as much money.”

Passing fancy: King Kaufman of Salon.com disagrees with those who say Barry Bonds’ 661st home run wasn’t a big deal. The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Kaufman saying, “I don’t care if you’re swinging a bat or driving the Bayshore Freeway, passing Willie Mays is a big deal.”

No help needed: Bobby Valentine, now managing in Japan, asked by Bryant Gumbel on HBO’s “Real Sports” if his translator safeguards him, said, “No, it’s not his job. My mouth is plenty big for both my feet.”

Always selling: Wally Walker, president of the Seattle SuperSonics, said of fans who paid about $1,000 to fly a banner around Seattle that read “Go Sonics, Fire Wally Walker”: “I wish the resources were directed toward tickets.”

All grown up: Of Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders said, “He came in as ‘The Kid’; now he’s ‘The Man.’ ”

Looking back: On this day in 1939, Joe Louis made his only heavyweight title defense in Los Angeles, knocking out Jack Roper at 2:29 of the first round before 21,675 at old Wrigley Field. Louis earned $34,413.

Trivia answer: In 1975, Brian Redman won what was then a Formula 5000 race. Mario Andretti retired with transmission trouble while leading and early leader Al Unser nudged a wall and had suspension damage.

And finally: Of Petco Park, Padre Manager Bruce Bochy told the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Guys have said they feel guilty spitting in the dugout.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.