No Melting Under Pressure

It has been a rocky road the last few weeks for Gudu Husson and his brother, Tony, owners of the 21 Choices Frozen Yogurt shop in Claremont.

Baskin-Robbins USA, the Glendale ice cream giant, maintains that the name on the 3-year-old store infringes on its famed 31 Flavors trademark. Baskin-Robbins is fighting the brothers’ efforts to register the name with trademark officials and threatens to sue if they don’t drop it.

Baskin-Robbins lawyer David A. Dillard says the public might mistakenly connect Baskin-Robbins to 21 Choices because the shop sells frozen desserts.

Gudu Husson says the number 21 was picked because it is “romantic,” representing to many people their coming of age. His lawyer, Daniel P. Chernoff, notes that such names as Howard Johnson’s 28 Flavors, Bresler’s 33 Flavors and 2001 Flavors exist.

“Baskin-Robbins no doubt has a strong trademark on 31,” Chernoff said. “But that doesn’t entitle them to claim every number from 1 to 2001.”

Great Moments in Sports

As most people know by now, Reebok’s thrill of commercial victory in the Olympic decathlon trials turned into the agony of the feet for the sneaker maker when decathlete and Reebok man Dan O’Brien failed to gain a berth on this year’s team.

Reebok isn’t alone in betting on an athlete who flops. Some examples:

* 1976: The William Morris Agency hooks up with pitcher Mark (The Bird) Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers, who stars in an after-shave commercial. Fidrych’s career quickly dies after a shoulder injury.

* 1988: Seattle Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth stars in a Right Guard commercial, then retires a short time later after a mediocre pro career.

* 1990: Sega launches a video game featuring heavyweight champ James (Buster) Douglas, who gets knocked out in his first title defense.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

An item in this column last week crediting faded presidential candidate Jerry Brown with pioneering the use of political “infomercials” drew several calls from supporters of another former contender, actor Tom (“Billy Jack”) Laughlin. They said Laughlin was running an infomercial as early as last fall in New Hampshire.

In case anyone is wondering, Laughlin now supports Ross Perot.

Briefly . . .

Would they do it again today? Time Warner, who--if Iran-Contra figure Oliver L. North has his way--will face sedition charges for selling rapper Ice-T’s controversial “Cop Killer” song, paid an amount believed to range from $25,000 to $50,000 to publish excerpts from North’s memoirs in Time magazine last October. . . . One speaker at a long-planned UCLA Extension course this summer on doing business with an economically integrated Europe represents Denmark, which as it turns out spurned a proposal to join the other nations. . . . Latest industry to claim that it is recession-proof: crafts.

Market Aftershocks

The Dow Jones industrial average tends to get a little shaky in the first 10 trading days following a major California quake.

Market Quake (Year) Reaction San Francisco (1906) -5.3% Long Beach (1933)* -7.1% Tehachapi (1952) +1.8% Sylmar (1971) -0.5% Whittier Narrows (1987) -10.8% Loma Prieta (1989) +0.2% Sierra Madre (1991) +1.3% Petrolia (1992) +2.3% Average: -2.3%

* Stock exchange was closed in banking moratorium. Loss was in the first 10 days after it was lifted.