Just when you think it can't get any more ridiculous than Lindsey Lohan suing E-Trade, because they use the name "Lindsey" in one of their baby ad's, John Koroff has gone and made Lindsey look pretty good.

Koroff is the owner of the New York City Triathlon and has successfully sued the NYC Triathlon Club, forcing them to change their name.

A district court in Manhattan ruled Tuesday in favor of the New York City Triathlon, which was seeking an injunction against the NYC Triathlon Club, arguing that the club's name infringed on state and federal trademark laws.

"We have spent 10 years and thousands of hours making the New York City Triathlon a successful brand," said John Korff, the owner of the race. "When you have created a race of this size, you need to be ready to defend it."

"It's another sign that what was once a mom and pop sport is now big business," said Jack Caress, race director who organizes the Los Angeles and Cleveland triathlons. "Since it's gotten bigger, we've been seeing more legal issues -- people not getting along. That's what's being played out in New York City."

Only in New York.  Closer to home things are much more friendly.

Yes, there is a Chicago Triathlon Club and a Chicago Triathlon, however, as Nick Lynch, Event Director of Capri Events (owner of The Chicago Triathlon) told me, things are much different here in Chicago.  "We've given them the rights to use the name.  We have a great relationship with The Chicago Triathlon Club.  Nationwide the triathlon community is so small, the clubs provide such a huge part in our success, without them and their generous support, we could never attempt to pull something off like this," says Lynch.

The NYC Triathlon Club was formerly called the SBR Triathlon Club, which run by of the SBR Multiports shop in Midtown Manhattan.  The cost of running a triathlon club can be enormous, so the club was disbanded by SBR owner Christophe Vandaele.  Several members started the NYC Triathlon Club and asked Vandaele to help launch the club.  Then things went crazy.

"We were hit with this so quickly, we didn't have time to get a lawyer." Says Vandaele.  " We are going back to court to dismiss the preliminary injunction." Vandaele feels confident that the injunction will be overturned, the team will get its name back and things will go back to normal.

SBR is located two blocks away from Central Park, which is where the bike and run portions of the New York City Triathlon take place. Logic would dictate that Koroff and the New York City Triathlon would be better neighbors, in a community that is already tiny, it's an odd message to send.

There are rumors of Koroff wanting to start his own triathlon club with the same name, giving members first crack at entrance into his race for $1000 a crack, but to date those are just rumors.

What do you think?  Was Mr. Koroff within his legal rights to make them change their name, or did he go too far in his actions?  Leave your comments below and let us know.