Benevolance

I was absolutely convinced that after Takakeisho got his 8 wins, he'd go Kaio on us. I had also completely written off Asanoyama after day 3. I guess I'm just having trouble a) seeing Asanoyama and Takakeisho as serious contenders, and b) transitioning away from the Hakuho-era of "rikishi needs to be near perfect to get the yusho".

All the good comments are already taken.

This seemed like a good opportunity to use a spreadsheet, soooooo... In the current banzuke I found no wrestlers with 4 or more matching syllables. Midorifuji and Tosamidori both have three matches, and allowing the japanese swap of ra/la, Hiradoumi makes the cut, as well. Oh, I guess Moriurara should count as three, but my search function isn't identifying multiple instances of the same sound within the text box as distinct counts. I wonder if I can tweak that...?

We're given a gem like this to work with and we go with a Fortnite tangent? Sheesh.

John actually time travels to the future, grabs a selection of those articles, then travels back to the current time and cleans the articles up before publishing so that the robots have something to auto-plagiarize in the first place. Classic time-loop, really.

Orchestrating this heist was a brilliant - albeit complicated - way to create a natural segue to discuss your avatar. I salute you and your purloined bunny bits.

Eggs are the best. Omelets are my go-to breakfast at home, but if I'm at a restaurant I'll always have the eggs benedict.

Wow. This always seemed like one of the most laid back heya in the sport...

Anyone know if Hakuho at least return the ringside gyoji's wallet after he mugged him?

Correction: the baitou hasou beenou pickedou upou.

The Kiribayama Quiz: 1) Have you wronged Hakuho? [No] 2) Are you sure? [Yes] 3) Really sure? [Yes] 4) Reaaaaaaally sure? [....yes?] Results: Congratulations! You'll probably live. And be ambulatory! Now go fight.

I'm so on-the-fence about Mitakeumi. He posts decent numbers each tournament, but his wins tend to congregate at the beginning of the basho when his schedule is easiest. Yet, he's nabbed two yusho and seems capable of wrestling with the big boys in flashes. Is he good? Is he great? Will he overtake Goeidou's perma-sekiwake record? I strongly suspect the answer is yes to all three questions.

In the vein of dumb and improbable things Lance wants to know... Both ozeki are doing reasonably well. Supposing that Asanoyama goes on to win the yusho, with Takakeisho and Hakuho finishing jun yusho...that would definitely rekindle talk of a yokozuna run for Asanoyama. But could it do the same for Takakeisho? Or does his kadoban status make that infeasible?

Maybe Hakuho needed to use the bathroom real quick? It's been so long, do any of the Ozeki/Sekiwake have anything on the line? Who's kadoban? Anyone at risk of a promotion if they turn in a decent showing?

I'm hesitant to post this, because I don't want to jinx anything, but... I was having success watching AbemaTV in between bashos using the 'obfuscated server' option with NordVPN. I haven't tried it yet watching sumo, but I cannot imagine the results would be different based on program. Edit to add: It does indeed still work. You can find the toggle under the advanced settings. I watch with an incognito browser, as well, though I don't know enough about computers to know if that part is necessary.

But those guys are rolling in dough! Okay, they're making dough? Fine, they're making mochi. For free.

His pirouettes on the edge of the ring were always a thing of beauty.

Asanoyama wasn't seasoned enough to avoid putting his arm out to brace while Kakuryu went into that dive with both hands on his opponent's belt, trusting in shinto spirits and his little acorn bob to prevent severe trauma. Asanoyama was the aggressor up to that point. But in the final moments, it was clearly Kakuryu in control.

I'm genuinely surprised that Aoiyama is facing Hakuho.

If someone had told me at the start of the basho that Aioyama and Hakuho would be tied on day 12, I would have assumed they meant that Hakuho would have withdrawn from the tournament around day 6.

On a day of mediocre sumo, the mono-ii is often the highlight of the sumo party as my friends and I all take turns providing the over-dubbed dialogue. A close second is "Towel Watch", whereupon we opine sagaciously on the order in which a rikishi chooses to wipe themselves with their towel.

Mitakeumi does look like he's well on his way to his 7 wins.

Nope. Only immediate kyujo for both of them will suffice. And Hakuho has to give me a car, too.

When a yokozuna is performing no better than Aoiyama, it's clearly time for them to retire.

Ugh. Next you'll tell us the cafeteria won't be serving chanko.