One of the most amazing things about Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency is that he’s by far the wealthiest individual seeking the office yet he’s not had to spend all that much to rise to the top among Republican contenders.

The reason is simple.He  probably gets more free publicity than all the other candidates combined. Granted not all the publicity is good but many will tell you that sometimes even negative “pub” is better than none at all.

Trump, who simply can’t avoid controversy, got into a war of words with Pope Francis Thursday and it earned him plenty of free TV time and front page headlines in many newspapers. It all started when the Pope questioned Trump’s Christian faith because of his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border if he’s elected.

The brash businessman turned GOP front-runner said that it was a disgrace for the leader of the Catholic Church to question his Christianity and further added that if and when Isis attacked the Vatican the Pope would “have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president.” Only time will tell if that kind of response will hurt him in tomorrow’s South Carolina primary where he has a pretty good lead on Ted Cruz & Marco Rubio.

More interesting might be how they and other Republican contenders use the verbal battle with the Pope down the road. One thing is for sure and that is Trump does not shy away from controversy and in many cases embraces it. It’s actually what some if not many like about him. At the same time it’s what frightens others as they fear Trump in the oval office is like giving someone with a drinking problem the keys to a liquor store. The wild ride continues!

The Shore Conference Basketball Tournament has reached the “Elite 8” and there have been few surprises heading into this weekend’s quarterfinals at Brookdale Community College. Top boys seeds Mater Dei Prep, CBA, Manasquan and Toms River North have

advanced along with defending champion Rumson, Lakewood, Ranney and Long Branch, who knocked off #5 Colts Neck in the only upset. It’s all chalk in the girl’s bracket as the top eight seeds have moved into Saturday’s quarterfinals, many of them barely breaking a sweat to get there.

The updated brackets with this weekend’s schedule are available at shoresportsnetwork.com.

 

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