Hockey Goons = Law School A-Holes

I swear I'm not going to start making posts about law school here, so please excuse this one brief foray into a topic that is only somewhat related to the NHL, let alone the Avalanche.  I won't make this a habit.

The dean of my law school, Jim Chen, is a prolific blogger.  He's also a sports fan.  One of his many blogs is called MoneyLaw, upon which he and his various contributors analyze how the law is taught and what can be done to improve the legal education in a more modern, technological, and sometimes mathematical way.  The blog, if you couldn't tell by the name, was inspired by Michael Lewis' book MoneyBall, which revolutionized the way baseball player performance is measured.

One of Dean Chen's biggest concerns is the effect of tenure and the larger law school culture on declining (or absent) scholarly efforts of professors, specifically those who become---as he calls them---Arschlöcher.  I'll give you a hint: it's German and the word "arsch" does mean what you think it means.  As a lover of sports statistics, Chen is trying to statistically evaluate the depth of one's Arschlochkeit.

To do this, he is using the example of hockey goons: professional athletes who are also professional jerks.  He specifically cites Maple Leafs favorite (and everyone else's least favorite) bruiser of the past, Tie Domi.  Personally, I always liked Domi, but I know I'm in a small minority.

Anyway, if you're interested in the discussion, it's worth a read.  The two most relative posts to hockey statistics are here and then here.  His statistical consideration of Arschlochkeit in law schools is a work in progress, and Chen seems to have just barely started.  I will be anxiously following along, and not just because I'm sucking up (yeah right).