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    Enho is so much smaller than many of his opponents that his bouts can take on a surreal air. Today was a prime example.

    https://twitter.com/TheSumoSoul/status/1108273023591694342

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      Three excellent pieces today at Tachiai

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        If we're not doing spoliers any more, someone's going to have to teach me how to do that thing Wouter just did,

        At this point there are probably only two matches that matter: the two at the top, plus Tochinoshin-Tamawashi. Loser of that one loses his rank, winner *may* save it.

        Also: Enho got another shot at a Makuushita opponent and this time he won to go 7-5. With two rikishi definitely on their way down to juryo (Toyonoshima, yutakayama) and another five still on the bubble (including Ikoi who is getting the shit kicked out of him this basho), he's probably only one win away from the top division.
        Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 21-03-2019, 09:27.

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          I'd be perfectly happy to keep doing spoilers, depending on what the thread wants. Makes discussion easier.

          Day 12 highlights here. Both Yokozuna were in trouble today. Tochinoshin made Hakuho work really hard for the win, while Kakuryu was never allowed in the game by Takayasu.

          I do hope that Ichinojo gets the chance to add some kinboshi to his record; he looks good enough to give the Yokozuna a fight. Instead, he gets Mitakeumi tomorrow, which is a fair enough challenge.

          Enho surely should come up to the top division soon. He was impressively bandaged up today, but it did not seem to bother him.

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            So again, here's a chance to think through the art of scheduling.

            The last match of the last day *has* to be the two yokozuna fighting each other. So who do you give Hakuho on the penultimate day? By the schedule, it;s Takayasu (the only Ozeki he will not have fought). But for this basho's purposes, it probably ought to be Ichinojo. Which do you pick? If we could wait 24 hours, to see the results of day 13 it would be an easier call: If Takayasu were to lose to Takakeisho tomorrow, he'd be out of the yusho running (assuming Hakuho wins) then you could go straight to the Ichinojo pairing (again, assuming he wins). But we can;t - day 14 matches are posted *before* the start of day 13. Basically, in a yusho where the top ranks weren't all quite so dominant, we might see Ichinojo get a shot at the Boss; but with the standings the way they are, it;s much less likely. So Ichinojo paradoxically gets a better run at the title precisley *because* there is such competition at the top. There's always a chance of a playoff, which we haven't seen since Aki 2016 when Harumafuji beat Goeido.

            I do, however, suspect that there could be a Takakeisho-Ichinojo fight on the final day instead. That would be interesting as the Ozeki run might depend on a win. (T has three matches left, one against Takayasu, one almost certainly againt Tochinoshin and then one mystery bout possibly v. Ichinojo). He is 8-4. Ten wins really should be enough for promotion, especially since this time he has a yokozuna scalp, but can he win two out of those three? It is going to be a very interesting last weekend.
            Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 21-03-2019, 12:35.

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              Day 13 highlights

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                https://twitter.com/TheSumoSoul/status/1108980206679683073

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                  So much Enho love.

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                    Tachai believe that he has clinched promotion to the top flight.

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                      Yeah he has. I was thinking it was still a bit up in the air becuase he will be third in line to go up and there were only two rikishi definitely going down based on their records (Yutakayama and Toyonoshima), but I forgot that Choyonokuni (who is kyujo) is also going down. There are another five guys in the bottom four ranks with losing records who in theory are in danger of going down (most notably Terostuyoshi, although he has picked himself up a bit in the last couple of days) but it's not clear there is a fourth decent candidate to come up from juryo so you never know. It will be interesting if Chiyoshoma loses tomorrow, because at M17 he would *have* to take one of the demotion places, because then the banzuke-makers would either have to give a reprieve to one of the three now "definitely" going down, or recruit someone from fairly far down in juryo.
                      Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 23-03-2019, 11:53.

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                        Tochinoshin-Takakeisho looks tasty for tomorrow, though. Winner stays/becomes Ozeki, loser stays/drops to Sekiwake (winner also gets the "three arrows prize" which is without question the most ridiculous trophy in professional sport). Will look forward to watching this. And while a Hakuho-Ichinojo playoff would be fun, I think Hak will handle Kakuryuu easily for the zensho yusho, the 15th of his career (on the all-time leaderboard, nobody else has more than 8)
                        Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 23-03-2019, 11:49.

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                          And then there was one (day remaining)

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                            Two great matches there towards the end - Hokutofuji winning bu oshi-dashi to the throat v. Tochiozan, and Tochinoshin winning by oshidashi(!), literally throwing the kitchen sink at Tamawashi. And the Hakuho stare-down was hysterically funny.

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                              Dammit.

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                                Day 15 Highlights

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                                  I enjoyed the additional context Chris Gould provides in these two videos focusing on the most prominent bouts.

                                  Takakeisho - Tochinoshin

                                  Ichinojo - Daieisho and the final bout between the two Yokozuna.

                                  A fine tournament all around.

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                                    It was a very good tournament. Probably the best since last May. Apart maybe from Hakuho tearing his bicep muscle in the final bout (already speculation he'll miss the next tournament)

                                    Next time out, Ichninojo will be back to Sekiwake alongside Tochinoshin. Komusubi ranks are a bit tougher to work out. Normally, Tamawashi would fall from S to K, but five wins is a pretty poor show so do they drop him further? Mitakaeumi would normally drop from K to M1 with a 7-8 losing record, but given how few good candidates there are from the upper joi, might he get away with a half-rank loss and just move to K (west)? Hokutofuji is down...so who does that leave? Step forward, Aoiyama, whose 12-3 from M7 is probably the performance most likely to earn a promotion to sanyak'u (where he will get murdered in much the way Kaisei did this time out). So for the komusubi ranks, pick two from Tamawashi, Mitakaeumi and the big Bulgarian.

                                    M1 - Hokutofuji and whichever of those three doesn't make K.
                                    M2 - Chiyotariyu and...well, now here it gets interesting. Ichinojo and Chiyotariyu were the only riskishi in the top 5 M positions to post winning records. Endo and Daiesho had only lightly losing records and so will stay near the top (Endo could pick up the other M2). So who gets moved up? Both M6s (Okinoumi and Abi) posted 8-7s, which *might* get them up to M3. But also expect Kotoshogiku, who posted a very good 11-4 from M8 to pick up a very high ranking, maybe good enough for M2. Big jumps also for Ryuden and Yoshikaze, though maybe not quite up to top 5. We'll see.
                                    Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 25-03-2019, 09:05.

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                                      Herouth has a depressing summary of what is known about Hakuho's injury at Tachiai

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                                        Nice interview with Kisenosato

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                                          Outstanding post from Herouth on the first day of the Jungyo tour with a number of clips

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                                            Kisenosato does seem a lot jollier now. The English greeting was a nice touch, too

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                                              [URL]https://twitter.com/sumofollower/status/1116467908845215744?s=21[/URL]

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                                                Banzuke out in four days!

                                                I have seen a few stories about Trump at Senshuraku, not all of which I find totall convincing. The first day of his trip does coincide with the last day of the basho, so there;s that. But where in the hell is he going to sit? I have my doubts he;d last more than fifteen minutes on the lower-level mats (no shoes? sitting on his ass?) But the chairs up top are definitely not luxury, so...

                                                And he;s definitely not giving out the cup. I would lay money on that.

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                                                  Chris Gould had a good take on the logistical obstacles that make the plan as rumoured highly unlikely. (6+ minute video). Among other things, I had no idea that Chirac attended on five separate occasions.

                                                  This "reprimand" to Hakuho (not to mention docking his Oyakata's salary) is ridiculous.

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                                                    Originally posted by Anton Gramscescu View Post
                                                    Banzuke out in four days!

                                                    I have seen a few stories about Trump at Senshuraku, not all of which I find totall convincing. The first day of his trip does coincide with the last day of the basho, so there;s that. But where in the hell is he going to sit? I have my doubts he;d last more than fifteen minutes on the lower-level mats (no shoes? sitting on his ass?) But the chairs up top are definitely not luxury, so...

                                                    And he;s definitely not giving out the cup. I would lay money on that.
                                                    You think Trump is going to an event like that without being the center of attention? I don't think so! He's gonna be in that ring, taking on Hakuho.

                                                    Looking forward to that banzuke.

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