Keishikazawa

Those numbers do look kind of damning. Let's be a bit more objective and just look at current ozeki's (plus Kise's) numbers against yokozuna (as Yokozuna and Ozeki) and non-current ozeki. Kotoshogiku v Kotomitsuki n/a Kotoshogiku v Chiyotaikai 3-16 Kotoshogiku v Kaio 12-16 Kotoshogiku v Asashoryu 1-15 Kotoshogiku v Hakuho 3-27 Total - 93 Score - 19-74 20% Baruto v Kotomitsuki 5-6 Baruto v Chiyotaikai 7-5 Baruto v Kaio 8-7 Baruto v Asashoryu 0-9 Baruto v Hakuho 3-19 Total - 69 Score - 23-46 33% Kisenosato v Kotomitsuki 12-11 Kisenosato v Chiyotaikai 8-13 Kisenosato v Kaio 12-16 Kisenosato v Asashoryu 4-13 Kisenosato v Hakuho 7-23 Total - 119 Score - 43-76 36% Kotooshu v Kotomitsuki n/a Kotooshu v Chiyotaikai 16-7 Kotooshu v Kaio 16-12 Kotooshu v Asashoryu 7-17 (inc. playoff) Kotooshu v Hakuho 4-23 Total - 102 Score - 43-59 42% Harumafuji v Kotomitsuki 11-5 Harumafuji v Chiyotaikai 12-7 Harumafuji v Kaio 16-12 Harumafuji v Asashoryu 5-17 Harumafuji v Hakuho 10-21 (inc. playoff) Total - 116 Score - 54-62 46% Kise is tied for 2nd in wins vs Hakuho & Asashoryu, and has the 2nd most wins over Hakuho. He's also up on Baruto by 3% and Kotoshogiku by 16%. However there are too many "if's" in these numbers. We also haven't looked at vs non-sanyaku rikishi for full comparison. The numbers over the past year are thus. against non-sanyaku rikishi Kotooshu losses 20 - 43% wins 26 - 57% Harumafuji Losses 12 - 27% wins 32 - 72% Baruto Losses 11 - 24% wins 34 - 76% Kisenosato losses 8 - 20% wins - 80% Kotoshogiku losses 8 - 17% wins 38 - 83% I am neither saying "he deserves it" or"he doesn't deserve it". I am agreeing politics were a big factor. Were they more of a factor than his performances? Maybe. I would probably say about 50-50. Within margin of error. While it's true that if he was a gaijin he probably wouldn't have gotten it, it's also true that if his performance had been worse he probably wouldn't have gotten it. If I were in the kyokai's shoes would I have promoted him? Yup. Am I happy he's an Ozeki? I don't know... why not. Am I going to continue to bitch about it? Not until another guy is denied the nod with 32 wins.

Any word on Sotairyu? He had that injury last basho, and I remember them saying it would take a while to heal. Is he fighting?

Are you sure that it wasn't just to remedy his horrible hand writing?

Does that also go for Makuuchi? Or does that apply strictly to Juryo? Something tells me that the JSA is not going to be willing to let Takamisakari drop to Juryo if they can avoid it, which means it would be tough to sink Nada as well. But, on the other hand, if we demote all 3 that would leave us with no KK rikishi in juryo. Oh, if only Juryo hadn't been such a horrible train wreck this basho...

Were any reasons given as to why the Kyokai changed the number of sekitori?

I think Okinoumi is not quite ready for sanyaku yet. The fact that he beat Kaio, Kotooshu, and Harumafuji this basho doesn't really say a lot. That being said I don't see any reason he can't hang in at joi for a basho or two. I would bet he'll be up there by Kyushu. Or I could be completely off base and he could go 10-5 and jump to komusubi, then start an ozeki run.

that doesn't really sound like "the audience" to me.

なんとなく

I totally agree. Especially for Aminishiki-Takekaze and Kaio-Tochiozan. I have it recorded and will go back over the video today after work.

Too bad about Hokutoriki. I didn't particularly like him as a rikishi, but I used to love watching him loose.

It looked to me like Toyonoshima's plan of "hit with the shoulder and manage and inside grip" didn't work and he didn't have a back up plan. Kaio just took advantage. Not really Ozeki-sumo though.

My answer is also pretty similar. I'd have admitted that yaocho is, and has been, a part of sumo for as long as ranking and/or pay was based on performance. Then I would expel current rikishi/oyakata that there was solid evidence against. Any gray rikishi would have 2 choices. 1. start over from jonokuchi 2. retire. If they choose neither they get the boot. I would then say that to pull yaocho out of sumo is next to impossible, but that I would introduce an independent panel of judges, none of whom are affiliated with the kyokai, to investigate and advise punishment for yaocho, or "limp-dick sumo" or whatever the hell they are calling it. I would say that this council would "vigorously ganbarize to keep sumo clean", and that the kyokai (however hypocritical this practice would be in reality) would not tolerate it from here on out. Any subsequent cases would be immediate expulsion with no pension. I would warn that an overly thorough investigation of yaocho in the history of sumo would leave the sport without most of its officers, stable masters, coaches, elders, and rikishi and that it's best to leave the past well alone. Let the people caught show that we are serious about enforcing from now on. I would continue by saying that the kyokai is effectively failing in it's job by not providing the people with sumo, and that we would do our best to get things started as soon as possible. After the dust settled (or before, depending on the presence or lack of public outcry at my statements) I would retire, open a chanko place (or something like that) and spend the rest of my days drinking whisky and smoking cigars. And they lived happily ever after.

That's because the "bunch of the regular Mongolians" know full well they did it and were unlucky to have done it with a guy who decided to "sell out" all his ex-friends. They also know they are not the only ones who did it. The only difference between them and the two dissidents is that the dissidents want to bring down others with them, in a knee-jerk response of "Mommy, they started it" proportions. Reading between the lines and on the lines, the Kyokai has made it amply obvious that they have excellent lawyers that have assured them that they can't be touched. I hope they don't chicken out at the last minute. I'd love to see how this is going to pan out. I'm not saying either is right or wrong. But if I were going to just end up going home in disgrace in the manner these guys are (and by that I mean with more than a few guys left in sumo that pretty much everyone knows have done yaocho on more than the 1 or 2 occasions they tagged me with, but no one will say anything), I would want to make sure it's with as much money as possible. I'm sure the kyokai has good lawyers, but I'm just skeptical that these allegations can hold up that well in court. I guess we won't know unless the entirety of the independent committee's findings are released, which I doubt will happen. I also stand by my statement that any lawsuits will probably be settled out of court. The unfortunate natural disasters and subsequent nuclear situation have taken quite a bit of focus off this whole mess, and if I were the kyokai I would be more than a bit reticent to bring the focus back to me when I could avoid it by shelling out a bit more cash. Just for the record, I went with "regular Mongolians" because it's easier that typing "a bunch of the Mongolians not from the inner Mongolia Autonomous Region", but I suppose I can go with that if you want. I suppose it's what I get for wanting to be specific but being too lazy type a few extra words.

I would think that those pressures would be tempered by their foreign nationality, especially in the case of Sokokurai. Would the Kyokai really risk escalation to an level where the Chinese government would start looking to protect the "civil rights" of one of their own? I think he'll ultimately come out of this a lot better than those who took the money and ran... I agree with this statement 100%. I'm surprised a bunch of the regular Mongolians aren't doing this too. The kyokai wants this to end as quietly as possible drawn out court battles are gonna make this wound fester, and open up a bunch of old ones. I would be willing to bet any out of court settlement would be bigger than 5.3 million yen. We all know there are higher ranked wrestlers involved in yaocho, and if we know it, then the other wrestlers and oyakata know it, and it won't take that much digging to bring to light.

Any word whether or not NHK is going to broadcast this "event"? Or are we going to be relying on the live feed? Personally I don't think the general public really cares. There were punishments, and if the Ministry, NHK, and the Kyokai are satisfied, they will be too. There are more pressing things on their mind than cheating in sumo. The masses are fickle and are quick to forget things like this... at least until the next thing like this comes to light. Just my opinion though.