ProfessorTommy.Tips

I recently competed in a pickleball tournament and came away with a second-place finish! Not bad, right? Even better, my performance helped increase my pickleball rating slightly. It's still below my career high, but at least it's moving in the right direction. My current rating? 3.551. For those unfamiliar with pickleball, it's a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. And like many competitive sports, pickleball has a system for measuring pl

I was at the gym when I noticed a sign next to a bottle of cleaning solution. The sign read: "PLEASE WIPE DOWN MATTS AFTER EACH USE THANK YOU" I had questions. Who is Matt? Why does he need to be wiped down? And perhaps most importantly, how many Matts are using this gym? Of course, the sign was referring to exercise mats, not people named Matt. But one extra letter completely changed how I read the message. And because I'm a law professor who sees bar exam lessons in just ab

Last night, the LSU women's basketball team made history. The Tigers defeated Texas Southern 131–22, setting a Division I women's basketball record for the largest margin of victory: 109 points. Let that sink in. LSU didn't just win. The Tigers scored nearly six times as many points as their opponent. At one point, LSU went on a 50–0 scoring run. Texas Southern went an entire quarter without scoring. Now, you might be wondering what a 109-point basketball blowout has to do wi

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,