rzombie1988

No idea what Hakuho was doing today. It's almost like he was trying to lose. Very unlike Hak. Big win for Terunofuji. Takarafuji probably lost his only chance at a title today. That golden path was ready for him and he flunked out.

That Shohozan henka was so cheap. This is why I'm not a fan of henka's. Shohozan just screwed someone's tournament. Yeah, it's a henka and you still shouldn't lose to it, but it's just poor taste. Shohozan's just going to end up MK later in the week anyway. It's just more of a matter of respect. On the other hand, that henka just made the day for everyone else. Takayasu shouldn't of lost today but either he or Takarafuji have a real shot to steal the tournament. We got Takarafuji vs Takayasu tomorrow, which I would have personally delayed another day or two to build some excitement. Takayasu has beaten him 10-7, but Takarafuji has the easiest schedule going past this, and let's face it, Takafaruji has two stablemates right now who can lose a match for him if need be. I do expect one of the Kisenosato/Harumafuji/Hakuho trio to make it out without another loss and Hakuho would be my bet.

There's two reasons for that: - According to reports, if he wins he will get the promotion - Kakuryu's promotion lowered the standards. I don't think a lot of the people on here think he completely deserves it, just more discussion of the inevitable. Rank really doesn't matter too much though in the scheme of things as the people who can win titles are going to win them regardless if they are Ozeki or Yokozuna.

There's were 4 Yokozuna before in January 1991. It's not a new thing by any means. The big thing to keep in mind here is that Hakuho is special and a trend breaker(in a good way). He's won the most tournaments and has been one of the most dominant Yokozuna of the modern age. Most Yokozuna are not so far ahead of their competition like he is. You have to remember that his results and longevity are unusual and an anomaly. Imagine what sumo would be like if he retired? Kisenosato, Kakuryu, Harumafuji and Terunofuji would all be extremely close to each other in rank and all of them would likely have a few more extra titles, as would other random people below Ozeki. He's just so good that no one is really on his level. We all know how I feel on Kak being a Yok and the interpretations that were made for him to be promoted have made it a lot easier for other people to get promoted. If you win a tournament and get a 2nd place finish you have a compelling Yokozuna argument now IMO. 3-4 Yokozuna are best for business overall though. Yokozuna vs Yokozuna matches are big draws and if 1-2 get injured, there's still another around. Plus more Yokozuna = more upsets and more kinboshi. And let's be honest, watching Hakuho stomp everyone isn't super riveting stuff.

Whoa, didn't see this one coming. Good Terunofuji/Kise bout today. Love that big man sumo. Kise did what he needed to do and he's now in the drivers seat. He couldn't have asked for a better day and this tournament seems made just for him. All he has to do is not lose to Hakuho and it's his. He blows this and he will never be a Yokozuna. Couldn't believe Hakuho slipped. He didn't look right all match. He was clutching his right arm and was more shouldering Iki more than anything. Ikioi looked like he was going to crap his mawashi when Hak cornered him before the slip. Harumafuji really blew it too today. He also didn't do his standard tachi-ai and instead went low. Not sure what the forearms were about as this isn't pro wrestling and they weren't going to accomplish much. This was a really bad loss. Maybe he was too excited about Hakuho going down? Tomorrow's a character building day for Takayasu. He wins this somehow and he only has to worry about Terunofuji. Kaisei did what he should have done today but his opponent did a fantastic job of guarding his mawashi and avoiding a Kaisei grip.

Yet Harumafuji & Kakuryu have both been able to win a Yusho. In fact Harumafuji did it twice in a row to get his promotion. If Kisenosato is truly worthy of promotion, then he can win one himself. If he continues to have 13-2 jun-yushos, people may begin to realize that he's coming up with numbers worthy of a yokozuna. Even though winning a yusho seems to be some sort of requisite for yokozuna promotion, It seems to me that such outstanding consistency could possibly even outweigh the so-called essential requirement of his winning that yusho. He has numbers worthy of a Yokozuna, when he's on point. But if he can't win titles now, how he can do it when he's Yokozuna?

Sorry, but it's not the same and never will be in my book.

You can't promote someone to Yokozuna if he doesn't win a title. If he can't win a title now, how's he going to be able to do it at the next rank up? It's Grand Champion, not Grand Runner-Up. And Harumafuji has won 7 titles now, so he's no joke. Meanwhile Kakuryu..well, I'm not impressed. 1 title and 1 henka title win on an injured Terunofuji with no Hakuho or Harumafuji. There was also a good chance had Terunofuji won that he might have made Yokozuna. Would have fit the bill in my book especially with the new open-ended yok requirements.

I've mentioned it before and the big thing we are seeing with Kisenosato is that his first week of sumo is getting better. With Hakuho around, only 2 people have won tournaments with 3 losses in the last 4 years, so losses really do matter. In 3 of his last 4, Kisenosato has only lost once in the first week. I believe he's also getting helped by the Ozeki's and the Yokozuna's not named Hakuho doing rather poorly getting around 5-6 losses or more per basho. Attached are quick records of all Yokozuna and Ozeki from the last 5 bashos.

Welp, there goes the basho dreams of Takarafuji and Ichinojo. Takarafuji in particular squandered a huge opportunity today and got no help from Hakuho. And that's why he's not an Ozeki. Shouldn't have lost that, especially against the "slap or crap" style of Aoiyama. I wanted to believe in the neckless one. :-| Ichinojo put up a really good fight and I have no idea where that Chiyonokuni came from. Can't say Ich didn't put in the effort, but I have a feeling he should be getting comfortable in the Maegashira ranks. I'm going with the story that I heard a Kaisei chant today against Mitaekumi and that the crowd is ready to embrace their Brazilian hero... Kisenosato looked good and didn't choke. He gets Terunofuji tomorrow who might benefit from Kise's slower style. Harumafuji is looking pretty good going into the second week. Like a few others he really needs a Hakuho loss.

Harumafuji, Terunofuji and Takarafuji are from the same heya, they cannot fight each other unless in a playoff Takarafuji has a legit shot then. It's gonna be a stretch, it's going to be highly unlikely, but if he's ever going to pull off something like this, this is it. May even be able to convince someone to throw him a bone.

Yep, noticed it.

The field has a shot here. It seems everyone has finally caught on to Hakuho's current style where he lines up for a forearm smash with his right. NOTE - Harumafuji is at 7-1. He'll pretty much have to take on Terunofuji, Hakuho, Kisenosato and Goeido, leaving him 3 other matchups. Unless they go against the all Yokozuna's and Ozeki's fight each other rule, it may throw a bone at the Takarafuji/Takayasu/Ichinojo group as one of them might slip out without fighting him. This would also help out anyone who is at 2 losses, as it could mean an easier matchup later in the tournament. Won't happen, but Takarafuji is in a really good position right now. His hard matches are out of the way minus a potential Harumafuji or Terunofuji matchup. This is one of the only good things about being a K or a S - if you survive the first half, your second half is going to be much easier. Say maybe Hak goes to 3 losses and Harumafuji takes another one? You never know. Takayasu is also in a really good position right now. He'd potentially have a weakened Terunofuji and Harumafuji on his plate. Would be another who needs Hak to go 12-3 to have a true shot. Ichinojo has a shot as well. Again, he'd pref need Hak to take 3 losses, but he has a good chance of escaping a lot of hard matches due to his rank. I liked seeing him be a bit aggressive today, but we know he will be back up to the stalling in a day or so. Kisenosato just has to beat Hakuho and he can probably win the tournament. I'd be surprised if he does worse than 12-3. Even if he doesn't beat Hakuho, he might have a prayer, but this is it for his Yokozuna dreams if he doesn't pull this off. It's not going to get more ideal of a situation for him. Terunofuji is going to be helped by the Kotoshogiku and Kakuryu leaves. He could still take losses to Kisenosato, Harumafuji and Hakuho and still hit 8-7. He's got a 1 loss safety net right now. We're in for an exciting one. Surely everyone can't blow it, right?

Trying to understand why they wasted their money and effort on this. Can't watch at any of the selected times? Deal with it. Want to watch all of the matches? Dream on gaijin-san.

It's one thing to get promoted to Sekiwake, it's another to stay there. He's had 1 KK at K or above. I'd like him to succeed but he needs to do more than the power stuff.

Thoughts: - Hak with the cheap kick for the win and an extra shove for good measure. - The Great Choke Artist of Ibaraki strikes again, having almost the same basho as he did last time. - Kaisei looked the best he's ever looked today but let's not get ahead of ourselves here, he's still fighting off the MK. - Tochinoshin back in sanyaku next basho? - Yay for Gaga going back to Juryo and Ich getting an MK. Neither deserved KK's and both have holes in their game a mile wide.

He hasn't started every tachiai this basho with a slap. No more than usual. Also if you think you can just block a slap, you haven't done any martial arts before... His last three matches have almost all started with slaps. Chances are, he's going to continue it... You can do a lot of things. Every move has a counter to it. Don't get slapped, start further behind the line, push his arm out further like he did vs Kotoyuki, hook his arm with yours, hit the other side, put up a block, tons of things you can do.

Thoughts: - Quick, how has Hakuho started every tachi ai this basho? If you guessed with a slap, you were right. What does Kise do knowing this? Takes a slap. Not smart. He fought well and honestly overpowered Hakuho at times but Hak's movement was great and Kise just couldn't react quick enough. I'm not sure why he wasn't prepared for the slap. Very disappointing. He's been fixing his mistakes early in the last two bashos but he's just not getting it done. He needed to be the one winning that basho Kotoshogiku took. - Surprised to see Ichinojo beat out Kaisei since I thought Kaisei had been better as of late. It was nice to see Ich actually move around and try to swing Kaisei, which is something we haven't seen him do for a while. - Go home Terunofuji. - Kotoyuki looked good today with some straight up nasty hits. - Osuna must be injured again. He looks drastically different than the terminator from last basho, And to discuss Ikioi from above, his problem to me is that he needs to gain weight. I think it would help him a lot. He also needs to get nasty from time to time as he is way too nice.

Quick thoughts: - Hakuho with the KO today. Stay classy. - Kisenosato is teasing us again. 9-0...He's going to need some outside help with an upset if he wants to win this. He is looking good, just Hakuho's going to hit him hard and win. Credit to Kise for having two bashos in a row with very strong first weeks. - I thought for sure Ichinojo would henka Koto today instead he tried to beat him at his own game and failed. He's definitely MK minus a miracle. - Kaisei Komusubi KK? Looking so. He's not doing anything great or spectacular but he's doing his own sumo well. - Terunofuji needs to give it up for this basho. He's going to get unlucky and double MK due to injuries and get demoted. - Not a good loss for Harumafuji as it takes him out of the running. No way is Hakuho losing 2. - I was thinking Tochinoshin had a good shot at 10 or more wins, then he loses today.

He went for the extra shove but seemed aware people were waiting for it then stopped. The intent was there, he just held back. Then, he pulls Koto back in like a child. Then he shoves him out of his area. If you watched it on Kinta's slow-mo you can see what he was doing.

Thoughts on the day - watched it but nothing sunk in to me for some reason: - LOL Hakuho. I guess it wasn't a henka and was a legit technique, but it somewhat felt like one since he didn't fully engage. Knocks Koto's arms away which was a good move. Pushes him out, then goes for the extra shove but realizes it's not a good idea. Pulls him in, then pushes him into the ring LOL This guy. Why didn't he just slap him on the ass while he was at it? Glad they booed his ass. - Nice Ikioi vs Kaisei battle. Ikioi had it won at one point but still got turned around. - Kisenosato teasing us again? Like cycling, the first week of sumo is super important and Kisenosato's biggest fault besides choking was taking stupid losses in the first week. Hak's still gonna win but due to Kakuryu not doing so well, Koto being Koto and Terunofuji being injured, he's got a shot. Harumafuji is sneakily staying in the race. - Nice game of chicken by Goeido today. I like seeing Ichinojo actually move forward in his matches, that's progress to me and that is what he should be doing, so I'll give credit where it is due. And to add to the discussion above, I don't get why Hakuho is doing all of this. I thought he built up a good reputation and seemed like an honorable guy, but this stuff is just throwing all of that down the tubes.

Thoughts on the day: - Koto actually looked up today and kept control, getting the win. That's how he should be doing his tachi-ai's. Shocked Ikioi didn't try to henka anyway. - Aoiyama had the chance of a lifetime today and blew it spectacularly. While I agree that Hak was in full control, I think a straight shoulder might have knocked Hakuho back enough to lose. - Nice win by Kotoyuki. He kept Kakuryu out with the slaps. I did like the way Kakuryu circled him but he couldn't go with the advantage once he got it. - You'll be seeing Amuuru in Juryo next time unfortunately. Gaga's probably joining him. - Ichinojo put up a decent fight for a change but the bigger you are, the worse balance you seem to have in Sumo. I thought he had the win at one point. - Just checked out some of Ura's matches and he's clearly on another level. He is an absolutely genius in ring. He should be up in Makuuchi in no time. Satoyama/Ura plz.

Quick Day 6 thoughts: - Goeido wasn't even close on the first try. Excellent call. - Kaisei didn't look bad just he really doesn't have the belt work on Kisenosato or the higher up rikishi - Another good call on Ikioi who didn't touch first. - Power wise, I think Ichinojo shocked Hakuho, but he did nothing with his other hand, making him a one armed man vs a two armed one. - I'm always mixed between feeling bad for Koto and wondering why he never learns. - Sokokurai put up a nice power fight vs Osuna. Very surprised by that.

Ill informed.... not everyone shows up here knowing all, you know. Being boorish, OTOH.... Apologies...I didn't make myself clear. I meant the adjectives in conjunction with each other. I have no problem with people being ill-informed; just their attacking other people and name-calling while seemingly oblivious to their own ignorance. Jakusotsu: yes...exactly! Mods warned everyone and he's still going at it.

promotion questioned Since Kakuryu's promotion with 12 bashos(May 2014): - 1 bogus title win with a henka title winner against an injured Terunofuji and no Hakuho/Harumafuji.(2 titles total) - 2 Jun-Yusho's 15 wins: 0 14 wins: 0 13 wins: 0 12 wins: 3 11 wins: 2 10 wins: 3 9 wins: 1 Left/Injured: 2 AVG Wins per basho: 10.6(not counting injured/skipped bashos) Hakuho: - 8 Titles - 3 Jun-Yushos Wins 15: 1 14: 6 13: 1 12: 2 Left/Skipped: 1 AVG wins per tournament - 13.3 Harumafuji: 1 title(7 total) 3 Jun-Yusho's Wins: 15: 0 14: 0 13: 1 12: 1 11: 4 10: 2 9: 1 Left/skipped: 3 AVG wins per basho: 10.8(not counting injured/skipped bashos) Kisenosato: 0 titles 4 Jun Yushos Wins: 15:0 14:0 13:2 12:0 11:3 10:2 9:4 Left/skipped: 0 AVG wins per basho 9 Not enough data for Terunofuji and Kotoshogiku/Goeido are without question below the standard. My thoughts: Neither Kakuryu or Harumafuji are doing that great and Hakuho is clearly above the standard and more healthy. I think you need at least 12 to even be competitive most bashos. Harumafuji is slightly outperforming Kakuryu. I consider 10 wins to be Ozeki standard and 12 to be Yokozuna standard. I think it's clear Kisenosato and the current Ozeki's(except for non-healthy Terunofuji) aren't on that level.