dingo

I remembered that I sorta said I would make the Kyokai's job a bit easier by quantifying Takakeisho's sumo this basho. So by my entirely unscientific method, Takakeisho this basho performed a total of 68 seconds of forward moving sumo and 19 seconds of backwards moving sumo. Sounds like a pretty good yokozuna record doesn't it? Too bad that train has not only gone, but derailed, removed from the crash site and sold for scrap metal. Until the next tsuna run, if it ever comes again.

A bit off topic, but is there news about Hakuoho? Is he planning to participate next basho?

I agree with everyone who said that Hoshoryuu overdid it. @Churaumi put it the best. Hoshoryuu doesn't simply have enough ozeki/yokozuna/seniority credits to pull it off (yet).

The man is literally falling apart. Hopefully there's enough of him left for a life after danpatsushiki.

Seems like they're waiting to appoint a new yokozuna before preparing to fire the current one. A smart business decision

Thank you for posting the kensho list as always! I remember commenting last basho about being surprised why the yusho winner had less kensho than a 9 win ozeki. Sure enough the trend continued this basho. Takakeisho with an average result was leading the kensho top until the last bout and had a chance to finish on top if he had beaten Kirishima. The logic is the same but for me it's just curious to see how it results in hierarchy being rewarded. I guess the payout for the yusho comes next basho when the best ozeki has the most kensho chances.

Oonosato missed his chance to get the juryo yusho. If everything goes well, he might not have a chance to get one for a long time. Aoiyama also managed to get his crucial final day kachikoshi and secure a return to makuuchi. Not sure he'll stay there too long though.

In the second case where you say this idea fails, I'd say that depends on the expectations. If the top ranked rikishi are in the yusho race, then having faced each other earlier in the basho might take some excitement from the last days but at least makes sure they've met in a bout. Why should intra-ozeki matches be more important? Because generally ozeki are high level rikishi whose skills should be tested against each other. Intra-ozeki matches are exciting and usually figure into a successful yusho. In my opinion that's especially true these days when we only have 3 ozeki and a yokozuna who's kyujo more often than not. I mean, would anyone be happy if a yusho winning sanyaku gets to skip a yokozuna bout? Since we are missing the yokozuna, ozeki matchups are even more important.

I didn't intend to say that potential upstart maegashira should be handed to ozeki sooner, but perhaps to higher maegashira or lower sanyaku? Your schedule actually points out that Atamifuji had no opponents higher than M5 by day 10. That's seemingly a regular schedule but last basho Atamifuji was anything but a regular makujiri rikishi. Perhaps the torikumi makers should've taken that into account earlier as well. Also, matching up high-rankers earlier is in my opinion better than not matching them up at all. Yes, that doesn't happen if there's no Atamifuji-like upstart, but in the last 2 years or so has made it obvious that high-flying makuuchi are to be expected.

I understand that but maybe it really would be better to schedule ozeki vs ozeki matches earlier. For example let all other ozeki have their matches on the earlier days and save one for senshuraku. It wouldn't make a difference is the ozeki face one less maegashira for example. Perhaps also the viewers would rather see ozeki vs ozeki. I know my approach is very simplified and I have only a general understanding of torikumi intricacies, but my view is based on the assumption that it would be better to maximise bouts between higher ranks. Especially if we have only 3 ozeki and no healthy yokozuna.

Call me dumb but how is it possible that two ozeki don't face eachother during a basho, especially if both of them are contending for a yusho? Yes I know the torikumi makers had to adjust to Atamifuji but still, there's 14 other days when you can schedule it. Skip a sekiwake bout instead.

Did Tsurugishou really need to aggravate his knee injury by going all out against Mitakeumi? He already had his kachikoshi, it would've been more reasonable to just take it easy. If I'm doing the counting right, Takarafuji should definitely be safe to stay in Makuuchi for the next basho. I'm quite happy about that as I'm not quite ready to see him go just yet. Someone actually reminded Hokuseiho to move forward in today's bout! And whaddaya know, he won it quite easily. Let's see if he keeps his motivation for the kachikoshi deciding bout tomorrow. Great, tenacious bout between Ura and Gounoyama. To be honest, I didn't expect Ura to have a shot at kachikoshi some days ago, but you can almost see the rabbit ears coming out of the hat. Just the final day to go. Kotonowaka seemed quite anxious to get his 10th win and he almost let Shonannoumi recover by getting a mawashi grip, but managed to pull out a throw before things could've gotten bad. If he manages to get the 11th win tomorrow it would be a nice stepping stone for a potential ozeki bid. Takakeisho obviously didn't see much point in trying too hard today, unlike Tsurugishou before. The tsuna is lost for now, the ozeki rank secured and life goes on. Atamifuji is simply too young and inexperienced to challenge the ozeki consistently, but we'll see in a few years. This and the last basho have been excellent learning experiences for him.

If Abi and Ichiyamamoto were to face each other tomorrow, they would fuse together at the tachiai, creating a new unstoppable rikishi called Abiyamamoto who would go on to become a peerless yokozuna and break all of Hakuho's records.

Looking forward to seeing Oonosato in makuuchi next year. Hopefully his stay will be longer than Hakuoho's. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing both of them establishing a long lasting rivalry at the top of makuuchi. Midorifuji with a second excellent henka this basho! Gotta say Ichiyamamoto was the perfect target for a quick shift -- the momentum was such that he didn't stop before he was down and out of the dohyo. I almost wrote off Tsurugishou when he got injured at the beginning of the basho, but what a fighting comeback! Not to forget the tsuri against Hokuseiho. Kudos to Atamifuji for handling everything Takayasu threw at him and coming out as the winner. I was convinced at least twice during the bout that this is it for Atamifuji but he weathered the pressure very well. His surprising mobility for such a big rikishi netted him the win today, shifting efficiently from Takayasu's throw attempt to a oshidashi victory. Shodai's back to his low energy mode and it's looking doubtful if he'll get even one more win from the remaining two days. Kotonowaka unfortunately lost at the tachiai, giving up a good grip to mawashi expert Ryuden and not getting much in return. The yusho hope is basically gone, and he has to win out if he wants to keep an ozeki run going. Disappointing, perhaps also some wobbliness from yesterday's loss still there? Oh look, the good old overextending Daieisho is back! No challenge at all to surging Kirishima. In the end the yusho looks to be between Kirishima and Atamifuji. What an achievement for the latter, being in yusho contention until the end for two basho in a row!

And it worked, he still has all his teeth! At least it seems like it from all the smiley press photos of Miyagino oyakata.