ScreechingOwl

Regarding the two ozeki situation: 1. Goeido is almost certainly going to finish mk, and thus be demoted; 2. Asanoyama will quite likely be promoted to ozeki; any 12-3 will clinch it, and I believe even 11-4 will be enough; 3. Even if Goeido is demoted and Asanoyama isn't promoted it's all good - Kakuryu will be listed as yokozuna-ozeki.

Mitakeumi Meisei Takanosho Kiribayama Ichinojo Motobayashi Hokutenkai

1 A 2 A 3 X 4 B 5 A 6 A 7 B 8 B 9 B 10 B 11 X 12 A 13 B 14 A 15 A 16 B 17 B 18 B 19 B 20 B 21 B

Oops - evidently I have some arithmetic issues. I'll try again: 1-5 - Pandaazuma 6-10 - Andoreasu 11-20 - Gurowake 21-40 - Unkonoyama 41-80 - Athenayama 81-120 - Pitinosato 121-200 - Kaiomitsuki 201+ - Domichi

1-5 - Pandaazuma (our own Hakuho - he should really be in his own category) 6-10 - Andoreasu (always a top performer; for whatever it's worth, I will never select myself) 11-20 - Gurowake (all number based systems will be challenged during the changing of the guard, but few know more) 21-40 - Unkonoyama (our own international man of mystery) 41-80 - Athenayama (like Unko, clearly on his way up) 81-120 - Achiyama (one of the better angels of our sumo nature) 121-200 - Kaiomitsuki (could easily move up more than one hundred spots) 201+ - Domichi (still learning the ropes; I anticipate major upward movement next year)

One of the most noteworthy aspects of the the Juryo division for Hatsu 2020 will be the simultaneous return to wrestling there of Terunofuji, 27, a 14 time ozeki, for the first time since Natsu 2018, and Ichinojo, 26, an 8 time sekiwake, for the first time since Nagoya 2014. (Of course that's assuming Ichinojo will be healthy enough to wrestle.) I can't recall ever having two such formerly higher ranked rikishi in Juryo simultaneously while still in their 20s (never mind mid-twenties).

I overachieved this basho, but bad results on senshuraku and day 14 leave me with a sort of bitter aftertaste, although both days were quite difficult to gauge (as can be seen by the fact that more than half of all gamers got more than half of their predictions in Toto wrong both days). I feel especially bad about not winning in Toto, which has always been my favorite game. M day 13 total was just below the line, as I had the same number of wins as people who ended up in the top half. And winning the Sumo Game yusho doesn't compensate for that loss, as my performance there was merely adequate, with my win being due primarily to unusually weak competition (from mostly strong competitors having off days). Of course Sumo Game almost always has a strong quotient of luck involved: when Pandaazuma took the yusho in Natsu I had the same point total but finished with 7 fewer wins. In Kyushu we again had the identical point total, only this time he finished with an astonishing 9 fewer wins, as his opponents racked up 19 more points against him than mine did against me. A yusho is a yusho, of course, but this one resembled Kyokutenho's in my opinion. I also took the yusho in SCS, and that one was deserved, and finished with the jun yusho in Hoshitori and in Toto (much shared), as well as logging in top ten finished in Quad, Tip Spiel, and Oracle. Of course the upsets in the final two days of this basho aren't unprecedented, but I think we'll be entering a period where they become increasingly common. I don't think Pandaazuma's domination is likely to end because of them, although I do think he'll find it more difficult to approach his astronomical scores of the last two years. And I think there will be a greater variety of gamers winning (and often winning big) from basho to basho, as the luck factor increases. We've already seen an increasing number of winners on the real dohyo, so perhaps we'll start to see the same thing on the virtual one. That's not to disparage anyone - there was a large luck factor in Kyushu, and this was by far my best tournament of the year, so I was (overall) a beneficiary of it. I am merely acknowledging that with the injuries to so many of the top rikishi, and with Hakuho moving toward retirement, we are entering a whole new world in sumo gaming. Best holiday wishes to everyone.

Eight and one-third years of entertainment, education, and pleasure. Thank you so much for all the time you've put in so that the rest of us can enjoy sumo. I'll miss your commentary on the matches.

The basho isn't over yet technically, although as a practical matter every rikishi except Hakuho should be concentrating on their banzuke ranking next basho, special prizes, and not getting injured before the holidays. After 10 days, I'm 9-1 and leading in two games : Toto and Quad. I think the last time that happened was, um, never. I'm also in second in Tip Spiel (which is exceptionally closely bunched). And I've positive records in several other games and chances for points in those too. Despite that, according to Randomitsuki, I'm currently only in 5th place for Kyushu, so there should be some very high scores when this basho is over. And it still isn't over, as we are only two-thirds way through and five days is often close to an eternity where sumo is concerned.

Harumafuji didn't retire for his health: he would almost certainly have been forced to retire and acted honorably in sparing the NSK that decision. Both Hakuho and Kakuryu who were merely present at the incident were strongly censured and fined by the NSK. Harumafuji's resignation was voluntary in the same way President Nixon's was.

They have indeed changed the Makuuchi torikumi matchups, with Tochiozan getting a return visit to Makuuchi earlier than expected.

Meisei is listed at 120 kilos. He's only 24, so he's sure to gain more weight - and he'll need to if he's going to stay at the top of the makuuchi division. Ama started in the top division weighing about 113 kilos, was up to 126 kilos when he changed his shikona to Harumafuji and was promoted to ozeki, and increased to 133 kilos when he was promoted to yokozuna. The extra weight was a big help (and necessary: he would never have made yokozuna at 113) but what made Harumafuji so special was his speed and mobility, his tactical intelligence, and his amazing will to win. There isn't any rikishi in the 15 years I've followed sumo that I miss more.

That's the fifth lowest-scoring day of all time despite the fact that almost everyone got a fusen win. (And although Goeido's kyujo wasn't announced before night in Europe, anyone who watched day 1 was aware he wasn't going to be able to wrestle.) If you subtract the automatic win, it's almost assuredly the worst prediction day ever, caused in part by losses by the top five ranked rikishi on the banzuke.

Screeching Owl shonichi picks: 4 Hakuho 3 Mitakekumi 3 Shodai 2 Asanoyama 2 Tamawashi Wakatakakage, Ryuden, Goeido, Takanosho, Tomokaze