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    Wow, I can only echo what superstu says there. What a bout that was, literally gripping stuff. Brilliant to see them go toe-to-toe, belt-to-belt for so long, and fantastic for Tochinoshin to both keep his current run going and break that 0-25 losing streak to Hakuhō – who must've spent longer in the dohyō there than in the rest of his tournament combined. I've only just discovered the latter's father (champion Mongolian wrestler and 1968 Olympic freestyle wrestling medallist Jigjidiin Mönkhbat) died last month, so hats off to him for competing so well after that as well as his well-documented toe issues.

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      Once Tochinoshin gets his left hand on your belt, you're done for. Surprised Hakuho tried to yotsu with him, that was a low-percentage move.

      As for his upper-body strength...go back a year or two on youtube and look at T's body. I think it has changed shape considerably, in ways which in other sports might get people asking questions. Particularly the shoulders. But perhaps I am overly suspicious.

      As to promotion to Yokozuna:technically, the slate gets wiped clean after promotion to Ozeki. After each tournament, the Yokozuna committee meets and decides i) if any Ozeki have had performances *as Ozeki* which merit promotion to the top rank and ii) gives advice to current yokozuna about their status/conduct (eg. Hakuho, stop slapping people at the tachiai, Kisenosato, maybe it's time to retire, etc.). In theory, the standard for promotion is:

      i) winning two consecutive tournaments

      or "the equivalent of winning two tournaments" which in the past has meant:

      ii) winning two out of three tournaments with at least a half-decent performance in between
      iii) winning one tournament preceded by two very good (usually runner-up) performances
      iv) the judges feel you have what it takes

      So, Kisenosato got in under the wire on number iii and in theory had Takayasu competed in this basho and won, he might have been up for consideration as well under the same standard. But these things are not set in stone. For instance, if Tochinoshin were to win the July tournament as well, would they consider him under the back-to-back wins rule? I would guess not because he would only have been Ozeki for one of them. But if he went 15-0 for two bashos in a row, winning four or five yokozuna matches in a row (if we go back to March), I could - barely - see a case to be made. More likely the earliest he would be considered for Yokozuna-dom would be after the November basho, but he might not need more than one more yusho to make it if he wins the current one as two wins in a year from a non-Ozeki/yokozuna position is basically unprecedented.
      Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 24-05-2018, 22:07.

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        The fuck? Tochinoshin loses to Shodai. That was terrible.

        Hakuho and Kauryuu win. Tochinoshin and Kakuryuu now 12-1, Hakuho 11-2. The first two are paired tomorrow, while the two Yokozunas fight on Sunday. Still plenty of intrigue ahead.
        Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 25-05-2018, 08:54.

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          D'oh! Perhaps the comedown after the high of beating Hakuhō got him?

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            Partly that. Partly Shodai appears to be the only rikishi with enough wit and guile not to let Tochinoshin get a hand on his belt. It's actually quite skillful on his part, now that I watch it again.

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              Day 14, I was on an airplane (sorry for the late post). But Kakuryuu beat beat Tochinoshin in an almighty bout, Hakuho fell to Ichinojo. Hakuho v. Kakuryuu on final day. If Karkuryuu wins, the yusho is his; if Hakuho wins (and tochinoshin doesn;t drop a 3rd in a row), we head to an immediate playoff.

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                ....and Kakuryuu and Tochinoshin both win on Day 15 (highlights here). Kakuryuu the yusho, Tochinoshin the promotion, Hakuho looking distinctly fallible all of a sudden and that's all she wrote.

                (fun fact: Hakuho has won at least two tournaments each calendar year since 2007 when he was made Yokozuna. Don't count him out yet, but he's starting to look like Rangers-era Gretzky)

                The San'yaku ranks for next time:

                Y - Kakuryuu, Hakuho, maybe Kisenosato (though my guess is he retires before then, this will be *the* story of the next 7 weeks, guaranteed)
                O - Goeido, Takayasu, Tochinoshin
                S - Ichinojo, Mitakeumi (9-6 this tourney, he goes back up)
                K - Tamawashi for sure, Shohozan's 8-7 from M2 probably gets the nod over Shodai's 9-6 from M4
                M1 - Shodai, Kotoshogiku
                M2 - Ikioi.

                That's where it gets odd - no other rikishi above M8 had a winning record. So who the gets the other M2 slot and the M3 slots? I *think* Abi gets the other M2 slot, meaning he would retain his current ranking despite a losing record (7-8) because there is just no one else to put there. Chiyonokuni, with a 12-3 record this time, could jump all the way from M11 to M3. Kaisei's 6-9 would normally see him dropped 3 places to M4, but dearth of other candidates probably means he only falls to M3.

                At the bottom end: say goodbye to Aminishiki (M16, 4-11, likely his last appearance in Makuuchi) and Takekaze (M14, 6-9). I think everyone else at the bottom did well enough to survive, which means only 2 Juryo will go up - this basho's winner Onosho (welcome back!) and co-runner-up Kotoeko. If there is a third promotion/relegation, it will be J4 Meisei going up in place of Ishiura, but this seems unlikely to me.

                Former Ozeki Terunofuji definitely gone from the ranks of the professionals as he ended the basho without a win. Diabetes sucks. Takanoiwa finished 11-4 from J11, which means he will be near the top of the juryo rankings next time and we could see him back in the top division come September.

                See you all in July!
                Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 27-05-2018, 12:26.

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                  Thanks for your excellent posts Anton, much appreciated and already looking forward to July!

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                    A pleasure. Glad people are interested.

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                      I must second superstu's comment there, many thanks indeed AG for the super updates and for whetting our appetites for the resumption of hostilities next time around! A real shame Tochinoshin couldn't get the yūshō here, after such a superb initial run, but his performance has certainly made things look more interesting for the coming basho.

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                        BUMP.

                        Nagoya basho time. Guess who's kyujo? Yes, it;s Kisenosato, who will set an all-time record of missing or withdrawing from 8 consecutive bashos (previous record was Takanohana, with 7). But you know what? No one cares! He can be kyujo until the Olympics and they'll keep him because goddamn it he's Japanese and the country needs a hero!

                        No other significant news of note, other than that Goiedo and Takayasu are both kadoban and face loss of Ozeki status if they have losing records. The top of the table is exactly the way I had it above. M2 ended up being Ikioi and Chyonukuni (who will be *murdered* at that rank, I think). M3 is Abi and Takakeisho (suspect both will have winning records at the end of it, though week 1 as always is going to be tough since they;re going to get paired up against the top dogs).

                        Schedulers have given everyone a treat with Day One though: Kakuryuu v Shohozan, Tamawashi v Hakuho, Shodai v. Goeido, Kotoshogiku v. Takayasu, Ikioi v. Tochinoshin, and Abi v. Mitakeumi. It's going to be a great day.

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                          Today's matches are here. Tochinoshin and Ichinojo have new mawashis. Hakuho looked a little sloppy but won. Goeido looked terrible and lost to Shodai. Ichinojo was incomprehensibly bad (as he often is) in his loss to Chiyonokuni. Abi lost to Mitakaeumi in the battle of two dudes with ridiculously long arms. And - Onosho is back (minus the red mawashi)! He looked really good and I expect he is heading back to the San'yaku pretty soon. Match of the day, I think, was Takayasu - Kotoshogiku (at 10:40, the labelling on the bout is wrong, don't be confused). Good start all around.

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                            Day two here. The seven top-ranked rikishi all posted wins. Very little of special note. Abi almost got one over on Ichinojo (8:50). And the Hakuho match at the end is kind of amusing because a ref finally called him on one of his bullshit moves (not actually putting his fists down before the tachiai). I love him to death and he is the greatest ever but he really is shameless in the way he flaunts rules/conventions and gets away with it.
                            .

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                              Day three here. The odd trend so far is all the small guys jumping around so that they can get behind the bigger guys and bush them out from the back. Watch Ishiura on day 3. Watch Abi on day 2. This is a bit odd. Highlight of day 3 is the absolutely ludicrous Chyonokuni - Takayasu match (11:15). Takayasu battles back twice, throws 'kuni who *somehow* manages not to touch the ground, recovers, and then grapples Takayasu into a mutual overarm throw - both hit the deck but Takayasu's knee was marginally faster, so 'kuni gets the win. Shohozan's flailing legs as Tochinoshin crane-lifts him out of the ring is good for a laugh as well (13:10).

                              As for day 4 - video not yet available, but Hakuho is kyujo with a knee ligament strain, so Chiyonkuni picks up a lucky third win and he now looks a much better bet for kachi-koshi than he did at the start. Kakuryuu also lost, which leaves Tochinoshin and Mitakaeumi as the only two undefeated rikishi at 4-0.
                              Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 11-07-2018, 11:13.

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                                Originally posted by Anton Gramscescu View Post
                                Highlight of day 3 is the absolutely ludicrous Chyonokuni - Takayasu match (11:15). Takayasu battles back twice, throws 'kuni who *somehow* manages not to touch the ground, recovers, and then grapples Takayasu into a mutual overarm throw - both hit the deck but Takayasu's knee was marginally faster, so 'kuni gets the win. Shohozan's flailing legs as Tochinoshin crane-lifts him out of the ring is good for a laugh as well (13:10).
                                That was fantastic.

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                                  Day 4 video is here for those interested.

                                  Day 5 is in the books. Tochinoshin and Mitakaeumi stay unbeaten and the Georgian really is looking unbeatable - this may be the basho where people have to start seriously contemplating a European Yokozuna. Kakuryuu gets beaten for the second day in a row, this time by the flailing Abi (13:50). The trick with Kakuryuu really is the same as with Tochinoshin: don't get into belt battle, he'll kill you (though usually by throwing rather than lifting). Takayasu is at 4-1 after another dodgy-looking win (12:40) against Ikioi - dodgy in the sense that his technique is all over the place and I think he's going to have trouble as week 2 progresses and he has to fight tougher opposition. A bunch of other dudes are also on 4-1, notably Kaisei and Endo.

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                                    Aaaaand Kakuryuu is kyujo to start day 6. First basho in nineteen years without a Yokozuna. This leaves Tochinoshin as pretty much the clear favourite to win, I think - and significantly improves Goeido's chances of staying an Ozeki since now his two matches with Yokozuna will be replaced with two matches with M5s, making the 8-win threshold one helluva lot easier to cross. The immediate beneficiary is *again* Chyonokuni, who wins for a second time by fusen and is now 4-2.

                                    Also, down in juryo, Takanoiwa (Mr. getting-hit-over-the-head-with-a-tv-remote-by-Harumafuji) is joint leader at 5-1. If he can keeps this form he'll be back in the top division come September.
                                    Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 13-07-2018, 08:38.

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                                      Pressure may have got to Tochinoshin. He looked off at ringside, and then matta'ed (false started) before being beat by Tamawashi. Mitakaeumi alone at the top at 6-0. Endo, Chiotaiyu, Tochinoshin and a couple of low-tier dudes at 5-1.

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                                        Yeah, well, pressure and a busted toe apparently. Tochinoshin kyujo with what is being reported as "Damage to the collateral ligament of the MTP joint of the great toe.". Mitakaeumi is 7-0, Endo, Chiotariyu and Asanoyama at 6-1. Goeido is 4-3 and is thanking his lucky stars that sumo gods have taken out his three toughest opponents or he'd be looking at a pretty certain demotion.

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                                          Two pieces of good news, I guess. 1 - there will almost certainly be a first-time yusho winner now. 2 - Takanoiwa is back, baby! Great fight today to retain the juryo lead.

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                                            Sorry for lack of updates, have been on flights much of the last two days, and am also seriously bummed out by Tochinoshin's departure. The skinny on days 8 and 9, both now in the books: Mitakaeumi is now 9-0...not only is he starting to look a decent bet to win the tournament, the Ozeki buzz is going to start the instant he hits 11. But of course he is a notoriously streaky rikishi so far too early to start talking about this just yet. M13 Asanoyama is 8-1 (expect the schedulers to get busy giving him real opponents soon), M6 Endo and and O Takayasu are 7-2. Ichinojo at 3-6 looks terrible and soft and now very unlikely to stay in the San'yaku.

                                            Under-reported story of the tournament: Yoshikaze is 0-9. His sumo has entirely disappeared and at this rate may fall out of the top division altogether (which is really hard to do from an M5 rank but he seems to be giving it a go).

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                                              Hilight of Day 9 was probably this bout between Goeido and Kagayaki. Yes, a fit Goeido would have put his opponent away in the first two seconds (in that supremely efficient way Mitakaeumi has been doing for the last week). But this...this is a great back-and-forth match.

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                                                Day 11 just ended: Mitakaeumi is 11-0, Asanoyama and Tochiozan are 9-2. Mitakaeumi still has to fight the Mongolian Obelix (ichinojo) and two banged up Ozeki, and Lord knows he is prone to sudden cold streaks, but this basho is starting to look done. Also: Yoshikaze 0-11
                                                Last edited by Anton Gramscescu; 18-07-2018, 09:22.

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                                                  Mitakaeumi won back in July, if that was bothering anyone.

                                                  But now it is September, time for Aki basho. Big Story: no one is kyujo! All 70 rikishi from the top divisions are going to start in a few hours including Kisenosato. sub-plots, such as they are:

                                                  Kisenosato needs to get kachi-koshi (8 wins) to avoid enforced retirement.
                                                  Tochinoshin needs kachi-koshi retain Ozeki status
                                                  Mitakaeumi needs 10 or 11 wins for promotion to Ozeki.

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                                                    Day 1 is here. All the usual suspects - including Kisenosato - won except Goeido who looked terrible. Also, Takanoiwa won his first bout back in Makuuchi since being cracked over the head with a TV remote. Ishiura's henkas are getting really annoying.

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