Sex And The Yogi--Yankee great sues TBS for misappropriating his reputable name -

Smoking Gun ^ | 1/31/05

[CT CONSERVATIVE]

Claiming that his good name has been sullied by a "Sex and the City" advertisement, baseball legend Yogi Berra has sued Turner Broadcasting System for $10 million. In the below New York State Supreme Court complaint, Berra, 79, contends that TBS improperly used his name in outdoor ads (on buses and subway kiosks) promoting the cable channel's reruns of the racy HBO show starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Noting that he is a married grandfather and a "deeply religious man who has maintained and continues to maintain a moral lifestyle,

[Zechariah11]

Go for it, Yogi!!!

[moog]

How in the world can they ruin the name of Yogi?????!!!

He is one of my all-time heroes, a true "simple" conservative who always has a good outlook on life and succeeds. Nothing can diminish his value to me.

[Betaille]

How did they use his image/likeness?

[F16Fighter]

Ought to be $100 million.

Ted Turner doesn't care a whit about anyone or anything but Ted Turner.

[Betaille]

Oh now I see. I'm not a lawyer but it looks to me like he may not have much of a case. I'm all for what he's doing, but he is a public figure, and the ad doesn't say anything slanderous about him.

[cubreporter]

Good for Yogi. That show was stupid and her character inparticular was way out there. Not everyone watched nor thought it was cute. I don't blame Yogi for suing. They don't have a right to use his name for their crap. He believes what he believes and that is his right and he does not have to put up with it. Good for him. Good man, husband, father, grandfather. He'll be remembered long after the people who played in that show will.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

"Oh most assuredly, I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

[Vaquero]

Me-he for Yoo-Hoo.

[Cagey]

Remember Yogi climbing the fence and grabbing the yoo hoo?

Yogi and the Scooter, two classy guys.

[MKM1960]

But it is using his name in advertising without his permission. If it was just used as a reference in the dialog in the series I doubt that he would have a chance. Since this is advertising by TBS, they may have jumped the shark. Mr. Bera controls his name, face and likeness and without his permission, I don't believe they can use it even as part of a joke.

[Tax-chick]

On the one hand, he probably won't win his case, but on the other hand, I think it's good that he's making a public statement that he's offended by this misuse of his name.

[VisualizeSmallerGovernment]

Nobody watches Sex And The City. It's too popular.

[Betaille]

"I don't believe they can use it even as part of a joke."

Does Jay Leno need Michael Jackson's permission to tell a joke about him? This issue confuses me a bit.

[Cagey]

LOL!

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Boy oh boy...this lawsuit ain't gonna be over til its over.

;)PaMom

[xjcsa]

Noting that he is a married grandfather...

I've met one of his granddaughters...believe it or not, she was a college hockey player a few years ago (not a women's team). She was actually pretty good; also funny (at least while in the penalty box), and quite attractive. Not what I expected....

[decimon]

Nobody watches Sex And The City. It's too popular.

It's pay-per-view all over again.

[sassbox]

"Sex and the City" is pure filth....I hope Yogi's case against them succeeds.

[stboz]

I saw Yogi hit a homer in Yankee Stadium when I was a 9 year old kid.

[don-o]

Give 'em hell, Yogi.

[Cagey]

"I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up I change bats....
After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?"

---

"Slump? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hitting."

---

"You give a hundred percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough,
in the second half you give what's left."

---

"Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, it's too crowded."

---

Carmen Berra: "Yogi, I went to see Dr. Zhivago today."
Yogi: "Now what's wrong with you?"

---

Larry Berra to his father: "Hey, Dad, the man is here for the venetian blind."
Yogi: Well, go in my pocket and give him a couple of bucks for a donation and get rid of him.

---

"[When introduced to writer Ernest Hemingway] Yeah, what paper you write for, Ernie?"

---

"It gets late early out there"

---

"I really didn't say everything I said"

---

"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

---

"You can observe a lot by watching."

---

"In baseball, you don't know nothing."

---

"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."

---

"It's deja vu all over again."

---

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it."

---

"Think! How the hell are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"

---

"I usually take a two hour nap, from one o'clock to four."

---

"If people don't want to come out to the park, nobody's going to stop them."

---

"Why buy good luggage? You only see it when you travel."

---

Hey Yogi, what time is it?
"You mean now?"

---

On being asked his cap size at the beginning of spring training.
"I don't know, I'm not in shape."

---

On why the Yankees lost the 1960 series to Pittsburgh:
"We made too many wrong mistakes."

---

On Rickey Henderson:
"He can run anytime he wants. I'm giving him the red light."

---

On Ted Williams:
"He is a big clog in their machine."

---

On being told by the wife of New York Mayor John V. Lindsay that he looked cool despite the heat:
"You don't look so hot, either."

---

On Yogi Berra appreciation day in St. Louis 1947:
"I want to thank you all for making this day necessary."

---

On the tight 1973 National League pennant race:
"It ain't over 'til its over."

---

On being asked why Johnny Bench hit more homeruns than he did:
"Most of his homeruns were hit on artificial turf."

---

"Eighty percent of putts that fall short don't go in."

[speedy]

Yogi Berra is one of the truly wonderful athletes, a man with no downside. I agree with those who say it would be a longshot to win a lawsuit, but to even have his name associated with worthless garbage like "Sex and the City" and an unapologetic whore like Kim Cattrall is more than he should have to bear. All the best to Yogi.

[O Neill]

Ought to be $100 million.

Maybe Yogi hasn't kept up with inflation, somehow forgetting that a nickel just ain't worth a dime anymore...

[utahguy]

Go Yogi!
"If you come to a Liberal in the road, run it over"
"It ain't over 'til I sue the b*st*rds"

[Pilsner]

who has maintained and continues to maintain a moral lifestyle

I dunno. He sure spent a lot of time in the woods with Boo Boo. Maybe Yogi ought to let this one go.

[MKM1960]

Yogi's beef is that they used his name in billboard, posters, etc advertising the show. He controls the use of his name his face and his likeness in advertising.

Jay Leno is using Michaels Jacksons name in the show.

Totally different situation. If the bit had been part of the script that would have aired on TV, he would not have had a case.

[King Prout]

the potential for humor is mindboggling

[F16Fighter]

"Maybe Yogi hasn't kept up with inflation, somehow forgetting that a nickel just ain't worth a dime anymore..."

Very good...

[nopardons]

Go Yogi,go! :-)

[TheBrotherhood]

It doesnt matter if you are born poor and die poor as long as you're rich in between.

[Slings and Arrows]

Nobody watches Sex And The City. It's too popular.

That's closer to Oscar Wilde than Yogi Berra. Very nice.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi or Yogi Berra?

The eternal question.

-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)

[nopardons]

Berra,of course! The other was a scam artist and totally useless.

[lavrenti]

One of them dispensed sage wisdom wrapped in obtuse wrapping.

The other needed a haircut.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Pretty much, yeah.

Can you believe that there is actually an accredited university named after that loon?

[nopardons]

There's a "university" named for the maharishi ?

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

http://www.mum.edu/

[Paleo Conservative]

Does Jay Leno need Michael Jackson's permission to tell a joke about him? This issue confuses me a bit.

Michael Jackson would have to prove that any comments made about him were not true.

[Vaquero]

Yeah....cartoon body with mitt extended....picture of Yogi's real head....who could forget...

or...Phil Rizzuto for the money store....

and of course the ever popular 7th inning...."I gotta go White...before there is too much traffic on that bridge"

Holy Cow, where have the years gone.

[utahguy]

Nobody watches Sex And The City. It's too popular.
That's closer to Oscar Wilde than Yogi Berra. Very nice.
Actually is takeoff Yogi-ism. Original wisdom:
"No one goes to that restaurant anymore: it's too crowded."

[Vaquero]

A hero of D-Day to boot...when asked how dangerous it was for him to approach the beach repeatedly in his tiny missle boat that would run up to the beach, fire missles at entrenched german positions while they fired back at him...then run back for more arms...head back to the beach and do it again...He said that he didnt do anything...He felt sorry for the grunts on the beach.

Class act.

[kempster]

Yogi is one of the true heroes of a baseball era long forgotten. I lived in New Canaan, Conn from 1960-1962. It was a perfect year to live in that area. Maris and Mantle vying for the home run record made everyone a Yankee fan. And I remember the commercial that Yogi did endorse, "Say YaaHoo for YooHoo". Great time and a great man.

[Clemenza]

Home-Ownas, come down to the Money Store. Holy Cow!

Actually, the Scooter did "lend his tonsils" as background to a sexually themed portion of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."

[moog]

A hero of D-Day to boot...when asked how dangerous it was for him to approach the beach repeatedly in his tiny missle boat that would run up to the beach, fire missles at entrenched german positions while they fired back at him...then run back for more arms...head back to the beach and do it again...He said that he didnt do anything...He felt sorry for the grunts on the beach.

Class act.

There's not enough Yogis around anymore. There's too many people who focus on the negative, want to get their own way or else, or want to push their political agenda or views across at all cost. Such is not a characteristic of Yogi. He loves life and people and they love him.

Your statements reaffirm my belief that we should quit sfocusing so much on petty politics and more on those who are fighting for our freedom and protecting those liberties that allow for the petty bickering. They deserve our highest honor and respect and anyone who says otherwise should be sent over there without a weapon (though it would kind of be interesting to drop a bunch of those white supremacist guysin the middle of a terrorist camp and see what happens--it would make for an interesting video game).