Morty

I was quietly confident Mitakeumi would win today. I suspect it isn't going to be long before he loses about as often as Hak does (ie, not much). You can see it in his eyes, that determination that only the truly great have. Get ready.

Thanks Pandaazuma, that's the one!

I would love to see Sagatsukasa win the makushita yusho. I'll never forget that awesome throw (can't remember the exact kimarite) he did a few years ago.

The first half was pretty uninspiring but then we had: Tochinoshin / Ichinojo: no pretence at anything other than grab each other's belt and try and bull the other one out. Not even a hint of anything other than go for the belt and prove who is strongest. I always hope these two get paired against each other - fabulous stuff (Okinoumi / Chiyomaru was similar, without being anywhere near as good). Yoshikaze, who usually likes a good slapfest, going straight for the belt against Takekeisho and then schooling him in Yotsu-sumo by picking him up and carrying him out! Takayasu / Ura, which was freaking awesome. Takayasu just published the blueprint for how to deal with Ura (that was Ozeki sumo!). Expect to see a bit more of that treatment in future. And finally, the master class that was Hak / Chiyoshoma. Brilliant second half.

My new favourite rikishi is Hokotofuji, just because of the huge and respectful bow he gives his opponent after he loses to them.

Floyd's pretty good but I don't think he's the GOAT...

Man that's a pretty harsh assessment. If being a Yokozuna doesn't get you in the Hall of Fame I don't know what does. Being an Ozeki gets you in the Hall of Fame as far as I'm concerned. Either of those ranks puts you in the top one percent (or less) of your sport which would get you in any Hall of Fame in any other sport anywhere on the planet. It's like saying that Ricky Henderson wasn't as good as Willie Mays so doesn't deserve to get entry to Cooperstown. Re Dai-Yokozunae, if you look at the last 50 years or so, there has probably been at least one Dai-Yokozuna operating at any particular time for most of the time since the 60s. Dai-Yokozuna are rare, but it is also rare to have a time when at least one of them isn't around. And a Dai-Yokozuna limits the possibility of other rikishi winning a lot, just because they are so dominant. Hakuho is the Dai-est of Dai-Yokozuna in that statistically he is 10% better than the rest of them in terms of winning percentage, he is the GOAT. And to become a Yokozuna, Harumafuji achieved the feat of two consecutive zensho-yushos, and then followed it up with a third zensho in four bashos, all while Hakuho was at the peak of his powers. He achieved the absolute rarest of rare feats at that time, being better than Hak in two consecutive bashos, while Hak was at his peak. The only other person to do that is Asa. Sure Harumafuji gives up a few kinboshi but he weighs on average 30 to 40 pounds less than most of his opponents. If all that combined doesn't make Harumafuji one of the greatest, I don't know what does. Add 10% to his record and he compares favourably with Akebono and Musashimaru and Wajima. He is top 30 all time, which is pretty hard to top if you ask me.

He hasn't had to work very hard so far compared to some of the others. I don't think he will zensho-yusho but he is in the box seat to win the basho

Takekaze is shorter than all of them

That was Ozeki sumo from Takayasu today. He was in real trouble and just hung in there until he could turn it around. Totally proving he deserves the rank. And is Kotoyuki carrying an injury, or is it just that the others have all worked out how to deal with his relatively one dimensional sumo?

Thundersnow, during each basho there is a specific thread dedicated to that particular basho and tagged with a spoiler alert. It is usually called something like "Basho Talk" or similar and you can pick it because it has the most traffic during the basho. People tend to discuss basho specific stuff there. You don't have to post stuff like this there but that's what people would normally do. Each basho there are about ten specific threads dedicated to that particular basho: Kinta's Video thread, the Basho Talk thread, Fukurou's injury thread, Naganoyama's daily updates of progress, Akinomaki's kensho thread, and Asashosakari's promotion/demotion thread (after day ten). People tend to post info in the relevant thread. That's one of the reasons why this forum is so fantastic, because it is so well organised, run by very dedicated people, and everyone who uses it tends to be respectful. Glad you have joined us:).

And I think the answer is "no".

Poor old Kotoshogiku has lost his one trick...

He also has a buggered elbow that is unlikely to heal and will hamper him in any future attempts to replicate past glories. He is still the greatest as far as I am concerned, but time catches up with everyone eventually

Terunofuji and Endo both clearly operating on one leg each. Even though Endo won today he was clearly limping after the bout. If they get matched up against each other it might be a fair fight but otherwise it is going to be a long basho for both of them. Alternatively they could tie their bad legs together three legged race style and go out there as two headed Endofuji or Terundo or something. They would need a pretty big mawashi though...