Morty

The "desperate for a Japanese Yokozuna" thing also isn't born out by evidence either. For example Kisenosato had Yok standard winning numbers for years before getting a yusho and they made him wait until he actually got a yusho - his ascension to that rank was not unprecedented nor unusual based on his record but he had to get a yusho first. There have been other chances for a Japanese Yok (Kaio anyone???) or to get rid of those pesky Mongolians who have been wrecking things for years and they haven't done that either (until those Mongolians did something that absolutely couldn't be excused). If they were so anti-Mongolian Kak would never have got the rope based on his Tsuna run. The powers that be have simply rewarded the best wrestlers with the rope, regardless of nationality. If they are desperate for Japanese Yok (and they may well be) they are simply not prepared to degrade the quality of the rank in order to get one.

Nah. He'll be back. He's too good not to. Just a wee bump in the road upwards.

Endo has the most spectacular balance. The only other one who can stay on his feet in the same way is Hak. Anyone else would have fallen over twice there today instead of getting the win. And it looked to me like Ichinojo had a handful of hair there during that throw. In the slow mo you can't see his fingers until the end when they appear from out of Shodai's mage. At least that's what it looked like to me.

The Mitakeumi / Shodai bout was the match of the basho. I know a lot of the "young guns" have plateaued a bit lately, but for mine these two (and Hokotofuji) are the ones with the most upside and I hope that in a few years time we will regularly get to see this kind of bout from these two as the last match of the day, and we get a long term rivalry worth taking about for generations. And Chiyomaru is my new favourite rikishi.

In a sport with no weight classes a little guy like Ishiura will hardly ever win against guys a foot taller than him and who outweigh him by 50+kilograms if all he does is go chest to chest against them. He might get an occasional win that way but most of the time he is going to get monstered by guys much, much bigger than him, and end up back in makushita (or worse) acting as the servant of one of those big guys. For a guy his size the henka is an absolutely legitimate tactic and if the bigger guys keep falling for it more fool them. He simply cannot compete at the tachiai chest to chest against guys who outweigh him by so much - that is just basic physics. For a guy his size to have made it to Makuuchi and to be succeeding (sometimes) there should be applauded. I cheer every time he uses the henka and the bigger guy falls for it

That Yoshikaze-Chiyonokuni bout featured two of the best headbutts you will ever see. Yosh started it with his typical "leading with your head" tachiai, and then Chiyonokuni returned the favour with a clear and deliberate nut right in the middle of Yosh's face. No wonder he looked as bad as he did at the end of the bout. I'd quite like Yosh to retire. He has been leading with his head for so long he must have massive spots on his brain. Much more of that and six months after he retires he will be drooling in the corner and drinking soup through a straw. Chinyonokuni will end up the same way if he continues following the Yoshikaze textbook. Having a very hard head and using it as a weapon only works for so long. And Takakeisho almost knocked himself out there vs. Ichinojo. Good on the latter for stopping Takakeisho for falling clear off the dohyo at the end.

Daiamami has also shown excellent sumo in those seven wins. No real flukes in there, but solid and in some cases, really inspired sumo

Asa Junior looked outweighed by Taiho Junior there. Be interested to see what happens when he puts on more weight.

There hasn't been much quality rolling in the last couple of days but the Geek proved at the end of that bout that he is still the master of the roll once he gets knocked over. And who is this person impersonating Kaisei?

They are. It's up there.

Interesting (and effective) technique from Mitakeumi today, wedging his hands in Ichinojo's armpits and pushing up. Kept Ichinojo away from his belt and let Mitakeumi push up and back, negating Ichinojo's very heavy base. The big guy seemed to have no answer once Mitakeumi went forwards. Smart rikishi.

I have got a bit side tracked this basho with watching the guys roll when the hit the floor. Ryuden was the most graceful today

Which rikishi has the best roll when they hit the floor? Arawashi or Kotoyuki? (definitely not Yoshikaze who usually ends up landing on his head). Ichinojo looked strong today. He handled the Geek with ease.

I have no idea about Banzuke machinations but was Endo at M1E expected? And a KK here would nominally finally get him a Sanyaku slot, yes? Presuming of course that one is available?

Great analysis. Agreed.