rzombie1988

Tochinoshin picked the right basho to get hot. This was one of the weakest in a basho's long time. I think we're going to be seeing more variety amongst winners. Kakuryu should have never been Yokozuna, Hakuho's near the end and who knows if Kise/Terunofuji will ever be back to 100%.

I'll guarantee Harumafuji would still be wrestling if he were Japanese. I'll also guarantee there were tons of similar incidents over the years that got swept under the rug. Just another example of the wussification of society and the worrisome blackballing culture that is being redeveloped. Reminds me a lot of dictator-ruled countries. It's a pretty big loss for sumo. Harumafuji was the most likeable of the Yokozuna and was the 2nd best wrestler. He likely would have had double the titles had it not been for Hakuho. Really gonna miss the guy and I feel bad that one incident was all it took after a clean career.

Just caught up somewhat today. Still haven't seen the last tournament. I thought Kotoshogiku would step up with this being one of his last chances to win something, but I guess not. Sad to see Terunofuji still having injury issues. He hasn't been right since he got promoted and refuses to just take a break and heal up. I guess he will be back next time to go for the 10 wins to get back. It's not over yet, but Goeido continues to show he's the 3rd or 4th best rikishi when he's inspired. The record books won't remember that he won one of the least competitive basho's ever. Never know, if he lucks out next tournament he could force his way into being a Yokozuna.

He beat prime Takanohana and his various stablemates and prime Musashimaru regularly. I think he would have done quite well.

I still don't approve of the henka, but Kise really didn't have a lot of options. It's not like he could do his usual style due to the injury and Terunofuji had already tried it once. Terunofuji's was also especially salty because it was against Kotoshogiku who may never make Ozeki again and he really could have beat him clean without a problem.

Final standings: 13 wins ○○○○○○○○○○○○●●○ Y2w Kisenosato ○○○○○●○○○○○○○○● O1w Terunofuji 12 wins ○○○○○○○○○○●●●○○ S1w Takayasu 11 wins ○●●●○○●○○○○○○○○ M11e Daieisho ●○○○●●○○○●□○○○○ M13e Takakeisho 10 wins ○○○●○●○○○●○●●○○ Y1w Kakuryu ●○●○○○○○●○○○○●● Y2e Harumafuji ●○○●○○○●●○●○○○○ M8w Okinoumi ○○○○○○●○○○○●●●● M10w Tochiozan Final thoughts: - If you missed this tournament, you truly missed a wild ride of a masterpiece. We had upsets, he had people being douche's, we had people overperforming and we ended with one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Fantastic tournament and this was a total masterpiece. This is what keeps us sumo fans going and it didn't get more exciting than this. - I will never be referring to Kisenosato as the Chokeozuna again. He silenced everyone today and overcame all hurdles. He had an amazing tournament and he is clearly the top dog right now. - On the other hand, it has to suck to be Terunofuji right now. He got revenge porn'ed by losing via henka and had the tournament at his fingertips but just couldn't put it away. He had a really great tournament too, but at least he did get the playoff and if he can win the next tournament, he's very likely the next Yokozuna. Kise turned too well today and countered his reaches. Terunofuji has gotta continue on and stay healthy from here. - Hakuho didn't look right from the start and it's clear he is no longer the peak god yokozuna. He should heal up and get at 100% because people are starting to doubt him. - Harumafuji's style always puts him at odds for an extra loss and it wasn't enough here. He had some great showings this tournament, but he goes all in and either wins or loses. - Never really been impressed with Kakuryu. He's better than he was in his Ozeki days but he always seems 1-2 wins short. - Henka's have always been Kotoshogiku's nemesis and this was no different than this tournament. It's pretty safe to say that he will never be an Ozeki again unless he somehow pulls off another 13-14+ tournament and I'm doubtful of that. I don't think he should retire but this will be a tough pill for him to swallow. - Goeido looked lost and confused this tournament. I think he got hurt last tournament and didn't quite recover. He's going to have to pull 8 wins together next tournament and it all depends on his health, but suffice to say, he's never been a very impressive Ozeki. - Takayasu had a good run but he did collapse in the last few days. He needs 9-10 next time around and we should be seeing Ozeki Takayasu in July. He will have to work on his consistency as we know you need 13+ just to win right now. Nonetheless he should be quite proud and he did a good job. - I didn't see a ton of Tamawashi this tournament but kudos to him for his second KK at Sekiwake. - Ikioi was pretty much a disaster all tournament. Not one of his best showings.

Kise didn't have a lot to lose today. He's already injured and lost the tournament, but you never know, maybe Kakuryu would have slipped or something.

Standings after Day 14: 13 wins ○○○○○●○○○○○○○○ O1w Terunofuji 12 wins ○○○○○○○○○○○○●● Y2w Kisenosato 11 wins ○○○○○○○○○○●●●○ S1w Takayasu 10 wins ●○●○○○○○●○○○○● Y2e Harumafuji ○○○○○○●○○○○●●● M10w Tochiozan ○●●●○○●○○○○○○○ M11e Daieisho ●○○○●●○○○●□○○○ M13e Takakeisho Thoughts: - Terunofuji's henka on Koto was just wrong today. Show the man some respect. Did Terunofuji appreciate it when he got henka'd and ended up losing a title to basho a while back? Very disappointing since he would have likely won anyway. - This is very likely the end of Ozeki Kotoshogiku and we'll see if he wants to retire or keep going on from here. I'd keep going if I were him since it's clear he can get 9-10 wins if he is really putting in full effort. It's not like he declined as he was never really that great, but his strengths and weaknesses are very clear and he's easy to exploit.- - Kise came back but is only working with one arm and was taken out easily. - Takayasu recovered today and would love to get one more win on his road to 33 tomorrow. He'll likely need 9-10 wins next tournament to seal the deal, as they do let people slide sometimes with 32. - Sokokurai got royally screwed today, being called out when he didn't even leave a footprint outside. - Tamawashi got the W for his KK off of Harumafuji. Good result for him and you've gotta start somewhere. - Kyokutaisei picked up his 8th win in Juryo and will hit his highest ever rank next tournament Tommorow: Harumafuji vs Kakuryu Kisenosato vs Terunofuji - Kise would need to beat him to go to a playoff and then beat him in the playoff to win the title Ura, Aoiyama, Ishiura, Tochinoshin, Endo and Daishomaru fight for their Kachikoshi's in Makuuchi and Seiro/Satoyama go for their Juryo KK's.

Definitely. Not something to play with. Add two 300 lb guys to the equation as well.

We don't have any full studies on the injuries, so you can't really claim this. It doesn't take a doctor to know that falling backwards off of a raised platform is dangerous. Most of those falls those guys take don't look good. As I said last time, it only takes one unlucky fall and someone could be a vegetable. I'd support netting or extending the ring.

Notes: - Kisenosato got stomped today by Harumafuji and on his fall out of the ring he dislocated his shoulder. He's out. This is something that could only happen to Kisenosato. It took Kise a million second place finishes to finally win a title. And when he does and gets promoted, he goes 12-0. Then his top rivals are all out of the race and it's clear, he could win the title. Then he gets injured. Unbelieveable. I really feel sorry for him and I think this is a good time as any to mention again that I do not think the sumo dohyo is safe enough. Falling off of a raised platform is always a bad idea and is incredibly dangerous. The ring should be extended or have netting and mats down to weaken the fall. - Terunofuji needs to win another match to at worst clinch a playoff for his second title due to his win and Kise's injury. He wins Saturday or Sunday and he wins his second title. He follows that up next basho with a second place finish or a title and we could be looking at FIVE YOKOZUNA'S, which I don't believe has happened before. - Takayasu took another loss to go to 10-3 today. We see this every basho. Some undercard guy does well and then spontaneously combusts in the final few days. He's good and clearly a borderline Ozeki, but he's got a long way to go. Rankings after Day 13: 12 wins ○○○○○○○○○○○○● Y2w Kisenosato ○○○○○●○○○○○○○ O1w Terunofuji 10 wins ●○●○○○○○●○○○○ Y2e Harumafuji ○○○○○○○○○○●●● S1w Takayasu ○○○○○○●○○○○●● M10w Tochiozan 9 wins ○●●●○○●○○○○○○ M11e Daieisho ●○○○●●○○○●□○○ M13e Takakeisho

I go after Ichinojo so hard because there's no excuse for him not to be somewhere atleast at the top of the Maegashira. We already know what he's capable of when he's fully into it and we know what he looks like when he's lost in space. It's maddening to watch. If he's that injured then he needs to take off. Whatever salary he loses out on, he'll make up when he comes back and wins a tournament. I just don't get it. If I were a coach, I would have been embarrassed at some of his performances and refused to let him compete, because it makes the coach look bad.

Standings after Day 12: 12 wins ○○○○○○○○○○○○ Y2w Kisenosato 11 wins ○○○○○●○○○○○○ O1w Terunofuji 10 wins ○○○○○○○○○○●● S1w Takayasu ○○○○○○●○○○○● M10w Tochiozan 9 wins ●○●○○○○○●○○○ Y2e Harumafuji Thoughts on today: - Terunofuji had an amazing come from behind victory today. I'm still not sure how he pulled it off or how Endo blew it, when all he needed to do was push into his stomach, but Endo blew it. Highlight win for Terunofuji and man is it good to see the big man back at full strength. - Kisenosato also looked solid today going to 12-0 and he has no Hakuho to worry about this time around. - Takayasu took his second loss today and has a very very small chance of getting the title at this point. Nothing to be ashamed about though. He overperformed and Harumafuji's technique was very good today. - Kotoshogiku lost and needs to win his next 3 to get back to Ozeki. If he can't do this, he will never be an Ozeki again, there I said it. I wasn't around when he became an Ozeki but I can't see him winning 33 bouts over 3 tournaments to become an Ozeki again. He can be really good at times, but his lack of balance and lack of being able to fight off henka's will always haunt him. He seems like a good dude, but he just looks downright embarassing at times. Day 13 - It's heating up: Kisenosato vs Harumafuji - Harumafuji has the 37-24 edge over Kise. Kakuryu vs Terunofuji - Kakuryu has a 7-3 record against Terunofuji, but I wouldn't count that so much, since Terunofuji has been a pile of bandages for the last year. Nice looking Ura vs Chiyoshouma match as well

Thoughts: - Takayasu took the L today as I kind of expected. He put up a good fight but he invested too much into a bad grip and angle. Really nice turnaround near the end for Kakuryu. He needs to win tomorrow to stay in the hunt. But either way, it's been a great basho for him. - Terunofuji was in beast mode today and he's been looking fantastic all basho. His match against Kise later this basho is gonna be some big boy sumo and I can't wait. - Yoshikaze put up one hell of a fight but Kise somehow got the W. Very good win for him. - Koto takes the L to go to 7-4. He's got 1 more loss to spare here. - Ichinojo actually pushes forward and wins. There's no reason he couldn't be like a Terunofuji if he did more of this. - Chiyoshouma looked really good in his win today. - Oh yeah and Tochiozan is at 10-1. Day 12's matches: Harumafuji vs Takayasu - Taka's only beaten Harumafuji 4 times out of their 17 matches. Terunofuji vs Endo - Endo is 3-1 against Terunofuji. I don't think Endo's going to be able to be manhandled here.

Quick thoughts on today: - Kisenosato had a nice comeback today for the win but had bad form. Shohozan got under him and made him stand straight up, where you can't really do much else but go back. Kise hit like a power palm strike and knocked him down. - Terunofuji looked strong today and he just has to keep on winning. I think he has a very good chance at taking down Kisenosato when they likely meet up on Day 13 or so. - Takayasu took the win in a close one today and I thought his weight advantage was the difference maker here. Also did think Ikioi had a chance or two to get a better grip but didn't take it. - Ura's match was a wild one today as he played matador to Kotoyuki's bull rushes. Never been a fan of those as anything but a direct hit puts you at a disadvantage. Tomorrow: Kisenosato vs Kotoshogiku - Koto has a 3 win edge in their series. Really the only highlight match on a slower day.

If you can't be consistent in rules and the consequences of those rules, the rules lose value. It's really important to make set in stone rules and follow them or else you run into problems. I don't think there needs to be any reasoning for promotions or for not promoting people. It should be based strictly on numbers and titles alone. That's fair and there's no judgment involved. I also don't like this idea of "we have enough (blank) right now, we don't need any more". or "we don't have any (blank), we need one". If someone isn't good enough to meet the requirements, they shouldn't be promoted. I can promise you that Takayasu and his fans/friends/family think we could use another Ozeki now named Takayasu.

Rankings after Day 6: 6 wins ○○○○○○ Y2w Kisenosato ○○○○○○ S1w Takayasu ○○○○○○ M10w Tochiozan 5 wins ○○○○○● O1w Terunofuji ○○○○○● M3w Takarafuji ○○○○●○ M7w Chiyoshoma 4 wins ○○○●○● Y1w Kakuryu ●○●○○○ Y2e Harumafuji ○●●○○□ S1e Tamawashi ○○●○●○ S2e Kotoshogiku ●○○○●○ M6e Chiyonokuni ●○○●○○ M8w Okinoumi ○○●●○○ M13w Daishomaru ○●○○●○ M15w Tokushoryu We're starting to separate the men from the boys here. Kisenosato is looking strong so far and the beauty of it is that Takayasu is his stablemate, so he won't have to deal with him. He's really only got 3 matches to worry about and I wouldn't be shocked if a Harumafuji or Kakuryu pull out if they have a couple of bad days in a row. I feel like if Kise gets to last few days without any losses, this tournament is his. He has a lot of things working in his favor right now with Takayasu doing his dirty work for him and the Yokozuna all struggling, and he's capitalizing on it. A win for Takayasu is a win for Kisenosato. Takayasu's win today was pretty straightforward and a really good showing for him. I'd dare say its one of his best wins as he came up big in crunch time. He still has got Kakuryu and Harumafuji left, which could be an easy 2 losses but it's up to him to not take any stupid losses along the way. I still see him going around 12-3ish, but overall it looks like it is going to be a very good basho for him. Disappointed by Terunofuji today as he just didn't seem alert. That one will cost him, but he should be able to stay in contention. Ura-Ishiura wasn't much of anything unfortunately. Not a great looking day for Ichinojo. Just seemed back to his lazy self.

Probably not, but 33 wins are 33 wins to me regardless of how you split them up. He'd have that and at least a share of the title, so I think it'd be harder for them to do it.

He would have the 33 wins needed if he goes 15-0 to be Ozeki already. I guess they would say no because he went 7-8 in November but that would basically be a new rule. He goes 16-0 and he'd be at 34 wins.

Notes: - Hakuho is out with a foot injury. He's very clearly past his absolute peak, but it's Hakuho and his peak was god status. He's just now going down to Dai-Yokozuna status. His last 5 bashos have been the worst stretch of his career ever. Him being out of the picture really opens things up. Hoping Kakuryu loses again soon and I'd really love to see a final between Kise and Terunofuji. - Things are looking good for Terunofuji and Kisenosato. We got a lot of basho left but Hakuho being out is huge for them. Terunofuji is a stablemate of Harumafuji so he only has to worry about Kakuryu and Kisenosato, so things are looking good there. - Takayasu picked up another good win today looking solid. He's got Harumafuji and Kakuryu to face later in the tournament but he's a Kisenosato stablemate. I would want to get as many wins as possible next time around as the Yok's won't be struggling as much next time. - Kotoshogiku lost in a quick one and needs to win 7 of his next 10 to get back up to Ozeki. A lot of this is going to depend on what matches he ends up getting. The harder the matches he gets booked in, the worse chance he has. I really did like the Tamawashi/Koto match though as the angle shown just showed how hard they hit. -Goeido's injured at 1-4 and apparently was only training 4 days before the basho started. He looks pretty weak so far and he's guaranteed to go MK for next basho. - Ichinojo lost out to Endo, but Endo really was on point and there's no shame in that loss.

Ikioi's a weird one. He's a big dude but looks really undersized and no one seems to have any real fear when facing him. In fact I'd say a lot of wrestlers don't really give him the respect he deserves. He's talented though.

This decision was bull and I'm cheering for Ikioi. This decision could lead to a ton of questions about calls in the future. I've always thought the rule was pretty simple - who touched first? And Ikioi touched first.

My thoughts so far: - Hakuho is already down to 2 losses after 4 days which is only the second time this has ever happened in his sumo career. He did get totally screwed though in his loss today against Ikioi as Ikioi's elbow hit first. He's going to have to win every match here on out to even have a prayer, and I'm doubtful of that happening - Kotoshogiku got dropped down to Sekiwake and needs 10 wins to go back to Ozeki. He's looking really good so far and should be able to hit 10 wins no problem. I dare say he could even be in the title picture if he keeps it up. Where's this Kotoshogiku been? - Harumafuji is also down to 2 losses. Can't say he looked that bad though. - Kakuryu hasn't looked that great so far and he's been a lot more even with his opponents than he should be comfortable with. - Kisenosato is looking solid so far, but it's Kisenosato. He loses stupid stuff sometimes and he needs more than 1 tournament to shake the choke artist mantra. He obviously he wants to impress and he's in a good position already due to Hakuho and Harumafuji likely already being out of title contention. - Terunofuji looks healthy for the first time in a year and he's my favorite to win the tournament this time around. He's looking like an angry bull and he's off to a nice 4-0 start. Watch out for him. Could see a Kise vs Terunofuji title match here. - Goeido's looking awful so far at 1-3. Not good especially this tournament is clearly going to be a weaker tournament than others. - Takayasu is off to 4-0, looking good and looks serious about a possible Ozeki run in the future. He got 11 wins last time, if he can get 11 wins here, and 10 or 11 in May and he's the next Ozeki. Doesn't seem impossible. - Ichinojo is actually moving forward for a change and looks interested. He should KK easily since he only needs 5 more wins. - New hope Ura is finally in Makuuchi. He's definitely losing some matches due to being undersized but he's a skilled dude.

Quick thoughts: - Nice to see Kotoshogiku looking like he actually cares for a change. If he could actually be motivated, he might not always be kadoban. - Terunofuji is finally looking like he's near full health after a year of wasting his time. His last year was absolutely sad. He looked like a shell of his former self...and he's in early 20's. He looks like he has the best chance to win so far. - Good to see Sokokurai getting a win. He usually does have pretty good showings and he's sneakily quite strong. I think his size is always going to limit him but I think he's a really good wrestler. - Good stuff from Takayasu today. Hope he's starting to believe his own hype. - Kise looked a fine. A little more inspired than usual. - Ichinojo actually moved forward...and won. Amazing what happens when you try to win huh? - If MItaekumi and Shodai can pick up another win, they might be able to get KK's. They are both 2-1 and Shodai has already fought 2 Yokozuna.

Just no. You aren't _____ unless you were born there or moved there at such a young age and lived there forever after. It's not disrespect, it's just common sense.