Morty

It will just make it more momentous when it actually happens...

It won't let me upload a pic, even though it is only 7kb. "Daughters" is a euphemism...

I hated Man Utd long before the 90s...

I'm not disappointed by any bashos because I just love having sumo going on every couple of months. It is interesting to compare Kisenosato and Kotoshigiku this basho. They have had careers that have basically been parallel and have fought each other over 60 times(!) since 2004. Kise managed to go the extra step to Yokozuna that the Geek didn't. Since the Geek lost his Ozeki rank he has been on a slow slide downwards and it is obvious he has lost that forward bumpety power that made him so formidable. But he has made no attempt to adapt his sumo to that loss of power. He is coming up against all these young guys who are suddenly stronger than he is and unless he times the bumpety perfectly, he is getting beaten. Clearly a one trick pony. Compare to Kise who has had an injury that took some of his power away but has adapted his sumo and still managed ten wins as a Yokozuna against top opposition. Clearly not a one trick pony. You need more than one trick to reach the top. Finally, I was quite worried about Bad-Wig Man this basho as he hadn't appeared at any time in his usual position of front row left behind the Shimpan, but he showed up today with another one of his daughters third row right behind the Simpan. It must be getting harder to get tickets to this thing.

Momentous day and momentous last match. 1000 Makuuchi wins and a 41st Yusho in the same match. It has been a privilege to watch this supreme athlete ply his trade for the past decade. It will be a long time until these records get broken (if ever). He is the sumo equivalent of Ruth, Woods, Merckx, Bradman, Gretzsky, Williams, etc - better than all the rest and just the best that his sport has ever seen.

It's one of the reasons why I'd like Yoshikaze to retire, because I am worried about all the damage he has done to his brain by leading with his head like that for 15+ years...

There are numerous matches where I have counted Yosh strinking his aite seven or eight times with his head. He doesn't do the classic Glasgow Kiss (rearing back and striking) but he does do a small forward motion that is designed to strike his aite with his head. Six or seven of those per match is easily equal to six or seven stiff harite

Yoshikaze head-butts everyone, which is easily as bad as a palm strike and is presumably illegal, but he gets away with it all the time

That Kyokudozan video shows an avenue for the smaller rikishi to win some bouts they currently lose. As average weights have gone up the smaller and lighter framed guys have become less competitive because they just get bull-dozed by guys who are less skilled but heavier than them. If someone like Ishiura added the occasional harite like that to their game they may be able to compete with the bigger blokes at the top level. Without it they are left with the henka which everyone hates. In an open-weight sport the smaller guys need to be able to have some weapons they can use to compete with. And remember, if you can do it to someone else they can do it to you the next time. So if Ishiura (for example) unleashed a harite like that against Aiyoama (for example), he could easily get the same back with interest in the next basho. So it would need to be used with care. And Yoshikaze has been using it as a weapon (along with his head) for his whole career.

That was great sumo from Kise today. he just waited adjusted, waited adjusted, and then went for the kill. And when Hak is on like he is this basho he doesn't look mortal compared to everyone else.

I wasn't convinced before yesterday but I reckon Kise will get those ten wins now and make a respectable Yokozuna return.

There was also a great moment in that bout where the gyoji grabbed a fallen sagara and backhanded it off the dohyo, and the dude in charge of the salt just nonchalantly stuck his hand out and grabbed it without even looking at it, as if it was just something he did everyday

I know, I was being flippant. But you are right, you can appeal the result immediately after a win in cycling.

That Kise- Tochi match was epic. This basho has given me massive respect for Kise - I always liked him but the sheer guts and mental fortitude he is showing here is just amazing. In most sports if you sat out for a year you would need at least a little while to get your form back, but for a Yokozuna in sumo there is no room for tuning up and no margin for error - you have to go now. He is rusty as hell and probably not physically as good as he was but he is giving it everything. Anyone who doubted Kise's gachinkoness (I'm not sure that's actually a word but whatever) in the past couldn't possibly now. One win away from KK and a successful return.

Then there is cycling where every second winner of the Tour de France for the past 30 years has been stripped of the win and had it given to the seventh or eighth placed guy (as the top guy in the rankings not retrospectively found guilty of doping....)