ProfessorTommy.Tips

Last night's “Blue-nami” provides a timely Constitutional Law lesson about gerrymandering. Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, President Trump encouraged Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional districts to increase Republican representation in the House. In Texas, for example, Republicans redrew district boundaries hoping to gain five additional seats. Other states followed, while Democrats responded with their own redistricting efforts, including in California

And then there were none. Entering last night's NBA games, the Memphis Grizzlies were the league's last remaining undefeated team, having won their first six games of the season. That streak ended with a 135–134 overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Just like that, every NBA team has at least one loss. And you know what? That's perfectly okay. Source: Yahoo Sports An NBA regular season consists of 82 games. That's 82 opportunities to win. And 82 opportunities to lose. Te

Halloween is here, and tonight I have an important responsibility: Distributing candy to trick-or-treaters. Our candy of choice? A 145-piece variety pack containing Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, M&M's, and 3 Musketeers. As I emptied the bag into our candy bowl, something caught my attention. There seemed to be an unusually large number of Snickers and Twix, but hardly any M&M's or 3 Musketeers. Now, most normal people would simply shrug and start handing out candy. But what does

The X-Files is coming back. And while a new generation of FBI agents may soon be investigating unexplained phenomena, one of the show's most recognizable phrases offers a valuable lesson for students preparing for the bar exam: "I Want to Believe." Those four words appeared on the famous UFO poster hanging in Fox Mulder's office. They also captured the fundamental tension between the show's two main characters. Mulder was willing to believe in extraordinary explanations. His

Recently, I decided to get back into collecting trading cards. Like many people who collected cards growing up, I remember the excitement of opening packs, discovering favorite players, and hoping to find something special. But the hobby has changed quite a bit since I last collected. There are now countless parallels, autographs, numbered cards, and other variations that make collecting both exciting and, at times, a little overwhelming. As I've been rediscovering the hobby,

Exactly one year ago, on Oct. 10, 2025, WNBA star Angel Reese posted three simple words on social media: “manifesting the finals>>>” At the time, Reese was coming off her second WNBA season with the Chicago Sky. Her team hadn't made the playoffs, much less the WNBA Finals. But Reese had a goal. She put it into words and shared it with the world. Fast forward 364 days. On Oct. 9, 2026, Reese helped the Atlanta Dream defeat the New York Liberty to advance to the WNBA Finals. Sh

LeBron James was talking about basketball. But he might as well have been talking about the bar exam. At media day yesterday, James used oatmeal to explain what it takes to become great. “You just put the oatmeal in the bowl, you put the water in and throw it in the microwave and a minute and a half. You got something to eat. You're ready to go.” That's fine if you want oatmeal. It's not how you become great at something. James continued: “If you want to do something special,

The first full week of the NFL season is nearly in the books, and there are already plenty of storylines. There were surprising performances, surprising results, and the usual reminder that everything we thought we knew in August can change once teams actually start playing games. But perhaps no team's outlook changed more dramatically than that of the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams entered the season as the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl. After an offseason in which they

I recently added something new to my office: an Obi Toppin basketball card. For those unfamiliar with Dayton basketball, Toppin is one of the best players ever to wear a University of Dayton uniform. His 2019-20 season was remarkable, and he became the consensus national player of the year while leading a Dayton team that finished 29–2 and rose to No. 3 in the country. So, as a Dayton professor and basketball fan, an Obi Toppin card makes perfect sense in my office. But after

This week, I completed my 2,500th Peloton ride. That’s a lot of time on a bike that goes absolutely nowhere. But reaching 2,500 rides got me thinking about something that has very little to do with exercise and a lot to do with succeeding in law school and preparing for the bar exam. I didn't get to 2,500 because I had 2,500 great workouts. Some rides were long. Some were short. Some were hard. Some were easy. There were days when I felt great and wanted to push myself, and p