Benevolance

Because it would be way too ridiculous if it went otherwise, Onosato will beat Abi tonight and spare us all from having to watch a tournament that ends with an 11-4 yusho. This would be my preferred yusho winner.

At this point, it's looking like either Onosato or Daeiisho in the winner circle.

All that match needed at the end was John Cleese to announce "And now for something completely different."

Not idly do the ranks of sumotori fall.

Hakuho not being in the heya enough was the problem to begin with!

This has been the worst Kotonowaka yusho I've ever seen.

I saw it a bit differently on the replay. Wakamotoharu was setting up for a throw at the edge, and Takerufuji wasn't falling for that two days in a row. Takerufuji pulled back from his opponent to deny the throw, and then had to resume his forward momentum which resulted in the final shove. Since Takerufuji waited and watched at the edge while Wakamotoharu wandered up the aisle, I took to be a good finishing instinct and not malice.

Okay, I'll admit, I did not expect Takerufuji to beat Kotonowaka.

I'd wager that Kirishima will still get his 8 wins. What folks need to remember vis-a-vis Kirishima's performance this basho is that Kotonowaka is scheduled for winning the yusho, getting the rope, discovering a cure for cancer and going to Disneyland. So Kirishima needs an early deficit so he can fight hard the second week and make Kotonowaka's victory look more convincing without threatening the yusho. Also I heard that while on a secret mission for the Queen of Sweden Harumafuji was in disguise in a mawashi on a yacht in the Mediterranean and at a dinner part was struck upon the head in a freak champagne bottle accident and lost his memories and fell overboard and washed up on the coast of Japan and was recruited by Tokitsukaze beya and is none other than Shodai. You can tell it's true because the tachi-ai are almost identical.

Nope.

Kudos to Takayasu for jumping out to that early lead and ensuring Kotonowaka gets the yusho.

Kotonowaka will win the yusho. Assuming he gets the most wins. You heard it hear first.

He de-escalated the beating from a champagne bottle to a remote control. Practically a saint.

Anyone know what qualifications are required to be a ronin gyoji? Asking for a friend.

That's too true. But I thought Kotonowaka showed remarkable cool holding the lead for most of the tournament, and shook off his nerves for his second bout with Terunofuji. Further, if Terunofuji actually completes a second tournament before November, I'll be shocked. That leaves some 12-3 or 13-2 yusho up for grabs. Hopefully the OBSC gets together and sorts out which tournaments Kirishima wins and which ones Kotonowaka wins for maximum promotion value.

This was the best tournament I've watched in a few years. Terunofuji was on form. I especially liked that Kotonowaka seemed to get over his 'star struck' demeanour from the first fight against Terunofuji, and showed up for a good match in the yusho face off, and was trying to win it right until the end. Impressive fighting spirit. My money is that Kotonowaka makes Yokozuna before Kirishima, and does it before Terunofuji officially retires.

Well, yeah, but they mostly watch shokkiri.

I have to give a shout out to Naruto oyakata. He may burn through his deshi, but when he's the announcing judge ringside I can actually follow what he's saying after the mono ii. That's worth a couple of wrestlers a year in my books.

I still think of Endo as that young kid, but he is approaching mid-30's. I kept expecting him to break into the sanyaku as a regular, but it's never happened. I wouldn't be entirely surprised that he's ready to move on. That's over a decade in Makuuchi. I think it's a bit of a shame that he never got a real shikona, however.

Oh, ho ho! The sanyaku are wearing their big boy mawashi this basho.

I always remember Chiyotairyu for backwards moving sumo and being an endless source of wins for Goeidou. I'm not sure how this will translate well into an MMA career.

To clarify, he was 0-4 vs Kotooshu, not 0-4 all time record against rikishi ranked at ozeki. Though, I suppose he also went 0-4 against all Bulgarians ranked ozeki, too. And 0-4 against all rikishi who later became Naruto Oyakata and came to congratulate him on the final day of the Fukuoka Basho. A lot of losing records there. Wow. He must feel pretty blue.

I don't recall Hakuho doing anything quite as egregious?

If it's any consolation, scheduling Kirishima vs Atamifuji was the nail in the coffin of Takakeisho's hopes, so after the tournament Takakeisho and Atamifuji can go somewhere, split a 40 of whisky, and bitch about the lousy match makers.

Ah, I see where you're coming from. Also, I was thinking that Takakeisho might have a bit more give in the standings than he does, but looking at it now, he cannot possibly win. It's either Atamafuji or Kirishima with the yusho. The best he manages is the jun-yusho. Interestingly, had they not scheduled Kirishima vs Atamifuji, Takakeisho would have still had a shot.